Plants for a basement office (no windows)

Washington, DC(Zone 6b)

Are there plants that can live with absolutely no sunlight? I am going to be working in an office in a basement in the fall. It has flourescent lights and no windows. It would be nice to have a plant or two there with me.

If there's such a thing as a cheap grow lamp, that would widen my options considerably.

Thanks for any advice,

Ruth

(Zone 1)

Ruth, there are quite a number of plants that will do well in low light situations. Here's a link that names a few:

http://www.mygardenguide.com/pdf/11%20Low-light%20Loving%20Foliage%20Plants.pdf

Emporia, KS(Zone 5b)

Ruth, no plant can live totally without light. However, most houseplants thrive under fluorescent lights. ; D You don't know how jealous some people will be of your setup! lol

Pretty much anything you see at Walmart in the houseplant section will work. ; D

Taft, TX(Zone 9a)

My choice would be a big peace plant for a large one......then for a couple of small ones, I would get the regular pothos or ivy....the less variegated, the easier to grow in low light situtations.....also the small Fittonias' that you can pick up at Lowe's or Walmart...grow well in low light....their foliage is great...either in the pinks and reds or the greens and whites...
Happy Office gardening
gail

Poughkeepsie, NY(Zone 6a)

Peace lily
ZZ plant
Pothos
Chinese evergreen

Taft, TX(Zone 9a)

I am not disputing your choice tommyr, but my ZZ plant stays in a south window and seems to need a lot of light?????
I find that all variegated leaves like the Chinese Evergreen also need more light than most......
gail

Poughkeepsie, NY(Zone 6a)

Gail,
ZZ plants can take really low light. I have 2 that get light from a north window. I've had them for 2 years now. They throw up a new spike or 2 each year . They WILL take more light of coarse but do fine in low light settings.

Tom

Washington, DC(Zone 6b)

Thanks, everybody. That's too bad about the variegated leaves--I love them. What about a prayer plant? I had one before, and it seemed to lose its variegated colors when it got too much light, so I would hope it would be colorful in the unnatural light.

cjolene, unbelievably perhaps, I don't live anywhere near a Walmart. Land is too expensive here in DC and in its inner suburbs. We do have a Home Depot downtown, though. I expect their offerings are about the same as Lowe's.

I'm moving into the office in the fall, so I have plenty of time to contemplate my options.

Ruth

Taft, TX(Zone 9a)

A prayer plant is an awesome idea......Marantha (I think they care called)......Ask someone else about the variegated pothos....Queen is the prettiest one with the variegation.....look in the plant files under pothos....I may not know what I am talking about????(LOL)

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