Best Colourful Low-Light Indoor Plants in 2024: Tried and True

If you have a dim room and are searching for colourful low-light indoor plants to bring happiness there, there is a long list of them on Google (here I listed 12 colourful low-light houseplants), while based on my experience, most low-light plants can only tolerate low light conditions for several weeks or just survive without any new growth 🙁 . However, I consider that Nerve plants can grow in low-light corners. In addition, some varieties of Calathea can also thrive in low-light rooms.

House plants with variegated leaves can match various decorations for your house. They are energetic enough to bring happiness to your low-light room and I think Nerve plants and Calatheas can deal with low-light conditions better than others.

➡ A fact about colourful low-light house plants Most colourful plants have their various colours in bright conditions. Please note that the colourful variegated plants turn green in low light conditions, hence, you may buy a red or purple plant and it tolerates or even grows in your dim room but loses its lovely colour.

Another point that you should note before diving into low-light indoor plants is that “Low light differs from No light”. Totally, there are four natural light types indoors:

1. Bright Direct Sunlight
2. Medium Sunlight (Filtered Sunlight)
3. Bright Indirect Sunlight
4. Low-Light

A low-light place in your House is where your plant doesn’t receive any direct light. you can find it in a room with a North-facing window in winter (or on a cloudy day) or several feet far from a South-facing window.

Colourful Low-Light Indoor Plants that Can Thrive in Dim Rooms

Nerve Plant

• Common name: mosaic plant
• Scientific name: Fittonia albivenis
• Light Requirements: the best growth is in low to medium light.
• Watering needs: you should let the soil get dry between waterings
• The temperature needs: these colourful low-light indoor plants can tolerate temperatures between 60 to 80 F but 70 F is best.
• Type of propagation: it can propagate with both methods stem-tip cuttings and seeds but seeds are less effective.
• Fertilization: fertilizing with a 5-5-5 formula during spring and summer.

Calathea

• • Common names: peacock plants, zebra plants and rattlesnake plants. Some people call it incorrectly prayer plant.
  • Scientific name: Calathea sp.
  • Light Requirements: Calathea loves medium indirect light but can grow in dim places too.
  • Watering needs: its watering needs are low and you should let the top soil dry out between waterings.
  • The temperature needs: its best growth is between 65°F-85°F.
  • Type of propagation: root division is the best way to propagate.
  • Fertilization: it will be good if you fertilize Calathea with 10-101-10 or 20-20-20-20 fertilizers each month in the growing seasons.

Snake Plant

I decided to add the variegated Sansveria varieties to my list as easy-growing colourful low-light indoor plants. Some varieties of Snake plants are also the best small Low-light succulents for indoors. this plant produces oxygen at night, hence it is one of the best low-light indoor plants for bedrooms.

• Common name: mother-in-law’s tongue
• Scientific name: Dracaena trifasciata (Sansevieria trifasciata)
• Light Requirements: they can grow from low light to direct bright sun.
• Watering needs: it is almost tolerable to dry conditions and let the soil get dry between the watering and avoid over watering.
• Temperature needs: the best room temperature for snake plants is between 60-75 degrees F.
• Type of propagation: its propagation is very is. You can plant the leaf by cutting directly into the soil.
• Fertilization: it is native to poor soils hence avoid over-fertilizing. Using a 10-10-10 formula every month in growing seasons is enough.

Colourful Low-Light Indoor Plants that Can Survive in Dim Rooms

Polka Dot Begonias: Indoor-coloured plants with low light

• Common name: Trout Begonia, Polka Dot Plant, Begonia Maculata Widgtii, and Spotted Begonia
• Scientific name: Begonia maculata
• Light Requirements: Bright, indirect sunlight is the best condition for Polka begonia but it can grow in low light too.
• Watering needs: it loves moist soils and if dry between watering, the roots will be damaged. However, avoid soggy soils too to prevent root rot.
• The temperature needs: the best room temperature for polka dot begonia is between 65-80°F.
• Type of propagation: rooting stem cuttings (tip cuttings)
• Fertilization: use a basic slow-release liquid fertilizer in a 10-10-10 formula every 2 or 3 weeks in spring to increase its blooms.

Polka Dot Begonias is also one of the best flowering houseplants if you provide its light requirements and food.

Peperomia: colourful indoor plants that can grow in low light

• Common name: various varieties have various common names.
• Scientific name: Peperomia sp.
• Light Requirements: most varieties prefer medium to bright indirect light; however, they can grow in low-light conditions too.
• Watering needs: the topsoil should dry out between watering.
• The temperature needs: the peperomia plants will be happy in 65°F to 75°F
• Type of propagation: stem-cutting is the best way to propagate them.
• Fertilization: fertilize them with a 20-20-20 formula in half strength during the growing season

Red Aglaonema: gorgeous colourful low-light indoor plant

• Common name: Red Aglaonema
• Scientific name: Aglaonema Siam Aurora
• Light Requirements: like other Aglaonema cultivars, Red Aglaonema likes indirect bright light but can tolerate low light conditions.
• Watering needs: it likes slightly moist soils however you should let the top soil dry out between watering.
• The temperature needs: In general, Aglaonema plants like temperatures between 70 to 85 F.
• Type of propagation: the best method for propagating Aglaonema plants is water propagation.
• Fertilization: fertilize your plant with a 20-20-20 formula in half strength every month in growing seasons.

Madagascar Dragon: A tall colourful low light indoor plant

• Common name: Madagascar dragon tree
• Scientific name: Dracaena marginata
• Light Requirements: Although its best growth is in bright it can grow in shade too.
• Watering needs: it will be better than the topsoil drying out between watering and avoiding over-watering. Don’t use pots without holes for Madagascar Dragon, otherwise, you will lose your plant due to root rot.
• The temperature needs: it can grow between 65°- 75°F
• Type of propagation: it can propagate by stem-cutting
• Fertilization: fertilize it by adding a 10-10-10 fertilizer every two weeks during the growing seasons.

Bromeliads: A large colourful low-light indoor plant

• Common name: Guzmania, Vriesea and Tillandsia
• Scientific name: they belong to the Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) family with 80 genera and 3700 known species.
• Light Requirements: they can grow in both indirect sun and shade.
• Watering needs: they are tolerant to dry conditions and avoid over-watering.
• The temperature needs: they will have the best growth at 70-90ºF in days and 50-65ºF at night.
• Type of propagation: stem cutting is the easiest way to propagate Bromeliads.
• Fertilization: they are slow-growing plants and you should use slow, time-release fertilizers.

Prayer Plant

• Common name: praying hands
• Scientific name: Maranta leuconeura
• Light Requirements: its best growth is in indirect bright light but can grow in low light too.
• Watering needs: the best time for watering is when the top soil dries out between waterings.
• The temperature needs: they love 65 and 70°F.
• Type of propagation: you can propagate it by cutting-stem method and putting the cut shoots in water.
• Fertilization: a liquid with a 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 fertilizer will be good.

Rubber Plant: A colourful indoor plant that can stay low light

• Common name: Indian Rubber Tree, Pokok Getah Rambong, Rambong, Indian Rubber, Indian Rubber Fig, Rubber Plant, Snake Tree, Assam Rubber, Bunoh Seteroh, Nyatus, Ara Rambong, 印度榕
• Scientific name: Ficus elastica
• Light Requirements: their favourite condition is a bright indirect light; however, it can grow in low light conditions too.
• Watering needs: water rubber trees when the top soil dries out.
• The temperature needs: they will grow at 75 to 80 °F during the day and 60 to 65 °F during the night
• Type of propagation: the best way to propagate Rubber trees is a cutting-stem method.
• Fertilization: fertilize your rubber tree with water solution fertilizers during growth seasons

Caladiums

• Common name: Angel wings and Elephant ears
• Scientific name: Caladium sp.
• Light Requirements: they can grow from shade to bright conditions
• Watering needs: the best time for watering is when the top soil dries out.
• The temperature needs: they will grow in soil temperatures between 70- 85ºF
• Type of propagation: Tubber-cutting is the best way to propagate Caladiums. Every tubber piece must have at least one eye.
• Fertilization: add a 5-10-10 fertilizer every 4-6 weeks in growing seasons.

Strawberry Saxifrage: A low light colourful begonia

• Common name: strawberry begonia or strawberry geranium
• Scientific name: Saxifraga stolonifera
• Light Requirements: it can grow from direct light to full shade. Avoid direct sun.
• Watering needs: it likes moist soils but you must avoid soggy conditions and overwatering.
• The temperature needs: they can grow between 50 to 75 F.
• Type of propagation: the best way for propagating strawberries is offsets by pushing the offsets into the soil.
• Fertilization: During the growing season you should add a weak liquid fertilizer that contains both of the micronutrients and encourages blooming substance.

Conclusion

Now you found 12 low-light indoor plants with colourful leaves for your dim room and got familiar with their names and needs. Do you like which one more? Do you have one of them in your home? Do you know a colourful low-light indoor plant that we have not mentioned above? Please tell us about them below this page.