Low Light Houseplants: Plus Medium and High Light Indoor Plants

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Cast Iron Plant - Aspidistra

Email is always coming in with questions about what house plants are the best indoors and what light they should have.

Plants add decoration, softness and say “welcome” when you have them inside. I guess that is something at times I take for granted… seeing plants indoors. When I don’t I ask …why?

Recently I had to catch a plane that took me through the Atlanta airport. On my way through I had a lay over of about an hour.


I sat down to review some things in my briefcase. Looking around I noticed – no plants. So I said to myself – why?

The airport is busy, but does that mean a professional plantscaper is unable to care for plants? Do they not want to spend the money on maintenance… or do they think they don’t have enough light?

Since I had some time to kill, I started doing a little mental “interior plantscaping”.

The ideal location of a plant for decoration may not be the ideal spot for plant growth. Without the correct light a plant, no matter how “perfect” it may be for its setting, limits the growth.

So I began to ask myself:

  • What kind of light was available for plants?
  • What plants could I use?

The plants are broke down into 3 groups.

  • High
  • Medium light
  • Low light

Remember, this is a very general breakdown, some of the plants can cross over and/or work well in another group. Included are links to other articles for more information on those plants if available.

I plan on digging into lighting much more in the near future… but, here is a quick list of plants to start with.

High Light House Plants

These plants obviously need bright light. Do you have a very bright area? These plants should be placed within six feet of a window.

Medium Light Plants

These plants do well in rooms with windows that can give good light, but they are away from the window. In rooms without windows, these plants will also do well but plenty of overhead lighting is needed.

Low Light Plants


These plants are the really low light performers. They can survive in areas with no windows and soft lighting.

This is a quick list of some of the plants that can be used in low, medium and high light levels.

Now sit down and look over your indoor rooms. You’ll need to take into account, height and width, besides the light.

How much light do you have and what plants could you use to make your “house friendly” …don’t let your house look like the sterile Atlanta airport.

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