Which tall, potted plants are great for indoor use in shady areas?

9 years ago

I love plants, but in England they don't last very long inside the house because the weather is always cloudy so we don't get a lot of sunlight or it's winter and the days are naturally short of light. I'm looking for something like the one in the photo but a bit smaller (living rooms tend to be smaller in England than in the USA, so a huge plant would not work very well), so something that's bright green, stands a bit tall, and that won't lose its leaves a lot. It should be easy to maintain, last all year long if possible, and be happy with shady rooms or areas where we keep the curtains shut. Any ideas, please? Thank you.

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Comments (4)

Robbi
9 years ago
I have low light in my house and a Dracaena marginata has thrived. Also good is a plant known as Dumb Cane, both grow tall and don't spread widely. Neither plant likes strong sunlight. I have also had success with plants known as Chinese Evergreens, Mother in Laws Tongue (aka Snake Plant) and Cast Iron Plant, but those do not grow as tall, although my snake plant has grown quite a bit. The snake plant grows very straight, the others spread out a bit.
Pete W thanked Robbi
Pete W
Original Author
9 years ago
I liked the idea of having Dumb Cane inside the house. I have a plant similar to Dracaena but it doesn't like the water over here, the leaves go brown/burnt even though they're not near the sun, I read somewhere that the water can cause this depending on the hardness. Very good suggestions, thanks very much!
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Lourdes Iznaga Crohare
9 years ago
Thank you Robbi for your input. I live in sunny Florida but have a corner of my Family Room that doesn't get direct sunlight and I have a silk tree at the moment and have been wanting desperately to change it. I want something at least 5 or 6 ft tall. And I do go away on long trips so it has to be hardy. I will check your suggestions out at my nursery.
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The Ficus Wrangler
8 years ago
Probably the largest, low-light plant is the corn plant, Dracaena massangeana. The plant in your picture is a Schefflera arboricola, and it will also live in low light; the plant shown would need to be thinned, though, because all those thick leaves will mostly drop off if the light is low. Then there are the old parlor palms (Neanthe bella palms,) and bamboo palms (Chamadorea elegans or erumpens.) All of these will do well for you, if you don't water them too much. The only way to keep plants in low light (no matter what size they are,) is to let them get almost completely dry, all the way to the bottom of the pot. This video should help you out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rd84nwVWks