Sanseviera also needs some light - every live plant does, and I don't think fluorescents alone will do the job, certainly not ones on the ceiling of an office.

All plants need some light, but it doesn't necessarily have to be natural light. Dieffenbachia is best off in filtered sun or bright indirect, though it's possible for one to get by with less for shortish periods of time (say a month or two). It doesn't have to be a total loss; you could still keep the plant in the office for a while, as long as there's a brighter spot at home for you to move it to if and when it starts to go downhill. And it's possible, depending on the office in question, that it might be able to adapt.

I'd say try it, and if the plant tells you it's not happy with that setup (small new growth, reduced variegation, staying wet for long periods after watering) then you can always take it out. Alternately, if you can get hold of a supplemental (fluorescent!) light that can be directed at the plant, or put some mirrors near the plant, you might be able to give it enough of a boost that it will be able to make it.

It's not likely to be the ideal situation, but that only really matters if you were looking for something you could keep in the same spot for a long time (in which case I would recommend an Aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen: they have a similar big-oval-leaf look, and do well without a lot of light or humidity). If you're willing to bring in new plants from time to time, and rotate out the old ones, it's totally doable.

The important thing is not to panic. They can smell fear, you know.

Thank you for the replies so far.

Would moving it to an office with windows for the weekends help?

Most likely, yes. Up close to a south window might not be the best idea (too much light can cause problems just like not enough light can), but any other exposure should be good as long as the plant is far enough away from the window that the leaves don't get chilled.

Mr Sub, I agree with you 99.9% of the time, but I have to disagree w/you on this issue.
Dieffs need sun. I don't know where Blutarski lives, but if he/she has a window to place any plant on the wkend, I'd do it..Personally, I wouldnt keep a plant in an office w/o natural light..It's done, but eventually plants become weak stemmed, leggy and/or lose leaves..
I feel the same about Aglaonema..I find Aglaeo's do best in at the minimum, medium light. Plus, both plants require humidity, and most office environments are dry. Both summer and winter..summer/ac...winter/heat
Sans can thrive in low light, but need some natural sun. All plants, tropicals/sux, etc, need sunlight.
When I worked at Rentokil Tropical Plants, one of their biggest money makers were renting/selling plants to malls, offices, etc..Some places had both windows and lighting, but after a time, even w/techs watering, etc, plants didn't grow like they would in a higher humidity, circulating air location.
Please don't take offense Mr. Sub..I still love you, think you're hilarius and very talented.

Blut, never trust tags that come w/plants..For one, customers remove them to read then stick them in the wrong plant. Depending on the nursery, most tags print generic instructions. Like the Dieff label stating it's a low light plant..NOT.
Do you know which direction the window faces? If it happens to be south, and if sun blazes in during summer months, set a few feet away from the window,..Toni

IMO, one can keep a sanseveria or an aglaonema, or a pothos for that matter, going for at least a couple of years in only artificial light. In a brightly lit office, they can do quite well with no natural light at all. In a dimmer office, it's not ideal, but it's doable with careful attention to watering (as in, not very much water). And I don't find them fussy about humidity. Of course, the plants WOULD prefer a greenhouse and real sun and air circulation, but if you're stuck in an office and want plants there, and are willing to replace them every couple of years as needed (hey, plants are cheap!), I say go for it!

BTW, I'm too lazy to keep moving plants around. It's a good idea if you want to be bothered, but I prefer to make them make do where they are.

And I don't know why the plant growers insist on selling dieffs as a low light plant! They are not!! Now, they won't like sitting in blazing sun, either, but in low light, they get tall and floppy pretty quickly.

Don't believe the tags. Go to mr. s's plant finder and get a list of plants that suit your conditions and take that with you when you go shopping.

How can I take offense? We don't disagree, at least not mostly. I'm just saying that the plant can handle a few months of low light if it really has to without dying, and when it looks like it's unhappy then it's time to bring it home and give it a brighter spot.

That said, there's still an outside chance it'd be fine for more than a few months, especially if there's supplemental lighting. I certainly never promised that it would grow like it would in a greenhouse, just that it's unlikely to turn brown and crumbly the second it crosses the threshold into the office.

We do actually disagree on two points:

1) Aglaonema needing humidity. I've never known them to complain about it, and I think it would be difficult to get the air dry enough that they would have a problem. I think you're underestimating them.

2) "All plants need sunlight." We've been over this one before, and I posted a big list of all the plants I'd grown just fine without natural light. A photon is a photon: the plants don't know or care where it comes from, so long as it's getting enough of them in the wavelengths it needs.

Outside of those two things, I don't think we're disagreeing. I'm just thinking about this particular plant being in this particular spot for a much shorter time than you are.

Mr. Sub..good, I'm glad you're not angry w/me..(S)
The reason I said Aglao's need humidity is, I had one several yrs back..It did okay, but IMO thought it should look a LOT better than it did..I placed it next to a fountain/waterfall..the area is quite humid. (Calatheas grow on the same table). The next thing I knew, flowers followed by green berrys spouted in fall..

We do what works best for us...Toni

Maybe I'm lucky, but I have grown diefs in my office before and have had pretty healthy looking plants. Sure, they need to be misted because of the dry winter air, but they do real well with only artificial light (just not dim light). In fact, I bought one this weekend to set at my desk- hope the boss doesn't notice another on got in :) Right now I have a Norfolk Island Pine and Lime Draceana which get quite a few comments!

I don't think ags are fussy about humidity either. As long as they aren't in really low light, they will bloom in the fall and sporadically at other times. But again, I'm sure they would PREFER some nice humidity. (Kind of like I'd be a lot healthier and better looking if I slept more, ate healthier food, and lost a few more pounds!)

;)

For what it's worth - I worked in a cubicle area for a year and a half, back in an area where there wasn't really any natural light - just the overhead flourescents, which were on from 6:30 AM - 8:3O PM. My dieffie thrived under those conditions, but didn't survive being brought home. Same for a small peace lily. I also have a calathea that lived happily in my cubicle for over a year, didn't like coming home with me but eventually adjusted. (Yes, a calathea. In a cubicle.And happy. Go figure... :)

I don't think you can just move a plant to better light...for a indefinite span of time and hope from such increase of light, it will then stand up to lower light.
The plant will just starve itself a bit less quickly.

Blutarsky, you have been suggested to either put your Deif into a better light situation or take it home and give it better light than at the office.
Fluorescent lights way up on a ceiling cannot possibly give the needed light to some plants....most plants.
But indeed, there are others that can stand up to low light situation.
Low light doesn't mean no light. So where the light may have difficulty reaching the plant sufficiently, then make it happen...raise it by either hanging from a ceiling, putting it on a pedestal or step-ladder...anything to get it closer.

Forget flowering plants. They need more light...not less.

Ficus lyrata doesn't need a large pot, its roots will feed it strongly and best of all, does well in low light.

Dracaena deremensis..."Janet Craig" can stand abuse. Doesn't need watering so much but with its large leaves should not be placed where people are going to bump into all the time. It too doesn't need bright light.

Philodendron "majesty" is a vining plant...you might like it sitting on a file cabinet and letting it hang down.
This one also invites cuttings to be taken and sitting in water in a glass on your desk.
Your desk lamp may be sufficient to give what it needs.
The "oxycardium" phil is also a candidate.

Spathiphyllum.....might be suggested. This I take exception to. I have not been able to do much with.

Aspidistra...elator...the cast-iron plant. The name tells all. But you have to give it humidity so make sure there is a pan of water nearby.

Why not get a fern? I have a rabbit's foot fern growing in a large apocathary jar in a dark corner, and it loves it, it's about 4 ft from the flourescent light and blocked from the sun on the other side. A bottle jar with ferns would be lovely and could grow in low light conditions, and the jar will add needed humidity.

In my experience, my ags have done beautifully with very low humidity. (The other day the humidity here was 6%!) And they have berries too, on a regular basis. All they get is a misting every other day. Not even a pebble tray. I'm sure they'd be happier with more humidity, but they are very robust plants, and I really don't think they could look much healthier.

I have a sans, three lucky bamboo's, a philo, a baby areca and a pothos at my office. All are thriving (although one of the lucky bamboo's leaves are whitish - other two are fine). The philo in particular has new leaves every time I turn around. They recieve some indirect light from a north window - its not much, but I think it helps. I don't know that I would keep anything in a windowless office, although maybe a sans or pothos might work.

Thank you for the advice everybody...

...I've purchased a tri-color dracaena marginata which is beautiful and likes low light (so I'm told.)

My pothos is also thriving. It's growing so fast I think I can hear it rustling behind me. My lucky bamboos are also growing and my peach lilies are at least surviving. My sans...well, they just sit there. But that's all they ever do! Who knows what's going on there.

Hi Blutarski..Tri Color as in pink/white/green or red/green and some pink? This dracaena is lovely, but being variegated needs more light than it's cousin d.marginata (green w/red edges)
Give it a try and see what happens. Because it'll live in low light, let the soil thoroughly dry between waterings.. Wet soil and dry air can invite fungus gnats, mealy bug and/or spider mites.
If possible, set on top of a pebble tray and spray leaves. These plants dislike being overpotted, so if you plan on repotting, go up 1-2 sizes. If you plan on repotting, use a well-draining mix with extra Perlite.
Other plants that might work in an office are..Pothos,(Devil's Ivy, Cast Iron, (Aspidistra) and Dracaena (Janet Creig) or Dracaena (pineapple)
Also, as Mentha suggested, dwarf fern grown in a terrarium would look good..Rabbits foot fern,(Davallia) isn't dwarf, but they thrive in less humidity than other ferns.
Don't worry about your Sans..they're slow-growing. Are the plants you mentioned living at home or work?
Because your office is low light, very little fertilizer will be needed in spring and summer..Watch the plant..if it's growing, a little half-strength outta do it..Good luck, Toni