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Low light houseplants that are mildly toxic at most?

10 years ago

What are some? I don't want any low light plants that are more toxic than a Chinese Evergreen because I have cats. I also already have a Chinese Evergreen and a Peace Lily.

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Comments (9)

plantomaniac08
10 years ago
Hmm, well, unless I'm mistaken, ZZ Plants and Pothos are in the same family as Peace Lilies, so their toxicity would I'd assume, be the same.

Planto
CactusBoss
Original Author
10 years ago
Haha I also have a ZZ
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Reality, most of those areas are likely unsuitable for the vast majority of plants without supplementary lighting. Other plants may survive but not thrive. "Eyeing it" is a notoriously crappy method for determining light quality for plants. The issue, simply put, is that the amount of light needed for our eyes to see by is FAR less than the amount required by plants for photosynthesis. So, no, just because an area LOOKS bright to our eyes, does not mean it is bright enough from a plant's viewpoint. A simple, rough way to estimate whether an area is bright, medium, or low light: *Bright -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts a dark, sharp-edged shadow on the plant. *Medium -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts a lighter, soft/blurry-edged shadow on the plant. *Low -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts no discernible shadow on the plant. Because this last one covers such a broad category, the risk of low being too low even for a "low light plant" is very real. Keep in mind the above is just for a rough estimate. The only accurate method for determining light intensity is with a light meter. Also there is the issue of light spectrum. Color spectrum and Kelvin ratings (color temperature) are used to determine plant quality lighting. Incandescent lights for example are not suitable for plants -- their color spectrum is not a good match for a plant's needs. (Also they give off a great deal of heat.) I'll let the more learned cover that . As far as distance is concerned, the further from the light source, the weaker the light. Light follows an inverse square law. So a plant that is 2 feet from the light source, only receives 1/4 the light as a plant that is right by the source. A plant that is 4 feet away only receives 1/16 the amount of light. Put simply, light intensity falls off to useless levels very quickly. Plant-wise your selections for non-window areas will likely be extremely limited. Consider the plants one sees in a mall. Typically the only things one sees are pothos, peace lilies, or Sanseveria. These plants can survive very low light but they do not THRIVE under such conditions. Furthermore, what the average person does not realize, is that any said mall plants that begin to fail are quickly replace with new plants by the florist/nursery which maintains the plants for the mall. Doing so maintains the illusion that the plants are doing well there.
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I love shelves like that too! Hanging pots can help with cramming, and combining plants that would have been sitting adjacent in the exact same conditions. A good way to ease into combo pots, see if you like them, is to sit small pots on the surface of bigger pots. If you decide you like looking at them together, and they really do all like the spot where they are, you can eliminate those smaller pots & put the little plants right in with the bigger one. Putting a shelf unit right in a window can be an option too, if you don't mind that it blocks most of the light for people.
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I doubt that the low light is what caused the African violet to die so quickly. Chances are that it was rot from overwatering or a temperature problem (too hot/too cold). My experience is african violets are very tricky to water correctly unless you grow them on a wick or (my preference) as a semi-hydroponic plant. I could never get them to thrive when I tried to grow them in soil. In my experience, african violets can flower even in a north-facing window, so I think they are pretty tolerant of low light. Even if it was too dark for them, though, they would grow spindly weak growth for a long time before actually dying of the light deprivation. I do believe it is true that orchids are non-toxic. I've never heard of an orchid that was poisonous. Sansevieria is a plant that, in MY EXPERIENCE, tends not to be appealing to cats (my two cats love chomping on grassy foliage and have mowed down a spider plant to nubs more than once, but ignore my Sansevierias) but if they DID decide to eat it then it would definitely be very bad. I personally am comfortable growing sans around my cats since they have never tried to bother mine, but some people might prefer not to even take the risk.
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Based on your description, I suspect that spot isn't "medium light" at all. What have you used as your method to ascertain the light in that spot? Many folks make the mistake of assuming that because a light "looks pretty bright" to them that they have bright light. "Eyeing it" is a notoriously crappy method for determining light quality for plants. The issue, simply put, is that the amount of light needed for our eyes to see by is FAR less than the amount required by plants for photosynthesis. So, no, just because an area LOOKS bright to our eyes, does not mean it is bright enough from a plant's viewpoint. The best way to determine the light in that area is with a light meter. But in lieu of that ... a simple, rough way to estimate whether an area is bright, medium, or low light is to place a sheet of white paper on the plant or area and: *Bright -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts a dark, sharp-edged shadow on the plant/paper. *Medium -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts a lighter, soft/blurry-edged shadow on the plant. *Low -- hand placed a foot above the plant between the plant and the light source casts no discernible shadow on the plant. Because this last one covers such a broad category, the risk of low being too low even for a "low light plant" is very real. Keep in mind the above is just for a rough estimate. The only accurate method for determining light intensity is with a light meter. Also there is the issue of light spectrum. Color spectrum and Kelvin ratings (color temperature) are used to determine plant quality lighting. Incandescent lights for example are not suitable for plants -- their color spectrum is not a good match for a plant's needs. (Also they give off a great deal of heat.) I'll let the more learned cover that . As far as distance is concerned, the further from the light source, the weaker the light. Light follows an inverse square law. So a plant that is 2 feet from the light source, only receives 1/4 the light as a plant that is right by the source. A plant that is 4 feet away only receives 1/16 the amount of light. Put simply, light intensity falls off to useless levels very quickly.
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plantomaniac08
10 years ago
Oops. GW gave me an error when I submitted my message, I didn't think it took. Do you have a Pothos or a Philodendron in that case?

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 21:21
sradleye
10 years ago
pothos, snake plant, arrowhead vines, umbrella trees. im not sure about toxicity but I have kept all these in low light situations and my cats have left them alone. particularly fond of the arrowhead vines (syngonium podophyllum) which are new to me, but seem easy and kind of have an exotic look to them. with some reds and pinks thrown in there as well.
CactusBoss
Original Author
10 years ago
planto, I do not. I also want to mention that I want plants that can handle 40% relative humidity or less.
plantomaniac08
10 years ago
I don't worry about humidity for my PL, ZZ, or Pothos and they're all happy. I'm sure that being said, the aforementioned plants (arrowhead vine, snakeplant, pothos), would do fine in your humidity (or lack thereof).

Planto
BronwynH
10 years ago
I also have cats and low through filtered direct light. In my low light areas I have peperomia and a prayer plant and I am looking for a cast iron plant and a parlour palm. All of these are low-light and non-toxic to cats. I do mist the prayer plant and peperomia daily. Another low-light plant that does not show up on any of the 'toxic' lists, but which I can't confirm to be non-toxic is a money tree.

Spider plants are also non-toxic and do well in moderate light (I don't know if you have this). Another non-toxic plant is wandering jew, although it can cause skin irritations in humans and requires bright light and misting. (I have both).

Some of the plants mentioned: pothos, ZZ, snake plant,
arrowhead vine, peace lily, umbrella trees, philodenderon, and chinese evergreen are all toxic to cats. I've heard that one should be especially careful with peace lilies (and lilies of all kinds) and philodenderon as they can both kill a cat in quantities cats are likely to ingest. I can't confirm where I heard that warning, although it may have been from my vet after my dh's cat ate a 4' dracaena leaving only the main stem (she was fine, just pukey for a few days).

Some websites that helped me in this regard were:

http://wilderquarterly.com/the-best-5-houseplants-for-beginners-low-light-apartments/

http://paulsplants.blogspot.ca/2011/12/low-light-houseplants.html

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

http://www.cfa.org/CatCare/HouseholdHazards/ToxicPlants.aspx
CactusBoss
Original Author
10 years ago
BronwynH, My Peace Lily and Chinese Evergreen are in a spot where my cats can't get to. And the Prayer Plant seems to be too much of hassle from what I've heard. Also, I have never ever seen my cats chew on my non- toxic plants so if the plant is only mildly toxic I can deal with that. I'm also gonna put the plant in a high up spot. I just don't want anything that's as toxic as a sago palm. Are cardboard palms very toxic?
BronwynH
10 years ago
I'm not familiar with the cardboard palm. Maybe the ASPCA list or CFA list can help you with that. The ASPCA list is most comprehensive and even gives you symptoms to look out for. (I posted the links above).

Can I just say how lucky you are that your cats seem disinterested in your plants! My female cat is obsessed with eating almost any plant she can reach. Like you, I have a variety of toxic plants which are, theoretically, out of reach from my cats: english ivy, dipladenia, geranium, and a rubber plant. In the past I also had ficus, pothos and dracaena. Sheba, the plant obsessed cat, has nibbled on all but the geranium and dipladenia at some point (usually only seasonally when she sneaks onto the balcony where they summer), but the worst I've had to deal with is a bit of vomit. I just wanted to be sure you knew they were toxic.

I have a prayer plant and haven't found it to be too finicky. In the mornings (after I feed the cats, dog and fish) I check it's moisture level and mist it. Other than that I just let it do it's thing. It seems happy and has grown significantly and even blossoms fairly regularly. Mind you I've only had it for a few months. So I could just be lucky or heading for disaster and not know it yet. I will say that it's been doing so well I'm tempted to get a second.

Good luck in finding some low light plants that work for you and your cats!

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