What plants do well with no light? Don’t waste your time and money, there aren’t any no-light plants, however, some houseplants (called low-light plants) can tolerate low-light conditions but not zero-light.

Anyway, if you have a dark room and want to add plants to it, a lot of tips and facts are related to this issue with a lot of incorrect points. keep reading to find a true strategy and make your sound.

Hi, I’m a horticultural consultant who has PhD in plant protection. Join me here to tell you facts about “what plants need little to no light”. It’s one of the frequent questions that people often ask me about no-light plants.

Are There Any No-Light Plants?

When you search on Google keywords like “zero light plants”, “best plant for a dark room”, “what plants need no light”, etc you will see lots of posts listing plants such as snake plants, spider plants, Pothos, Philodendrons, etc. that have been claimed need little to no light (dark or zero light).

Based on my experience, after buying these houseplants for a no-light or very low-light place, you will deal with various problems such as yellowing, stopping growth, leaf drop, etc. Finally, you will lose your lovely indoor plants if you don’t transfer them to a bright place.  Do you know why?

Plants (like every being) need food to survive, hence they require light to produce their food by Photosynthesize (a biochemical process in plant cells that is completely dependent on light).

Hence, no plant (indoor or outdoor, wild or cultivar) can survive in a dark (no light or zero light) place.  So far, I’ve not seen any plant that can tolerate a dark room. Trust me.

All plants that are listed on the Google article as “No-Light Plants” are actually “Low-Light Plants” that are incorrectly named “Zero-Light (no-light) Plants”. Can low-light plants thrive in a no-light place? No, they can’t!

What Is Low-Light for Plants?

Please note that a low-light place completely differs from a dark (no- or zero-light) place. In a dark room, there isn’t any light but in a low-light room, you can read a newspaper easily.

In Horticultural science, we define a low-light place as a location without any direct sunlight (in the house but it will be different outdoors). For example, a low light place in your house can be several feet away from a south window or close to a North-facing window (see the picture below).

Hence, if you have a dark (no- or zero-light) place in your house and search on Google for no-light plants (for instance “zero light plants for bathroom”, “best plant for a dark room”, or “what plants are good for bathroom with no light”), you must know no plant can grow there. However, if you add a growing light any plant can grow there. Indeed, the growing light is the only strategy for your dark room. Just this.

Under grow light, you can grow almost all houseplants in your dark room (however, based on my experience, in addition to light, some plants need a window for air circulation too).

Anyway, if you are still interested in knowing “What plant needs the least amount of light” or “What is the most shade-tolerant indoor plant?” keep reading to tell you facts about low-light plants.

What Are Low-Light Plants?

Indeed, low-light plants are understory plants that live under the canopy of tall and large trees in their natural habitat (most often rainforests). So, they are adapted for growing in medium light and are ideal for indoors with bright indirect sunlight, however, they can tolerate low-light conditions too. some examples of low-light houseplants are

• Snake Plant. (low-light succulents)
• Air Plants. (Low-light hanging plant for bathroom)
• Cast Iron Plant.
• Prayer Plant. (low-light hanging plant safe for cats)
• Money Plant
• Chinese Evergreen.
• Peace Lilies.
• ….

Please note that although they are listed as low-light plants, the fact is that their preference is bright indirect sunlight. Because more light, more food. So, their growth will get stopped or very slow in low light conditions. so, they will be happy if you transfer them to a brighter place every several weeks to take more energy. However, if exposed to direct sunlight, their leaves will scorch.

Are you still thinking “What plant needs the least amount of light?” Keep reading.

What Plant Needs the Least Amount of Light?

Some Low-light indoor plants not only can tolerate low-light conditions but also can thrive there. I tested the Cast Iron Plant in a very low-light room and found it can grow there (however slowly).

One of my friends told me his Snake plant can thrive in its very low-light office, although my sister’s snake plants turned yellow in a very low-light corner.

Let me tell you two pro tips about growing low-light plants:  :arrow: In low light conditions, the soil stays wet for a long time, hence, you must reduce the watering frequency and add water only when the top soil dries out otherwise, your plant will die due to root rot.  ➡ Colourful low light plants often turn green hue in low-light conditions. They increase their chlorophyll (a green pigment in plant cells that plays a critical role in Photosynthesis) to raise their efficiency in low light. Hence you will find them green. ➡ Most flowering house plants don’t go to bloom in low light.

Conclusion

Are there any zero-light plants? no, every plant needs light to produce food by photosynthesis. However, some plants can tolerate or thrive in low light conditions which we call them low light plants or understory plants.

You must note that a low-light place differs from a dark (zero- or no-light) place. In a low-light room or corner, you can grow some low-light plants but in a dark room, the only strategy for adding houseplants is to use growing lights.

Please tell my readers and me about your experiences with growing plants in low-light conditions. Please share your ideas with us. you can ask your question below this page too; I will answer as soon as possible.