Best Plants for Offices with No Windows
When choosing the right indoor plant for your office in Canada, you need to consider the availability of light.
Offices with no windows or very low light can still be a good place for the right indoor tropical plants.
The availability of light is of course needed for plants to grow, but some plants can tolerate and, even prefer, low light spaces. Remember, in their natural habitat many tropical plants grow at the base of the jungle with filtered and often very low light levels.
There are a few telltale signs of a plant that will do well in an office with no windows.
First, look at the size and texture of the leaf. When light levels are low, the broader leaf will absorb more light and generally these plants with broad leaves will do better in low light than a thin leaf plant.
Another good sign is the name of the plant's common name. One of our favourite plants for its elongated and architectural shape leaf is the “Cast Iron” (Aspidistra elatior) indoor plant. This indoor plant does well in offices in Canada as it can tolerate no direct sun and very low light levels. It is also a tough plant that can take a few knocks if it’s placed in a busy office hallway.
“It may not be as tough as nails, but this indoor plant will grow and take a bit of neglect in low light conditions”
— Nikki, Greenspace Plants Gardener
Other plants like the office plant staple, the Snake Plant (Sansevieria), can do well in most light conditions except direct hot sun and the darkest of rooms. You will find the non-variegated green-leafed Sansevieria will grow better in lower light rooms. The variegated Sansevieria plants with yellow and green two-tone leaves have less chlorophyll in the leaf which is needed to grow healthy. Also of note, is the lower the light the more “leggy” a plant will become as it stretches out to find sunlight.
One more hardy plant that comes in many varieties and sizes from small desktop to large 6ft+ plants in the Dracena family. Again, you will find the darker green leaf plant will do better in the darker rooms.
“Not everyone loves the Dracena as it can look like a traditional indoor plant, but if you choose the right shape plant and a nice planter pot, it can look great.”
— Jerin, Greenspace Plants Gardener
As with all indoor plants, there are some good habits to ensure your plant remains healthy even under low light conditions. Keeping the plant fed and watered on a regular schedule, rotating the plant towards the light occasionally and even swapping it with another plant in your space so each plant has its time in lower light. The best time to do this would be the Fall or winter when the plants are growing slower and require less light energy.
There are some other factors that come into play in low light, like watering frequency and the biggest challenge for indoor plants, humidity. But if you start by choosing a plant the will adapt to low light, you are off to a very good start!
To learn more about these plants and our other choices for low light plants, contact a Greenspace Indoor Gardener.