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spicegirl_0101

House Plant in Zero-Light Room

spicegirl_0101
10 years ago

I have a small office (about 12' x 15') that I would like to put a plant into. The room gets almost zero natural light, EXCEPT, if I stand in one corner of this tiny room, right next to a wall and I look through the office door, I can see a full-length window to the outside. This window is about 30-40 feet away.

Are there any easy-to-care-for plants that would survive in such low light conditions?

Thanks!
spicegirl

This post was edited by spicegirl_0101 on Wed, Feb 26, 14 at 10:25

Comments (8)

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    10 years ago

    There's some species of mushrooms you could probably grow.

    Seriously though, it's easy enough to use artificial lighting. There's many good choices ranging in quality and pricing.

  • plantomaniac08
    10 years ago

    spicegirl,
    Seriously, unless you use artificial lighting (as dellis stated above), I can't imagine anything that would survive that low of light. A window on the other side of the office door that is 35-40 feet away won't do anything for a plant in your office, sorry.

    Planto

  • petrushka (7b)
    10 years ago

    spider plants , sansevieria and golden pothos will def survive with just reg office lighting - overhead fluos, provided you have them? if not they will survive even with incandescents - perhaps not for longer then 1 year, won't grow much, but they will survive.
    i have golden pothos vines in water in the bathroom without windows - they survive only on occasional 'visit with lights' ;). and they survived 2 mo absence - in almost total darkness, with just a night-light.
    once i grew a spider plant in the room that had curtains permanently drawn, not sheers, but some cotton like with some translucency and room lights in the evening - spiders lived!

  • pirate_girl
    10 years ago

    Then again, some would suggest settings like that might be the place for plastic or silk plants.

  • Rodden-Blessed
    10 years ago

    Yes, some plants might survive those conditions, but are you getting a plant for it to survive or for it to be able to flourish and live well?

    My only suggestion would be sanseveria although my colleague has AVs in his office and has no windows, just overhead florescent lights, and they seem to be doing better than simply surviving.

  • christine1950
    10 years ago

    What about setting up a small fish aquarium and swap out the light with a grow bulb, terrariums were a big hit many years ago, my first was the big glass water bottle. I'm sure many people here had them and possibly still do. There is a terrarium forum here you can check into.
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/terrarium/
    Christine

  • Photo Synthesis
    10 years ago

    I would like to recommend Sansevierias as well. One in particular, and my favorite, being a Sansevieria trifasciata "Moonshine." They have a pale, silvery-green/white color.

    Last year, while I was repotting mine, I accidentally broke off one of the outer leaves. Out of curiosity, and just to see how truly resilient these plants really are, I threw that broken leaf into a drawer and left it in there to see how long it survived before finally giving up. I didn't water it or give it any light at all, and it has taken at least half a year before it even started to turn brown. Even when it started doing that, it did it very slowly.

    Well, I tossed it in that drawer last Summer, and only now has it finally turned completely brown and die. These plants are way more resilient than I ever could've expected.

  • stewartsjon
    10 years ago

    Haha I spend my whole life putting plants in offices with zero natural light. Artificial light will keep the following alive:

    Kentia
    Dracaena Janet Craig
    Dracaena Cintho
    Philodendron Scandens
    Sansevieria - for hardiness I'd go Laurentii, or Moonshine as above