What are some plants and herbs I can grow indoors in my little apt. and that requires very little sun?
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Akua (
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January 27th, 2011
I have always loved plants and I would like to start some indoor gardening. My problem is that my apt. is small and I have very little light. I need some advice on what plants, herbs and trees that I can raise indoors that will grow nicely with low light. Also does anyone know about fruit bearing plants that will grow indoors? And how can I keep my cat from eating my plants?
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9 Answers
African violets are low-light loving.
Not much in the way of herbs. Most culinary herbs prefer a Mediterranean climate, which includes a lot of light.
Do you have a window ledge? Or a fire escape? If so, you could try parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary.
You will not find any indoor fruit-bearing plants. Most are sun-loving.
Parsley seems to do better in low light, from my experience. I have a Yucci plant, which is tropical looking – it hardly ever needs water, and seems impossible to kill. It is very hardy looking, and ‘tree like’. Could be a good one to look into. I also have an orchid. I do keep this one in the window, but it is also thriving.
My zz plant is the easiest plant I’ve ever kept, and seems to be perfectly happy on just about no light at all!
If you are just wanting decorative plants rather than culinary herbs, there are many tropical that are well adapted for low light conditions. These species evolved to grow on the forest floor where sunlight is scarce. As a plus, many of them are very exotic looking as well.
Go to your local garden center and ask them to show you some low light tropicals.
Basil and oregano may not be robust but will grow in partial sun on a window sill. So worth trying.
I’ve had luck in my kitchen window box with sage and chives, particularly the chives. The parsley didn’t do especially well and while it’s still growing, it grows too slowly to be of any actual culinary use. I got one good harvest from my stevia, but it got sick and died; after putting forth a new shoot, a cold snap hit and the coolness from the window was enough to strike it dead.
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I haven’t had much luck with herbs in low light, but the snake plant or “mother in law tongue” plant doesn’t need much light or water.
I have heart-leafed philodendrums that thrive in low-light and/or florescent lighting. I don’t know of any herbs that do well without a lot of sunshine. Aloe vera plants do well without direct sun, but need a certain amount of light. These are handy to have around, being known for its healing properties on burns and sunburn.
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