Shady Plants: Low Light Loving Indoor Plants

There are few homes in which whole rooms do not suffer from low light levels. These are made worse still by the still gloomier conditions of winters in northern climes. Condominium dwellers often suffer from too much light – or too little. Thus wannabe plant lovers are left in a quandary.

---

Fear not – while many a houseplant originates from wide open sun lit spaces there are others again that flourish both on dim rainforest floors and in poorly lit homes. Peace Lily or Spatheflower, Spathiphyllum cultivars started from damp rainforests of tropical South and Central America but are widely appreciated as free flowering indoor plants as well as garden plants in tropical gardens. Chinese Evergreen, Aglaonema species of southeast Asia into the Philippines and Indonesia, a flush of 30cm or so leaves with various markings makes this a suitable table or plant stand specimen. As with so many of the best low-light indoor plants it belongs to the great Araceae family. Cast Iron Plant, Aspidistra elatior, was a favourite of smoky, dimly-lit Victorian saloon bars. With somewhat sparse, 45cm long leaves, in its home in China, it is pollinated by snails. Neanthe Bella Palm, Chamaedorea elegans comes from East Guatemala in the mountain forests of Maya. This is one of the very few palms that will tolerate low light while attaining perhaps 2m. Dwarf Schefflera, Brassia actinophylla var. compacta, originated from the Philippines. Its larger cousin may become a 25m tree but this will limit itself to a metre or so in a 25- to 30-cm container, ideal for a limited space. Snake Plant or Mother-in-Laws Tongue, Sanseviera trifasciata, comes from South Africa but there are may very similar species from elsewhere on the continent. A stiff, upright ‘architectural’ plant highly suitable for ultra-modern sparse décor to defy the blackest of black thumbs.

---

---

Saddle Leaf or Selloum, Philodron selloum from southwest Brazil is one of the very few commonly offered philodrons that is not a vine. Exotic in appearance with enormous leaves, this is a plant for larger spaces Splitleaf Philodendron or Ceriman is not a philodron although it may resemble one, especially the juvenile leaves which remain solid. Monstera deliciosa hales from southern Mexico into Guatemala. Another Araceae, it is best grown up a large length of wood-backed bark or perhaps even a two-by-four, cut back if it outgrows its support. Other true philodendrons that might be treated the same way include the cultivar P. ‘Burgundy’ with red petioles and the undersides of leaves, a slow grower to 2m, and Elephant’s Ear P. domesticum (hastatum in horticulture) from Brazil with large arrow-shaped leaves. Growing them on bark or stakes makes them highly suitable for otherwise barren corners or flanking north-facing windows. They tolerate considerable neglect. Few people have not encountered hang baskets overflowing with the trailing vines of Heart Leaf Philodendron, P. oxycardium (syn. P. cordatum), so common that many uninformed believe it to be the only representative of an otherwise enormously diverse genus. It was originally found from Puerto Rico to Jamaica into adjacent Central America. Unlike the equally familiar Pothos from the Solomon Islands of the Pacific, Epipremnum (Scindapsus) aureus, P. oxycardium has not become a voracious tropical weed. Yet another hanging basket candidate is Syngonium podophyllum, a vine from Mexico to Costa Rica with many attractive cultivars of the young leaves, which differ markedly from mature foliage which is seldom seen in cultivation. No light at all? Conditions that would make an S&M aficionado envious? You can even grow something there: they are called mushrooms.

---