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Sansevieria Trifasciata in dark corner

The 5 best low-light houseplants for beginners

Low-light plants are amazing plants that don't require as much sunlight exposure as other plants, while they can still thrive. Low-light plants, however, are often overlooked as being low-light plants. Especially as a beginner, others will tell you that plants need sunlight to grow. Now, it is true that all plants need some light to grow, but there are a few that do just as well in low-light situations.

The low-light houseplants that we're going to explore in this post are the following:

  1. Sansevieria Trifasciata (Snake plant)
  2. Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (ZZ Plant)
  3. Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)
  4. Parlor Palm
  5. Sedum Morganianum (Donkey Tail)

There are many, many more plants that do well in low-light situations. But we've personally taken care of all of these houseplants in low-light situations, so we can help you to move these plants to those places in your house that don't get enough light for most other plants.

Sansevieria Trifasciata (Snake plant)

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"How to care for Sansevierias"

One of the most recognizable houseplants, the snake plant, is an amazing houseplant in low-light areas in your house. The Sansevieria can also grow in direct sunlight, where it grows much more quickly. When you move a Sansevieria to a low-light place, it will seem like it's frozen in time. It's growth will slow down to a crawl. But it will still do well and this won't harm the plant. If you're okay with keeping your snake plant the same size, you can move it from a well-lit area to a low-light place.

Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (ZZ Plant)

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ZZ plant

Simple, yet elegant. The Zamioculcas Zamiifolia looks like a boring plant from a distance, but when you get up close, you'll see how beautiful this houseplant is. The ZZ plant is a low-light loving plant. In fact, it's one of the only place it can grow without any problems. When you expose a ZZ plant to too much sunlight, it gets sunburns all over its stems. This plant is made for low-light situation.

As an added bonus to being able to thrive in low-light, the ZZ plant is also very low-maintenance. You can forget to water a ZZ plant for weeks at a time. The plant stores a lot of moisture in its stems and roots, and doesn't need to be watered very often. It's the perfect plant for a low-light spot you forget about a lot of the time. The ZZ plant turns this spot into a green and air-purifying spot, without much help from you or the sun.

Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)

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Flowering Peace Lily

One of the most well-known low-light houseplants is a Peace Lily. It's a houseplant that thrives in low-light places, and it can survive almost anything. A Peace Lily also shows you when it's not happy, which makes it a great beginner-friendly houseplant.

A Peace Lily, like a ZZ plant, is a houseplant that's made to thrive in low-light situations. When you expose a Peace Lily to too much sunlight, its leaves will turn light green and/or yellow. Normally, the Peace Lily has dark green leaves. These leaves are dark green, because they don't need to absorb as much sunlight. When you've kept your Peace Lily in a dark place for a while, all new leaves will have this dark green color.

The difference between the ZZ plant, the snake plant, and the Peace Lily is that the Peace Lily need a bit more maintenance. It loves to be in moist soil at all times, so you'll have to water to every week or every two weeks. The soil can dry out, but not more than a few days. Make sure to check the moisture levels of the soil every few days to make sure it's still at the right level. You can do this by touching the soil with a finger. If it's still moist, it's perfect.

Parlor Palm

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Parlor Palm

Another plant that's made to thrive in low-light places is the Parlor Palm. Unlike many other palms, the Parlor palm doesn't like to be in bright places. Like the Peace Lily, the bright places will turn the green leaves on your Parlor palm light-green and sometimes even yellow. The Parlor palm is also very sensitive to direct sunlight. Your Parlor palm gets sunburns quite easily if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

Your Parlor palm requires some level of sunlight exposure, so don't put it in a place that never gets any sunlight.

Sedum Morganianum (Donkey Tail)

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Sedum Morganianum hanging in dark corner

The Sedum Morganianum is an odd one out compared to a lot of other succulents. Most succulents need direct sunlight all the time to be happy. However, this Sedum is different. It can grow in darker places as well. Much like the Sansevieria, it grows much more quickly in a bright spot. In darker places their growth will come to a halt, but it won't do any harm to the plant.

A Sedum Morganianum is a very low-maintenance hanging plant that you can forget about for a month or two. The plant will survive this without any problems. It is, like many other succulents, very sensitive to overwatering. So if you want a plant you can water more often and still does well in low-light situations, a Peace Lily might be a better choice for you.


There are many plants that can grow, if not thrive, in low-light places in your house. These amazing plants are often overlooked, because they're not always the most exotic houseplants. They are, however, amazing plants that can brighten even the darkest places in your house. If you have a darker spot in your house that you want to improve with a plant, perhaps the 5 plants in this post are the perfect plants for you!


Tags: low-light, sansevieria, parlor palm, peace lily, sedum, zz plant

Posted on: Jan 9, 2021 Last updated on: May 30, 2021

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