Recommend

Comment

Email this article

Print this article

Get news alerts

RSS Feeds

Share Digg Mixx Linked In Facebook Twitter Delicious

Peperomia obtusifolia, which can also be grown in low light, is virtually care free and has a waxy but white and green marbleized foliage.

see all images

In about four weeks we will have reached the time of the year when the sun gets stingy and gives us the least amount of its light and the days will be shorter than at any other time of the year. This seems to have a physiological effect on humans as well as plants, but for those of us with poor window exposures it represents an added challenge, growing plants indoors in low light conditions.

First of all though, let’s agree on what low light actually is. Let’s first assume that the window in question is at least 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall. If the window is considered “obstructed,” let’s say that about half the sky is blocked by trees, buildings, curtains or other obstructions as seen from where you will be placing the plants. This being the case, the following should describe low light:

4 feet back from an obstructed north window

6 feet back from or at the edge of an unobstructed north window

6 feet back from or at the edge of an obstructed east or west window

8 feet back from or 1 foot to the side of an unobstructed east or west window

8 feet back from or 1 foot to the side of an obstructed south window

10 feet back from or 2 feet to the side of an unobstructed south window

You can be more precise in your measurements of light if you use a light meter or if you use the light meter in a camera that has a manual setting.

First, set the ASA film speed index (this will be the ISO number on digital cameras) on the meter or camera to 200. Next, set the dial on the meter or camera to 1/125 of a second shutter speed. Use a white piece of paper about 24 inches square and place it where the top third of the foliage of the plant will be located and face the flat surface of the paper toward your maximum light source.

Now aim the meter or camera at the paper. If you were taking a picture of the piece of paper the light meter would tell you at what f stop (lens opening) to set your camera. If it tells you to use an f stop of 5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/125 of a second you’ve got low light. An f8 will indicate medium light and f11 good to high light.

Growing plants in this low light range can be risky business and if you are expecting an amaryllis in full glory, dream on.

On the other hand, there is a large industry called the foliage trade that to some degree caters to this market. There are nurseries all through Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico where foliage houseplants are grown specifically for low light situations. The plants are grown outdoors, but under huge areas covered with black Saran shading that simulates our northern growing conditions.

What you will be able to do in many cases is what we call simple maintenance. Plants may not thrive, indeed, they may not even grow, or they will grow imperceptibly. However, if the plants are chosen wisely you can have a wide range of plants that will exist in low light for many months or years before they need to be replaced or rejuvenated.

Since there is added risk in putting plants in this situation, it is extremely important that the plants be properly acclimatized. You don’t want to buy a plant that has been growing in a warm, sunny greenhouse and then put it 4 feet from a northern facing window. Many of the better plant shops and garden centers sell plants that are pre-conditioned for low light situations and these are the ones to seek. Otherwise, you can tempt fate at the supermarket or discount store and play the odds.

What follows is a description of many of the plants that you may want to try in low light situations. Since the boom in the foliage trade nearly 30 years ago, growers have made an effort to develop cultivars that are better suited to our home interiors.

Aglaonema

or the Chinese evergreens are plants of tropical origin grown for their variegated foliage. The dark green, waxy, oblong leaves splashed with white are thick and fleshy and the plant should not be expected to bloom. You may be able to find a number of cultivars and virtually all will do fine in low light and they will even tolerate dry air. They prefer night temperatures of around 60 degrees and daytime temps between 70 and 75. If the plants become too tall over time they can be “headed back” and the tips that are cut off can be rooted in moist perlite or sand in spring or early summer.

Aglaonema modestum

is an erect plant, 2 or 3 feet tall, with pointed, oval leaves that are about 12 inches long and up to 5 inches wide.

A. commutatum

is the variegated form and is similar to the green except that the leaves are smaller and blotched white or light green.

A. pseudobracteatum

grows only to 2 feet, but it has bright variegated leaves splashed with creamy white to yellow.

Alocasia

has large, heart shaped or arrow shaped leaves with showy veins making it a worthy and somewhat exotic house plant. Tropical in origin, they thrive at between 70 and 80 degrees, 50 percent humidity and on the bright side of the low light situation. These can make striking indoor specimens as an older clump can fill a 24-inch clay pot with a foliage spread another 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide.