Unconditional Love

Some Fly Tips & Ideas for low light tolerant plants

They say that a true balance in life is on the mastering of the yin and yang energy. Many people see black, others see white, and many relish in the harmony of living in the grey area. Mother Nature is the queen of the grey area. Despite any type of condition on this planet, there appears to be a great multitude of diversity that can thrive for generations. In fact, the likely cause of a species losing its orbit in existence is man made. You see, it’s within our nature to impose ones view and impress upon another in order to feel fulfilled. It’s the adventure and conquering spirit that has been passed down from our ancestors. Even more so, it increased our probability of survival for the human race, even at the detriment of other living things. With the discussion of Global Warming rising to more than just a theory, it’s evident that we are on a downward spiral (if we don't act now) that is completely distancing humanity from the solid foundations of homeostasis brought to us by God that was designed for peaceful equilibrium.  It is not a mere coincidence that creatures breathe in oxygen, expel c02 and plants do the reverse. The proverbial “circle of life” exists in all aspects of your everyday being. 

Your dwelling, your office space, your home office space, your garden, your urban jungle, all bear resemblance and exist in the realm with the facets of planet earth. Some places receive ample (even excessive) light, some spaces mimic conditions that are under vast canopies, and low light is a continues battle. The good thing is that this isn’t between good and evil, it’s a battle that with some thoughtful planning, and maybe even some ingenuity, even a novice plant papa or plant mama can conquer it. 

The crux of the matter is first identifying your level of commitment. What can you fully commit to to ensure the longevity of an established homeostatic environment that can produce life in abundance or simply just maintain it? The answer would lay deeply within yourself, and you’ll be surprised at what is needed to get there. The common misconception is that all plants need a lot of sunlight, and is typically labor intensive to care for. The truth to all that, is almost completely opposite. Of course again, it all is fully dependent on your level of commitment. What if your commitment is limited to a dwelling that gets very little natural sunlight? Let’s dive in.

Let’s preface this by saying that many fly plant parents, researchers and scientist, or just plant enthusiast have successfully been able to maintain plants or gardens using artificial light for decades now. The hemp industry alone has modeled a landscape that truly transformed artificial settings, and has scaled the industry that can produce yields beyond our imagination. The topic we’ll be discussing here are Low Light Tolerant plants.  

First, we would identify a low light tolerant plant as one that could survive conditions in settings with indirect sunlight, or very little light at all. If you’ve got nice LED lights that you can place above them, or use to bathe them, you’ve already established a sense of your commitment. 

(For more care tips check out our TLC Care Tips page on our website) 

Here is a list of popular low light tolerant plants you can dig into, and that I think are fly! As a bonus, they’re also great for beginners!

Peace Lily
Snake Plant
Variegated Red Edge Peperomia
Watermelon Begonia
Heartleaf Philodendron
Swiss Cheese Plant

Again, low light tolerant plants in most cases are those that receive indirect sunlight. They’d rock and thrive the best in scenarios that place them a few feet away from a window.

If you have a north-facing window, you can place your plant between 1′ to 3′ away from the window. 

If you have an east or west-facing window, you can place your plant between 2′ to 10′ away from your window. 

If you have a south-facing window, you can place your plant between 15′ to 20′ away from your window.

But dang, some dwellings in places like New York, or San Fransisco don’t have the luxury of having any of these types of settings, and are faced with the complexity of providing artificial lighting. We would suggest that if you have a windowless room, you will need to invest in either an artificial grow light, or LED lighting above the plant to provide some sort of lighting to activate photosynthesis. Remember that word? Every 5th grade science class poured over that! Nothing has changed in nature, so it’s best to mimic some lighting when you can.  

Here are some insights to a couple of these plants.

The Peace Lily:

SPATHIPHYLLUM

The Peace Lily is a fly plant with deep green glossy leaves. It produces beautiful white spade-shaped flowers. The flowers last for a couple months. 

The Peace Lily is a super fly plant in low light and low water conditions. If it doesn’t get enough light, the plant will not die, but you’d run the risk of it not blooming.

If you’re wondering how often to water your Peace Lilies, just look at its leaves.

Are they droopy and visibly limp looking? That’s the classic signal that it’s time for some water. Once you water it, it will be back to its perky self within an hour or two.

They are however toxic to house pets! (see our Fly Pet Friendly options)

https://theflyplant.com/collections/pet-friendly-plants

The Snake Plant (Sansevieria)

SANSEVIERIA TRIFASCIATA

Snake Plants are fly plants with stiff, thick leaves that grow straight up from the soil. Often the leaves have yellow or white markings on them. Can a Snake Plant grow in low light conditions? Absolutely yes. We’ve got a bunch of the fly plant babies all over our apartment, and a huge one right next to my bed. They are also very popular for their natural air purification capabilities

Snake Plants can live in full sun or in low light, they will adapt to most lighting conditions! They are pretty resilient. I keep mine in the corner of my bedroom, away from the window, so it only ever gets indirect light. But I also have a fly snake plant I’ve named ASAP Ferg who literally grew up outside with direct sunlight for hours a day. Both of these plants are THRIVING! 

You should water your snake plant about once a month, which might even be a bit too frequent (snake plants will easily rot if overwatered!) 

They are however toxic to house pets! (see our Fly Pet Friendly options)

For a complete listing of all of our Fly Low Tolerant Light Pairings visit here:

Use Mirrors

Aside from making a space feel bigger and checking to see how fly you look, angling a mirror to reflect light helps brighten up dark sections of your space that would otherwise be dim. Not to throw any shade, but you could always use a bit of light to brighten up! If you don't have room to hang or lean a mirror, there are several companies offering high-tech solutions: Solenica’s “Caia” is a sleek, solar-powered machine that rests on any flat surface to direct real sunlight wherever you need it

Reimagine LED Lighting

Low-heat and energy efficient, LED lights can be extremely effective in helping your Fly Plants thrive (use blue light for foliage and red for flowering plants). At the FlyPlant headquarters in Los Angeles, we let our plants get overhead artificial light for 8–12 hours daily. Of course we had to wiggle in a bit of trial and error: weak stems and lighter leaves are a good indication that more exposure time is necessary. We set up an Alexa smart plug, plugged in our LED lights, and created a timer routine. On schedule daily, they turn on 8am and turn off at 5pm. If you got some smart home devices, these are some of the set it and forget home hacks we strongly suggest!

Utilize Hanging Planters or Shelving

So your space is fly, but you’re lacking on the floor space department. Small Plants can fit into a hanging planter and have the advantage of being able to get more customized lighting solutions. (See our planter straps on our Fly Merch and Tools section). As long as you can drill into your ceiling you good! If not, we would recommend getting ceiling anchors that you can get at any local hardware store or Home Depot. Floating shelves or book shelves are also creative options you can utilize in your Arsenal to customize your lighting options. Heck, in our place we even use foot stools to raise some of our heavier fly plants. 

Remember, life requires balance. Plants are the flyest way to bring balance into the place you spend most time in. It’s also the most natural home decor option in the world! Whether you’re living in a place that gets massive sunlight, or space where you’ll have to be creative with lighting, there are several options for you! With a bit of ingenuity and a deep understanding of your commitment levels, plants at any tolerance will love you. For you reap what you sow. They’ll love you unconditionally. You just gotta reciprocate the love! Stay safe and stay fly y’all!