Plant suggestions for a poorly lit room?

I probably shouldn't even be starting this, with all the websites out there offering suggestions, but I often find the interaction helps. It certainly did with my previous request.

With the prospect of a lot more free time looming, I've decided I should be taking better care of the houseplants. I've always tried to choose low maintenance varieties, but even some of those have succumbed to my attempts to care for them. I think it's usually from over watering, or feeding that finishes them off.

With that in mind, and seeing there are many indoor plant enthusiasts here, I thought I'd offer the challenge to help me pick out some suitable plants.

The room I'd like to fill has just one westerly facing window. For privacy, I often have the blinds closed, so the main light in the room comes through a 3 foot x 18 inch awning window. During the summer the room is quite bright, especially in the afternoon sun, but the short winter days offer very little light. An image may help explain better.



The window is on the West side (left). I've fixed several shelves on the wall opposite, but as it's about 15 feet away, it doesn't get that much light, at least during winter months.
I'll occasionally stand some plants on the mantelpiece (north wall), but it's still not ideal. The other main option currently, is the windowsill itself, but I need to be careful, as I have a couple of cats that like to sit on it, so like to make sure anything there is safe, in case they decide to snack on it.

Plants I'm currently growing, with varying degrees of success,

• Snake plant

• Corn Plant (Dracaena)

• Haworthia

• Asparagus

• Ponytail palm

• Philodendron

I've also got a Phalaenopsis & Easter Cactus on the mantelpiece. Elsewhere in the house are Parlour Palm, Spider Plant & Peace Lily on the windowsill, and a selection of Kalanchoe in the bathroom.


Failures so far include Peperomia, Jade plant (twice), Aloe Vera and Pachira. That's not to say I want to avoid them, just that I've managed to kill some already despite them being supposedly simple to look after.
The Ponytail Palm is also at risk due to over watering. Some of the base has rotted, but there is still new looking growth on top, so I'm not giving up on it.

If anyone makes it thorough all that waffle, and wants to suggest anything, I'll continue with my rambling ideas.

 

Avoid Lilies if you have cats. I was looking after somebody else's Lily, a gorgeous plant that they paid a fortune for in a supermarket, as its buds opened into the most beautiful and scented flowers, which had a lot of dark red pollen which easily brushes off, some came off making splodgy marks on somebody's face. People everywhere warn that this pollen can very easily brush off onto cats' fur and then they wash it off and it poisons them.

I think Peace Lilies should be ok, they are not true Lilies, but not sure I would trust their pollen, I don't know. Do check before letting their flowers near your cats. Edit: it seems you have to be a bit careful with Peace Lilies and cats, but they probably aren't nearly as dangerous as true Lilies.
peace-lily-cat-toxicity.htm

Cats are pretty smart, but Lily pollen seems to get everywhere.

 

A Bromeliad is what you need Totally, absolutely indestructible! I can't grow houseplants in what was an old, stone barn, even with Veluxes and modern lighting, but a bluey-greeny/white powdery-looking affair given as a house-warming pressie has survived with minimal attention for 13 years. It even flowered once, but then obviously thought better of it I detest this plant, but how can you get rid of something that's survived against all the odds?

 

You seem to have a good selection already

Some other plants to add colour that like semi shade / west facing are African Violets and Streptocarpus along with many Fuchsias.

Some small ferns will also do well in there, we have them in a north facing room.

To let more light in but keeping your privacy consider net curtains instead of blinds ?

 

I would say adding lighting would solve the problem. On for 12-14 hours a day, and loads of plants can be grown successfully.

 

Maranta makoyana will tolerate shady places
I also have another plant related to Maranta but I can't think of it's name .... here's a (not very good) photo, maybe you could look it up ...



Maranta makoyana ...



Also Tradescantia zebrina will grow happily in shade, as well as Monstera adansonii (a small version of Swiss Chese plant)

 

@JWK beat me to it with Sanseveria, which come in a wide range of colours and shapes - I have a tall striped one here. Lidl also had some last week in an 'indestructible houseplants' offer - you might still find some in a local branch - I bought a nice small dark rosette-y one called 'Black Jade' as a gift for someone else.

I can also recommend that Victorian houseplant the Aspidistra, or Cast Iron Plant. It actually prefers to be well away from direct sunlight, which can burn the leaves. Mine is an Elatior, the usual variety, there is also a rarer variegated one. It grows (slowly) into a big and impressive plant, which can then be split if it's getting too large.

 

Nice collection- and I can see that you are doing the right thing in not having fancy cache pots. Those look good but are an easy way to overwater plants.

A Pothos could look great snaking on the wall around the shelves- mine is in the darkest corner and happily grows even under the sofa (yes I know I should hoover under the sofa a bit more regularly... ). Poke your finger into the soil before watering and only add if the soil feels dry.


The rest of the plants could benefit from living in a group closer to the window. Is there any way you could make a display table there? Plants enjoy the humid micro climate they create in a group.

Spider plant will do just fine in darker rooms, looks fresh and apparently has air purifying properties.

Nowadays there are also quite nice looking grow lights that are fine in a living room. Some come with a stand. Just don't go for the purple lighted ones, they are more industrial than decorative and the light is awful in a room. It's also possible to buy grow light bulbs to fit in a normal lamp, I haven't tried those personally.

If overwatering is an ongoing dark habit, try adding grit into the compost and a good layer of gravel or other drainage material in the bottom. Pour away any water that has not been absorbed from the plate in 15 mins. Finger is the best moisture measure tool available.

If you re-pot a plant in spring, it will not need feeding until perhaps in late summer. And many plants don't need feeding at all, I think I added some long release granules to my Pothos 3 years ago, and changed the compost perhaps 4 years ago. Nothing after that and it grows strongly on tap water and dust In general, slow growing plants need much less than vigorous ones and overfeeding kills but underfeeding just results in slower or paler growth and is easy to fix.

Let us know what you decide to do, good luck!

 

The name I couldn't remember in my comment above is Ctenanthe burle-marksii. It's a pretty plant but I haven't got a better photo to show you.

 

Thanks for all the replies. There’s a few more ideas here to keep me busy researching for a while. In response to some of the comments…

I’m not sure why I decided to allow the Peace Lily on the windowsill, but I’ve never seen the cats take any interest in it. Usually if they want something to chew they'll attack the spider plant, or go outside and find some grass to eat. I usually try and keep a patch of cat grass for them.

I was given a Bromeliad once. As with many other plants, I did manage to finish it off, though I don't remember how. It's certainly worth another try though.

The windows did have net curtains before changing to the vertical blinds, but they weren’t particularly cat friendly. The cats tend to prefer having an unrestricted view of the neighbourhood; and when it's sunny, to maximise the amount of sunshine they can get. It often meant the blinds suffering in one way or another. At least with the vertical blinds, they can just step though them to get to the window.

Going forward I’ve had another idea that could benefit the room & plants in it. The north-west corner of the room is a dark corner, mostly unused. There’s a cupboard with the gas & electric meters, and that's about it. Where I drew the green rectangle on the image on the OP, I'm thinking of placing some sort of plant stand. It would help obscure certain parts of the room from the window, allowing me to happily leave the blinds more open. More importantly, it will be somewhere to put some plants that want a bit more light. As an experiment, I'm thinking of cleaning up my small 'greenhouse' and using that.


As for the choice of pots, that's been more down to laziness. I've not seen anything that I particularly like as an alternative, so I've just left them in the pots they came in; occasionally re-potting if the need arose. The plastic trays are useful in case any water soaks through the soil, and with some plants I use them to hold a reservoir in a pebble base. Something some plants can benefit from, or so I've read somewhere.

I think my fingers need more practice at testing for moisture. This has probably been my main point of failure in the past. I've thought the soil felt dry, but it was less so then I thought. I've just bought a moisture meter. I've no idea how effective they are, but between that, and some more 'finger testing' practice, my level of care will improve. The latest plant victim is the orchid, which lost all its leaves when I moved it yesterday. I've yet to have one last more than a year, but I will succeed eventually.
Already added to the shopping list is some Perlite. Would you say grit would have any advantage for these indoor plants?

And lastly, for now, a compilation of potential houseplants from various lists I’ve put together. Some will have been mentioned already. I haven’t done much more than compile the list so far. If anyone would like to suggest a particular variety to look out for, or any plants on the list that aren’t likely to be as good a choice, post away. Although the garden centre I frequent has a good indoor section, there is of course no guarantee they’ll have any specific plant on my list, so a bigger list will give more chance or returning with a good selection. At worst, they’ll have everything on the list, and I’ll be putting plants on every spare surface in the house, regardless of light.

Anthurium
Begonia Rex
Boston-fern
Bromelia
Burro's tail
Calathea
Chinese Evergreen
Clivia
Columnea
Dragon Tree
Ficus microcarpa ginseng
Gloxinia
Hemigraphis
Monstera
Nerve Plant
Panda Plant
Peperomia
Pink Polka Dot Plant
Pothos Golden
Prayer plant
Red Aglaonema
Sago palm
Senecio 'String of Pearls'
Silver Pothos
Wandering Jew
zz plant

 

You have a good list of plants there Chris, I have a tradescantia ( purple one) that grows even in a fairly dim light.I have read that peace lilies shouldn’t be fed too much.I seem to kill off many indoor plants, possibly by overwatering, but spider plants seem indestructable.

 

I'm slowly working through the list, thinking which I'd like most. This time around I'll have a far better success rate, so want a good selection. That said, I'm hoping the garden centre isn't too well stocked. Thanks to suggestions from members here, I now have a list of over 40 plants to choose from.
My only surviving peace lily lives on the window sill, and generally thrives with nothing more than a pint of water poured into it's planter occasionally. It's been a regular flowerer.
I think when I originally planted it, I placed an upside down, empty plant pot in the base, before filling it and adding the plants. Until recently the lily was thriving, almost as tall as the parlour palm it's planted with. Then around Christmas it started to die. I think I'd let it dry out to much. Whatever the cause, I cut back the dying leaves, only to find lots of new shoots sprouting. Now it's well on its way to its former glory. (for reference, the pot is 10 inches tall)

 

Well, I have at least made it back the same year, but I've moved on to a new project now, and just wanted to update here before I start elsewhere. Hopefully I'm not duplicating anything I've said before, other than another belated thanks to everyone for all their suggestions & comments.

I visited a garden centre not long after I last posted, but there wasn't a great selection, at least not among the specific plants I was looking for. With my, all too frequent, habit of killing plants, I was reluctant to pay the much higher prices for some of the plants too. Once I'm confident I've cured my bad habits, I'll probably have another look.
I've been keeping an eye out at the local supermarkets too, as they often have houseplants in.

Until I find anything else of interest, my collection now has, (assuming the images are still live when you're looking!)

On the frame next to the window, in a tray on the top shelf I've got a Boston fern, Swiss cheese plant, Calathea, and the Asparagus fern, which is much happier now it's closer to the window. Next, in a small tray, is a Senecio-string of beads. I was looking for a 'string of pearls', but there weren't any, so though I'd try it. Then there's a Crassula & Aloe Vera. I've managed to kill both before, but these are both thriving, with new growth visible on both.

Below, there's a Maranta/prayer plant of some sort, a couple of Bromeliads from a neighbour (if @noisette47 wants another, just shout . Apparently my neighbours plant keeps having pups) Last on the shelf are a couple of pots with peace lilies. I decided to try & split the plant I have upstairs. I only recently moved them here, as they weren't recovering well before, but they're now both starting to look healthier.


online free image hosting


On the back wall, where I was having all the problems before, most plants are okay. I got another Sansevieria, so now have two of them. I'm not sure whether or not they're the same type.

A bought a couple of peperomias, but one succumbed to overwatering (I've deliberately left the tub as a reminder). The surviving plant has had some new growth. The philodendron is growing better than in previous years too.
I'm putting it all down to my newly acquired skill of neglect.