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Cinquefoil
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Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 7:31 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Does this indoor spot have enough light to sustain plants?

I'd love to add some more low light plants in the below spot (e.g. mother in law's tongue, parlor palm, holly fern), but I'm not sure it gets enough light. It's close to the window, but due to the way the blinds face is generally in the shadows, as shown. Not sure if that counts as 'indirect light' or not.

I wouldn't mind periodically changing the direction of the blinds to give the plants more light, but for privacy reasons (the windows face onto a busy walkway) generally prefer them facing the other way.

Thanks for any thoughts!

(ignore the rug in the second pic; was a failed interior design experiment)

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Depends on the plants. Parlor palm and snake plant do well in very low light and should be ok there. I don't know about the fern. Another very low light plant is peace lily. The snake plant will do fine there, but will not bloom. With a lot more light they will bloom sometimes -- but most people don't grow them for the blooms anyway.

(sorry, the name mother-in-law's tongue seems like one of those anti-women jokes comedians love to tell. I am a mother-in-law and I hate it. The plant is also called snake plant, viper's bowstring, St. George's sword, and others.)

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

"Sansevieria" :wink:

...would you consider putting a high intensity CFL in that floor lamp? That might widen your selection

If you want a wider, taller plant, Norfolk Island Pine will get large eventually, but they grow slowly and also manage OK in lower light -- they will be somewhat elongated and not true to their optimal form, however.

Other young tropical trees like seed-grown avocado will also manage in lower light for a good while though, again they will get somewhat spindly and won't grow optimally -- because they are pre-disposed to grow in the dimmer understory of the mature canopy.

Like any plant, you will need to keep rotating the pot a quarter turn every couple of days or at least every time you water.

Cast Iron Plant - Aspidistra - is another one like Sansevieria.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I agree, if the blinds are going to be shut most of the time, artificial lighting would be the way to go.


I got some track lighting. Mine came with a plug and I just mounted it on the wall and plugged it into an outlet. My tracks do not point directly down. You may have to mount on the ceiling and face it toward the wall. There are led track sets that give more light but they do not contain the full spectrum unless you get specialty bulbs. LED bulbs are pricey but are cool and last a long time and LED lights are very bright but they do not have the full spectrum of light that the plants need.

https://www.wayfair.com/Royal-Pacific-Tr ... P2771.html

If you are renting you might consider a task floor lamp with flourescent bulb
https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Up ... archidx=17



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