Can we talk about how many houseplants actually survive in low light?

I keep seeing posts saying snake plants and pothos will thrive in a dark corner with no windows. That surprised me because I actually tested it last winter in my basement in Columbus. I put a snake plant in a spot that got maybe 2 hours of indirect light a day. After 4 months, it was pale and droopy, barely alive. I looked up the actual light requirements and found out most of those "low light" labels are just marketing. Even snake plants need medium indirect light to really grow. It made me wonder how many people think they're bad at plants when really they just got sold bad info. Has anyone else found a plant that actually shocked them with how much light it needs?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_nelson952d ago

My mom had a ZZ plant in a north facing room for like two years and it looked fine so I bought into the hype. Then I moved mine to a brighter bathroom after reading a Reddit thread and it put out new growth in a month that was darker and way more upright. That surprised me because I thought I was already giving it enough. Then I noticed my pothos was getting leggy in a corner I thought was bright enough but actually measured like 50 foot candles. I bought a cheap light meter and most of my house was around 20-30 foot candles at best. That changed how I see the whole low light thing now.

the_margaret1d ago

So @kelly_nelson95 did you end up moving more plants around after the light meter revealed the truth, or did you just focus on the ones that were already struggling? I'm curious because I have a snake plant that's been sitting in a dim corner for years and now I'm wondering if it's just surviving instead of thriving. My brain is telling me to grab one of those meters and start testing every spot in my house too.