I am thinking of decorating my cubicle with plants to make it feel less dreary and a little more alive/fresh, but I don't sit at a cube with access to a window. What sort of plants are good for cubicle-decorating? Decorating your cube with plants is a great way to liven up your work space. Nobody has ever been tricked into thinking they were in a Brazilian jungle by office plants but they're a great mood booster. Let's take a look at a couple things to consider before selecting plants.Lighting: You already noted that your cube doesn't have window access, but for other curious readers who may have more flexible lighting than you, we'll quickly highlight issues with lighting. Plants are usually denoted as full-sun, partial-sun, or shade plants. You can, roughly, translate those terms into placement relative to a window. Plants that require full sun do best right next to a window with excellent sun exposure, partial-sun plants can survive further from a window or by a window with weak sun exposure, and shade plants do well out of direct sunlight and even with nothing but light exposure from artificial light in your office.

Although it sounds straightforward, lighting can be a little tricky. While the sun is consistent—if you tell a local nursery worker that you have a spot in your yard that gets 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, it leaves little up for question—indoor lighting is highly variable. The number of bulbs, the distance from the fixtures, and so on, can greatly alter the quality of light your plant is receiving. Some offices leave lights on at night for security reasons or for night staff—if your office is this way, make sure to give your plant extra water and occasional supplementation by fertilizer as it is essentially working 24/7.Curtain Tie Back Hooks Black Coworker Considerations: Before you even start selecting plants you want to think about your coworkers. Pet Red Fox For Sale OhioPollen and mold allergies are commonplace, so you'll want to address those before you even purchase your plants. Best Selling Chess Books Of All Time

Photo by Anika Malone.It's very rare for indoor plants, especially those kept under the low-light of office conditions, to flower. Nonetheless, if you have coworkers with pollen allergies—and it's highly probable you do—you should either avoid flowering plants or snip off the flower buds as soon as they appear.You can do two things to virtually eliminate any mold issues that might crop up. If the plants you buy aren't already potted in indoor potting soil, you should re-pot them. Indoor potting soil is formulated for indoor use and is much more resistant to mold than outdoor potting soil. Additionally you should water plants deeply and thoroughly and then allow the soil to become fairly dry before watering again. Constantly damp soil without the exposure to the sunshine and wind it would be exposed to outdoors can lead to mold. It's a very small consideration in the grand scheme of things but if the worker in the cube next to yours has severe mold allergies you'll be doing them a huge favor.

The last co-worker consideration isn't health related but it is important. Will you be consistent in caring for your plants? If no plants in the work place is bad, dead plants are worse. Lining the top shelf of your cube with healthy plants gives everyone a welcome glimpse of nice green foliage. If you don't take care of them, however, you'll be showing off splotchy and wilted plants.Plant Selection: Now that we've got the basics out of the way, it's time to consider some plants. We're going to focus on shade-loving and shade-tolerant plants since your cubicle has no windows or sun exposure to speak of. The small sample of plants listed above can get you started. For further reading on office-friendly and low maintenance plants check out some of our previous plant-related articles like three plants for better indoor air, five hard to kill houseplants, low-hassle plant projects for your home or office, how to keep a house plant alive, and how to revitalize a near-dead houseplant.

Once you've read up on houseplant care and picked some shade-friendly plants you're interested in, hit up your local nursery and explain to the staff what you're looking for. They'll be more than helpful in finding you the right plants to thrive in your cube. One thing worth noting—thanks Todd!—is the value of buying native plants. Plants get left behind when people quit, get laid off, and so on and many times coworkers just toss them out. Invasive and non-native plants can make their way into the local ecosystem this way. If you're going to keep a non-native plant—and most if not all of the plants we suggested above are not native for our US readers—make sure to take them with you when you leave.Finally if you find that you need something even more chill than Ivy, try your hand at making an ultra-low maintenance moss terrarium. We hope that helps! When you find the perfect cube-mate, write back and tell us all about it. These houseplants are perfect for homes and offices with little or no natural sunlight.

Debbie and Mark Wolfe ©2011, Dorling Kindersley Limited Photo By: Image courtesy of Costa Farms Photo By: Photo by Lisa Steinkopf ©2008, Dorling Kindersley Limited Photo By: Photo by Felder Rushing Photo By: Image courtesy of Felder Rushing Have you been afraid to try growing houseplants in your home, or a particular room, because you think you don't have enough light? These fourteen plants thrive in low light conditions and are also easy to grow. If you are not sure what kind of light you have, consider this: A south-facing room with lots of windows has high light. Medium light would be in an east or west facing room, north-facing rooms, or rooms with no windows are considered low-light rooms. If your room has no windows, you should leave lights on twelve hours a day, or rotate low-light plants into the room for a few weeks at a time before moving them back to a naturally lit room. ZZ plant grows well in a dry environment and pushes the low-light limit to its extreme.

Snake plant performs well in dry spells and handles moderate to low light with ease. Staghorn fern performs well in high humidity locations, like bathrooms. In nature it grows in trees, and requires no soil and little moisture around its roots. It requires moderate light. English and Algerian ivys do well in low to moderate light. They should dry out between waterings. Pothos is a low light lover that makes a good entry point into growing houseplants. It handles a wide range of conditions and still performs well. Ideally it should have low to moderate light, and should dry out between waterings. Many ferns, including button, Autumn, rabbit's foot, maidenhair and more, are good options for low-light situations. Give them consistently moist soil and low to medium light. Dieffenbachia prefers a medium to low light area. Allow it to dry between waterings. Philodendron is a medium to low light houseplant that prefers to be kept dry between waterings. Some forms trail, or can easily be trained to a post or "totem."

Others have larger leaves and a bushy habit. Calathea, including the beloved prayer plant, grow well in medium to low light. They require consistent moisture for best performance. As a rule, the lower the light, the less frequently they will flower. Anthurium bloom in red, white or pink and rebloom well in medium to low light. Keep soil consistently moist. Rex begonias are grown for their colorful foliage, Keep them in medium to low light and allow them to get dry between waterings. This popular housewarming gift is often received growing in water only. It can remain that way, only change the water weekly. If you prefer, plant it in soil and keep it evenly moist. Low to medium light works well. Aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen, is an easy to grow foliage plant that performs well in low to medium light. Let it dry between waterings. Peace lily prefers moderate to low light and consistently moist soil. It reblooms several times a year, even with low light conditions.