10+ Best Indoor Trees for Low Light

Did you know some indoor plants or trees are more accustomed to low light conditions by developing large leaves that photosynthesize with less light?

These low-light trees require bright indirect light from the window, so don’t misjudge them with entire negligence. 

12 Best Low Light Indoor Trees

Low-light indoor trees boast deep green or dark coloration that absorbs as much light as possible.

The leaves contain pores or stomata that open at night to absorb more carbon dioxide. Some plants develop storage organs that allow them to store water and nutrients for gradual consumption.

Therefore, be careful about choosing the best indoor trees that are easy to keep alive in low light.

1. Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)

Although Weeping Fig can survive low-light conditions, it needs a full day of bright, indirect sunlight to produce bushier green leaves and an upright structure.

You can alternate Weeping Fig between bright light for at least 6 hours a day in spring and summer and move it to low-light areas in fall and winter.

Weeping Figs are fussier members of the Ficus family but often make an adorable indoor plant best grown in the east, south, or west-facing window.

• Features: It has glossy, oval-shaped leaves with pointy ends and droopy branches that give it a weeping appearance.
• Leaf: It boasts typically dark green leaves, with some variegated varieties displaying white/yellow edges.
• Size: It grows up to 10 feet tall and spreads 3-6 feet wide indoors.
• Water Requirement: Allow the soil to dry out slightly between watering, usually 10-12 days, and avoid overwatering at all costs.
• Nutritional Requirement: Fertilize every 2-3 months with a balanced fertilizer in spring and summer.

2. Rubber Plant (Ficus Elastica)

The Rubber plants need low to medium indirect sunlight the whole day to ensure healthy growth.

These laid-back tropical plants will survive in lower light without much trouble after getting slightly established.

Therefore, ensure to keep them in bright indirect light for 6-8 hours a day when they are still young to boost their growth.

• Features: It boasts large, glossy oval-shaped leaves with dark textures and sturdy stems that exude toxic milky sap to pets and children.
• Leaf: The leaves are typically dark green, although some varieties have variegated leaves with white, yellow, or pink accents.
• Size: It grows 6-10 feet tall and spreads 3-6 feet wide indoors.
• Water Requirement: Allow the soil to dry out slightly between watering, usually 10-12 days, and avoid overwatering at all costs.
• Nutritional Requirement: Fertilize every 2-3 months with a balanced fertilizer in spring and summer.

The variegated Rubber tree varieties, including Ficus elastica Tineke and Ficus elastica Ruby need more light to save their color. 

3. Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus Lyrata)

Fiddle Leaf Fig is a low-maintenance plant that works well in various conditions, including low-light corners and north- or east-facing windows.

However, avoid direct sunlight and provide medium to bright indirect sunlight at least 6 hours a day in spring and summer for healthy leafing.

• Features: Fiddle-leaf fig displays huge, heavily veined leaves that grow upright and thick, sturdy branches. 
• Leaf: The leaves are violin-shaped, typically dark green and glossy, with prominent veins.
• Size: They are fast growers, quickly reaching 6 feet or more.
• Water Requirement: Allow the soil to dry out slightly between watering, usually 7-10 days, or when the top inch of soil feels dry.
• Nutritional Requirement: Fertilize fiddle leaf fig with 3-1-2 fertilizer diluted to half strength once a week or every two weeks in the growing seasons.

4. Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea Elegans)

Parlor Palms are one of the popular indoor trees first grown in the Victorian era as ornamental plants.

These survivors do well in low to medium lighting throughout the day, but will only remain small in size and structure.

Getting bright lighting for 5 hours daily by keeping Parlor Palms near the south or west-facing window will help boost foliage and stem growth. 

Today, they are widely found in many households mainly because these tropical plants are easy to care for.

• Features: Parlor Palm is known for the delicate, feather-like fronds that grow from a central trunk, giving a dense, bushier appearance.
• Leaf: The leaves are typically dark green and have a fern-like appearance.
• Size: Indoor-grown parlor palms will reach 4-6 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide.
• Water Requirement: It enjoys weekly watering in the growing season but allows the soil to dry out slightly between watering.
• Nutritional Requirement: It does not require a lot of plant food. Fertilize once or twice a year with a balanced fertilizer.

Parlor palm is an excellent addition to bedrooms and living rooms as it effectively cleanses indoor air toxins.

5. Dragon Tree (Dracaena Draco)

Dragon trees are quite sturdy houseplants known for their hard-to-kill nature, making perfect newbie plants.

They prefer bright indirect light for 4-6 hours a day, though it can adjust to medium to low light levels, such as in the east-facing window.

The only thing dragon trees would not tolerate is cold and dry air or direct sunlight.

• Features: The dragon tree displays sword-shaped green leaves with colorful edges from a central stem or cane.
• Leaf: The mature leaves reach 35 inches long and 3 inches wide with deep green shade and red edges.
• Size: It can grow up to 6-8 feet tall indoors and even taller outdoors.
• Water Requirement: Water the plant when the top inch of soil feels dry, usually 7-10 days in the growing season.
• Nutritional Requirement: Fertilize them once or twice monthly in the growing season with a balanced fertilizer.

6. Dwarf Banana (Dwarf Cavendish)

The Dwarf Banana plant is a miniature tree growing quite well indoors. However, it is not a banana tree with stunted growth but got its name because of its short stalk.

Unlike its name, it is a quick grower and may engulf the container quickly.

Dwarf Bananas love to grow under direct sunlight for 10-12 hours a day, such as near a south-facing window or patio.

Although it can survive in low light, the leafing and fruiting will not be as significant.

• Features: Dwarf Banana looks like a miniature banana tree with large, glossy leaves and small edible bananas about 4-6 inches long.
• Leaf: Their leaves reach a length of about 4 feet and display glossy green color.
• Size: It grows up to 6 feet tall when grown indoors.
• Water Requirement: Keep the soil moist at all times by deep watering once a week in the growing season.
• Nutritional Requirement: Feed the plant monthly with diluted organic mulch or liquid fertilizer (8-10-8) in the growing season. Use 65-75% strength fertilizer for young plants.

Repot young pups 2-3 times in the first year and reduce repotting to once a year afterward.

7. Kentia Palm (Howea Forsteriana)

A slow-growing plant, Kentia Palm is well-known for its ability to tolerate low-light conditions.

Kentia Palm thrives in low light conditions but usually prefers medium to bright light, such as near west- or south-facing window, for at least 5 hours daily.

Alternatively, you can keep these plants under LED grow light for at least 8 hours daily to ensure healthy growth.

Moreover, the palm-shaped deep green leaves effectively purify indoor air, removing harmful toxins such as formaldehyde and benzene.

• Features: It has a tall, slender trunk with long, arching fronds that can grow up to 10 feet long.
• Leaf: The kentia palm fronds are dark green and have a feather, delicate appearance.
• Size: The plant grows up to 6-7 feet tall indoors.
• Water Requirement: They enjoy weekly watering in the growing season but allow the soil to dry out between watering slightly.
• Nutritional Requirement: Fertilize your palm with standard houseplant fertilizer diluted to half-strength monthly in spring and summer.

8. Lady Palm (Rhapis Excelsa)

The Lady Palm is native to southeastern Asia and has been cultivated as an ornamental plant for centuries.

It is another favorite indoor tree that thrives in bright indirect light and medium light.

You can keep them near the east, north, or west-facing window as the ornamental plant without worrying about getting bright indirect sunlight.

• Features: Human-sized trees display shiny, green bushier fronds that spread quite wide. Grow them in pairs to give a mini-jungle appearance.
• Leaf: It has fan-shaped leaves that are dark green in color and grow in a circular pattern around the stem.
• Size: A mature lady’s palm reaches about 6-8 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide when grown indoors.
• Water Requirement: They are drought-tolerant but enjoy regular watering, usually 10-15 days in the growing season.
• Nutritional Requirement: Feed them monthly with liquid houseplant fertilizer around April to September.

You can also locate Lady Palm in wall corners, libraries, or indoor mini-jungles.

9. Money Tree (Pachira Aquatica)

The Money Tree is a tropical evergreen tree native to Central and South American forests, often grown in the home and office to bring good luck.

Remember to practice braiding multiple stems into one to give it a signature braided appearance and provide bright indirect sunlight for 6-8 hours a day to witness taller growth.

• Features: The plant has a distinctive braided trunk, foot-long glossy leaves, and petite white flowers that develop into edible nuts.
• Size: The money tree grows up to 60 feet in its natural habitat, but hardly reaches 6-8 feet tall indoors.
• Leaf: The large, glossy, dark green leaves are oval or oblong and grow 12 inches long.
• Water requirement: Let the soil dry around 50-75% between watering sessions, usually every 1-3 weeks.
• Nutritional requirement: Money Tree requires well-balanced NPK fertilizer diluted to half strength monthly in spring and summer.

10. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria Heterophylla)

Native to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific, this plant was first introduced to Europe in the 18th century.

Norfolk Island Pine makes a perfect indoor tree that grows in low to bright light conditions. 

However, provide them with full direct sunlight whenever possible to ensure healthy growth. A few hours of sunlight from the south-facing window will work.

• Features: It has a distinctive pyramidal shape and horizontal branches, making it a perfect Christmas tree.
• Leaf: The leaves are dark green and shiny and typically grow 1-2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide.
• Size: Although it grows up to 200 feet tall in its native habitat, it typically reaches a height of 6-10 feet indoors.
• Water requirement: It prefers moist soil but is soggy, so better water them every 10-14 days.
• Nutritional requirement: It benefits from occasional feeding during the growing season with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer.

Never prune the Norfolk Island Pine until lower branches die as the tree needs not to be shaped. 

11. Umbrella Tree (Schefflera Arboricola)

The Umbrella tree, also known as the dwarf umbrella, is native to Taiwan and Hainan, where it is often grown indoors for its attractive appearance.

Although they do best in bright, indirect light, they usually require direct indoor sunlight for a few hours daily. They are best kept near south-or west-facing windows.

You can choose from different varieties, including Green Gold, Gold Capella, and Dazzle, which make excellent home decor additions.

• Features: It has a distinctive umbrella-like appearance, with multiple stems from a single trunk and long, glossy green leaves radiating from the stem.
• Leaf: The leaves are dark green and glossy, typically reaching 4-6 inches long and 2-4 inches wide.
• Size: It grows up to 8-10 feet tall in its native habitat but only attains a height of 3-6 feet indoors.
• Water requirement: It prefers moist soil and requires watering at regular intervals, usually 10-15 days.
• Nutritional requirement: It benefits from monthly feeding during the growing season with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer.

12. Corn Plant (Dracaena Fragrans)

Also called ‘fake palm,’ Corn plants have been popular since the mid-1800s in Europe, making them ornamental plants with many benefits.

Corn plants should be your primary consideration for low-light conditions as they manage well in shaded locations.

Moreover, they do well in the shade throughout the day and enjoy sitting in low to medium-lit areas like the east and west-facing windows.

• Features: It displays a distinctive rosette of long, narrow leaves arranged spirally around the stem. Sometimes, it also produces fragrant white flowers.
• Leaf: The leaves are dark green with yellow stripes and typically range 2-3 feet long and 2-4 inches wide.
• Size: It can grow up to 4-6 feet indoors.
• Water requirement: The plant prefers evenly moist soil at all times; hence, water them every 7-10 days in the growing season.
• Nutritional requirement: Fertilize them every two weeks in spring and summer with the diluted solution of 10-10-10 liquid fertilizer.

The different parts of corn plants are toxic to small pets and children; hence, you should create a barrier in-between.