I have a room in my home with no windows, do you? For me, it's the bathroom, which is a bit of a bummer because so many of our houseplants love humidity, so the bathroom is the perfect room for them! But, there's no window, so they wouldn't survive in there, right?!
Well, technically, yes that is right. Plants need light to produce food through a process called photosynthesis. This is where a plant extracts carbon dioxide from the air and converts it into food by combining it with water. So where does light come into this process? Chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves, allows the plant to absorb energy from the sunlight which then enables the plant to convert the carbon dioxide into a food source. Clever, very clever, but kind of inconvenient when I really want to have plants in my bathroom, without having to buy and install grow lights!
So, how have I got around this little issue of plants having the audacity to be self sufficient enough to produce their own foods without my help but the help of light?!
Well... I swap them around!
That's all I do, I alternate the plants! I have some plants that I know will be ok in the bathroom for a week (sometimes longer if I forget to switch it up!) and I alternate between them. I'm going to share my list of tried and tested plants with you, that I know will survive for a little while without that beautiful sunlight. These plants will also survive in low light levels and if you have a dark corner, you could also use this tip of switching plants in and out of the area, if you would like some greenery in that space.
So, here they are, the plants:
Scindapsus Pictus 'Exotica'
A beautiful trailing or climbing plant with large thick leaves. These leaves have a gorgeous silvery sparkle to them.
Scindapsus Pictus 'Argyraeus'
Smaller than the Exotica above but the smaller silver speckled leaves are still stunning.
Epipremnum Aureum (Golden Pothos)
A classic plant that is good for beginners to the world of plant parenting. These plants have gorgeous yellow variegation on the leaves and are great communicators, when in need of a drink their leaves will droop!
Epipremnum Aureum (Marble Queen Pothos)
Similar to the Golden Pothos above however the variegation on this Epipremnum Aureum is a white/cream colour and covers more of the leaves.
Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (Zanzibar Gem or ZZ)
This plant is a classic 'low light' plant, they will survive well in dark corners, but if you do want this plant to push out new growth and thrive it will need plenty of breaks from those dark corners. If you are putting this plant in the bathroom, please be mindful of where it is in relation to water! If it's on the edge of the bath and getting wet every time someone has a shower, chances are you will kill this plant! They like to be kept on the dry side, overwatering will most likely be fatal.
Nephrolepis Exaltata (Boston Fern or Sword Fern)
This gorgeous bushy fern can handle lower light levels and loves humidity! It's definitely going to enjoy it's bathroom breaks! 😉
Ceropegia Woodii (String of Hearts)
Ceropegia Woodii is a type of succulent and I wouldn't normally suggest putting a succulent in a dark room, as they do like their sunlight. However, both my green and variegated String of Hearts have spent time in the bathroom for over a week at a time with no apparent issues! I initially put them in there to quarantine them from my other plants as both have had issues with thrips! During their time in isolation neither appeared to suffer due to lack of light (only due to the thrips!). So, now they're thrip free, they're also being alternated into the bathroom schedule!
Philodendron Hederaceum (Heart Leaf Philodendron)
A sweet trailing or climbing plant with simple green heart shaped leaves. I've only tested out the fully green version of this plant. I also have Philodendron Hederaceum 'Brasil' and 'Micans'. The 'Brasil' has a gorgeous yellow/lime stripe variegation to it and the 'Micans' is a velvety leafed version. I haven't trialled either of these versions so cannot say how well they would do with limited light, although I imagine they would manage just as well as this green version.
So there you have it, my little trick to having luscious greenery in all rooms and corners of your home, regardless of light! Switch your plants around, or perhaps, if you really want one particular plant in that low/no light spot, buy two of the same plant! You could have one in sunlight and one in that dark corner and just alternate the two of them, no one will ever know! It'll be out little secret! Thanks for reading 🥰
Disclaimers:
1) As there are no windows in our bathroom and we do need to see what we're doing when we're in there, whenever it is in use, we do use the light. So, the plants do receive some artificial light sporadically throughout the day. I do not recommend putting a plant in a place that never receives any light whatsoever, I mean, you wont even be able to see it right? There is no point, so don't do it! Thanks 😏
2) All plants are different, the plants I'm recommending in this post, I have tried out in our bathroom with no window for a period of at least a week and they have been absolutely fine, no damage done. However, my Scindapsus Pictus 'Argyraeus' may be different to your Scindapsus Pictus 'Argyraeus' and yours may not like being in a room with no sunlight. No plant is the same, they're all individual, just like you and I 😉 So please bare that in mind and keep a close eye on your plant when you first try this out! Any signs that its not happy then get that baby outta there!
3) When it's not a certain plants turn to be in the bathroom, they're almost always in the living room. Our living room is south facing and has two large (almost) floor to ceiling windows, therefore, these plants do get adequate amounts of sunlight between their bathroom breaks 😏