House plants for shade

By Ralph E. Mitchell

Look in any garden center and generally you will find a large supply of house plants selected for their colorful and interesting foliage. While some of these house plants are suitable for planting outside in warmer areas, most are best kept containerized and indoors or at least on a protected lanai. Indoor climates have their own challenges which often include low-light conditions that some plants do not enjoy. However, there are a number of good house plants that are well known for adapting to and thriving in shaded indoor conditions.

A house plant with the common name of Chinese Evergreen is a very popular and readily available house plant. With lance-shaped, oblong leaves ranging in color from dark green to eye-catching gray or grayish-silver, the Chinese Evergreen is a leading foliage plant. Individual plants will grow up to three foot wide and three foot tall and will take low-light conditions that many other tropical house plants cannot tolerate. Plant your Chinese Evergreens in sterile potting medium that is slightly moist, but not wet as root rot can occur. Besides the deep green variety, there are variegated forms such as Silver Queen and Silver King that sport grey and silvery colors. Be careful of outdoor plantings as too much sun can burn the foliage and temperatures below forty-five degrees F will also cause foliage injury.

Another shade-loving plant to consider is called the Cast Iron plant. With a name like Cast Iron, you just know that it will be a tough and durable house plant! The Cast Iron plant is not only shade-loving, but is also very hardy and can be planted in pots or outdoors with equal success. Growing to two feet tall and two feet wide, this plant forms clumps of dark green textured leaves. There is a variegated form which is striped green and white and maintains its color best in poor soils. One cultivar, Milky Way, which has green leaves with white speckles, is a Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) 2006 Florida Plant of the Year.

Dumb cane is another popular house plant that makes an ideal subject for shady areas. Dumb cane, or dieffenbachia, has large oval leaves colorfully variegated with spots, splotches and various attractive patterns. These leaves grow on six-foot tall cane-like stalks. Although attractive, this house plant is toxic and is called dumb cane because its accidental ingestion will temporarily paralyze vocal cords.

One last house plant that I thought I should add is the False Aralia. Widely available, this plant has interesting foliage that is botanically described as palmately compound which looks like an arrangement of up to ten thin finger-like leaflets that become broader with age. With pruning, False Aralia will actually develop into a small tree that can be kept at around six-feet tall. Doing best in light shade, the new foliage is coppery colored which matures into a dark grayish green to purplish-red color. All of these houseplants are generally pest-free and are very sustainable in most homes. You should be able to get small as well as larger specimens of these durable plants in almost all garden centers. For more information on all types of house plants, please contact our Master Gardeners on the Plant Lifeline at 764-4340 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Our office is located at 25550 Harborview Road, Suite 3 in Port Charlotte. Our Plant Clinics are available across the county: Demonstration Garden every Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. Englewood/Charlotte Public Library 9 a.m. to noon every Monday. Mid County Regional Library first and third Thursday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. Monthly Plant Clinics are Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the following locations: Cape Haze Publix first Saturday of the month; Peachland Promenades Publix ‹ second Saturday of the month; Home Depot Murdock and Home Depot Punta Gorda the third Saturday of the month Ralph Mitchell is the county extension director/horticulture agent for the Charlotte County Cooperative Extension Service. You may contact him by e-mail [email protected] You may also contact a volunteer Master Gardener from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 764-4340 or by e-mail [email protected]

Resources:

Gilman, E. F. (1999) Aglaonema modestrum. The University of Florida Extension Service/IFAS.

Gilman, E. F. (1999) Aglaonema commutatum. The University of Florida Extension Service/IFAS.

Gilman, E. F. (1999) Dieffenbachia maculate 'Rudolf Roehrs'. The University of Florida Extension Service/IFAS.

Gilman, E. F. (1999) Dizygotheca elegantissima. The University of Florida Extension Service/IFAS.

Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA) (2006) Florida Plants of the Year.