Howdy Cocoa. The only Ficus that can take shade is F. pumila, but pumila is a vine. Snake Plants/Sansevieria.. Since the area is bright enough to read by, a Snake Plant should be okay. Although allowing soil to dry between waterings is essential, otherwise a Snake Plant will rot. This rule goes for most house plants, but Snake Plants are succulent, and should be treated as one. Except they'd burn in direct sun. I thought you wanted a tall plant? Snake Plants are slow-growers..If you'd like something big, perhaps you should purchase large, but it's going to be expensive. There's many Sansevieria varieties. I assume when you say Snake plant, you mean the type with a blend of light and dark green markings? A striking Sansevieria is Moon Glow or Moon Light. Both names are used for the same plant.. Here's a pic..A very healthy specimen has almost white center w/pronounced green edges. In the spot you want to add a plant, can you see a shadow on a wall on sunny days? Toni

Sharara..Which directions do your windows face? Are they obstructed by neighboring buildings, trees, curtains or blinds? Don't judge your thumb or light by a Mini Rose. They are very very difficult, if not impossible thriving indoors. Most who buy them either, 1. toss after flowering or 2. plant in their garden, if hardy. So, you're looking for a plant that has color? Other than green? Are you searching for tropicals or will succulents do? Or does it not matter? There are several ways to increase humidity..First and best choice is to buy a humidifer. They're helpful to plants, people and pets. There are several types of humidifers on the market..Consoles and smaller, 2-3 gallon filter-less types. Walgreens and Walmart sell humidifers, and now that winter is over most are on sale. Costs begin at 14.99 up to 200.00 depending on the type. Or if you're into name brands. I'm not into brand names, my concern is whether or not it does the job. Misting and showering plants increase humidity. For those with a large number of plants, grouping together. Humidity trays work fine, especially with plants growing in containers under 10" diameters. You don't have to buy anything special other than a bag of stones/pebbles for these trays. I bought a bag of pebbles at Home Depot..40 or 50 lbs for 2.50. Since you won't be needing that much, HD sells smaller bags of stones, including decorative, different colors. Heck some dollar stores sell them. 1 bag is enough for one tray. I save all types of containers, from frozen dinners to cake pans. As long as they're strong and don't crack, they work. I even have family members and friends save usable trays..lol I prefer brighter colors like silver, but any color works. Of course boiling water will humidify a house, but I doubt you'll want to boil water 8 hours per day. lol. What type of heat do you have? If you have space heaters or radiators, placing a pan of water on top works somewhat, but depending on the plant if it required a lot of humidity, a pan on the heater won't be enough. If you answer some of these questions we can narrow down plants that would work..Toni

Yes, light is light, whatever the source. As long as the fixture is far enough away (pretty far, 5-6 feet for a 400W), it'd work fine, and is certainly a lot more esthetically pleasing IMO than banks of fluorescent lights close to the plants. I'd think it'd be of best use for larger or taller, medium light tropicals (things that want to be shrubs or trees in the wild) than for smaller, true "shade" plants, though.

One day I was looking for a place to tie my 70 pound mix up outside the Office Depot. The cashier motioned to me to bring him inside. So for about 18 months we both went in the store instead of just me. He never let out a peep, just slowly wagged his tail, usually got petted by the dog friendly customers and employees. One time as we waited in line to check out, the person ahead let out a shriek that everyone in the store heard. The dog did not react at all. The next time we went in the store manager said dogs were not allowed unless they were special needs dogs. I did not get upset with the store, maybe they changed their animal policy (and maybe they didn't have one). But I noticed with some amusement that while the dog was calm outside the store before; after his inside visits he barked at most people who went into the store while he had to wait outside. Seems like most folks who want to pet dogs don't know how to safely pet one (IMHO). I try to get the neighborhood kids to learn properly how to pet older dogs, but the folks at the nearby Petco just bend over and pet dogs like the average person does.