Which type of house-plants grow best in dark conditions?

I am living in a ground-floor flat with windows that lead to a courtyard, therefore there is not much natural light.



Can anyone recommend which type of house-plant can survive these type of conditions? When I'm plant-shopping which things should I look out for? e.g. are there things I could look out for like waxy leaves etc.



When I am plant-shopping I always try to read the labels, and occasionally I get lucky and the label will say about recommended light-conditions, however most plants don't have labels or they're in a foreign language. At least in the shops that I go to :-)

Which type of house-plants grow best in dark conditions?
Try ivy, peace lily, and ferns. Have you asked the people in the shop to help? People who sell the plants usually know how to raise them.

Good Luck
Reply:I have a lovely euphorbia that needs almost no light. It's a Madagascar Jewel ladies ( Euphorbia leuconeura ) which hardly needs any water either. The stem holds water so it's difficult to kill. Leaves droop a bit to give you ample warning. It has an odd and interesting way of growing - a leaf appears on the top, grows and then flattens out on one of the five sides of the stem. It shoots seeds out, which germinate readily. See this site for a good picture:

http://www.flowersweb.info/upload/iblock...



The Dragon Tree and Peace Lilly are good (I have both). I've found the Peace Lilly actually needs a bit of stress to make it flower (stop watering for a bit). Both look good anywhere in the house.

http://www.flowers.org.uk/plants/caretip...



Ferns are good too. I had a "hen and chickens" fern which was fun too (has little mini ferns which grow on the big leaves)
Reply:You cant beat artifical, it meets all your conditions!
Reply:I'd like to second T-Bone's Sansevieria suggestion; I think Sansevieria trifasciata is what Jay Leno has behind his desk;



ficus benjamina can deal with a lot of shade, but may loose leafs.



ficus elastica also grows under these conditions, but more slowly than usual; and more vertical than usual.



Painted Nettle (solenostemon scutellarioides) tolerates dark conditions, but may be far less colouful than usual.
Reply:nocturnal plant are best
Reply:mushrooms.and they dont need much room ...he..he
Reply:Polka dot leafy one (can't remember the name)
Reply:To be honest I have never heard of any of these, but it does say they do well in shade.



http://www.houseofplants.co.uk/Plants_fo...
Reply:Sansevieria (snake plant) and Aspidistra (cast-iron plant) are the ultimate for very low light conditions. Can survive with only artificial light.



For locations with low to moderate light, english ivy, peace lily, benjamin fig, rubber fig, boston ferns, golden pothos, and aucuba (probably the "polka dot one" referred to above) will perform well.
Reply:I used to live in a basement suite in a city where it rained all the time. Talk about gloomy living conditions, but I had philadendrons, english ivy, a rubber tree plant and spider plants, and they all did amazingly well in low light. You could always Google low light houseplants, and see what they come up with. Good luck!