Want to convert your workspace into a room that fosters engagement, inspires innovation, and drives productivity?

One of the ways to do this is by incorporating lush greenery.

However, if your office is a windowless space, you might think plenty of plants won’t thrive in a space without sunlight.

Your best approach would be to look for the best plants for office with no windows.

Read along to learn about the various plants that can thrive in a windowless room.

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What Can You Gain From Having Plants in Your Office?

Why is it good practice to incorporate some plants into an office setting?

What could we possibly gain from adding even just a few plants on our computer desk or anywhere inside the room?

There are plenty of benefits to adding plants in any space, especially an office, but here are the main reasons:

Stress Relief and Reduction

In a room without fenestrations other than the door, anyone could feel like they are in a cramped, claustrophobic, and isolated space.

Adding plants brings the outdoors inside, simulating nature’s soothing and relaxing effect.

As you probably already know, natural environments evoke a feeling of tranquility, escape, and existence.

Therefore, if you introduce plants into a windowless space, they can help in mental recovery and stress relief.

Improved Focus

Working in a room with four walls, no windows, and lots of dramatic stimuli can be somewhat distracting.

The objects on your desk or the sound of moving office chairs can divert your attention and remove your focus on the task at hand.

Compared to these distracting stimuli, natural elements such as indoor plants can motivate and inspire you to think deeper and focus on a current objective.

Productivity Boost

Since plants induce stress relief and improve your capacity for attention, productivity and creativity almost immediately follow.

Plants make a space much more inviting and, in effect, entice workers to take fewer sick days.

Can a Plant Survive in a Windowless Room?

Growing up, we’re taught that plants need sunlight, water, and oxygen to grow and propagate.

We should also remember that plants need growing room, correct ambient temperature, nutrients, and time.

However, some of these requirements are not available in a windowless room.

Lack of Natural Lighting

If your office does not have even a single window, you’re probably used to artificial lighting even in the daytime.

Plants need light for photosynthesis, so you must tweak your windowless space to have ample lighting for plants to feed and thrive.

If you can, move your desk to a more optimum position.

Minimal Air Circulation

Like human beings, plants also breathe; they use oxygen to convert food into energy.

In a windowless room, air conditioning and the regular opening of doors are the only factors contributing to air exchange.

While keeping plants indoors has its benefits, it would be nice to bring them out into the open air once in a while.

Best Plants for Office With No Windows

Many plant species have adapted to thrive in conditions where growing requirements are minimal.

If you know which plants can thrive in such situations, you’re well on your way to incorporating some greenery into your workspace.

Here are the top options:

1. Aglaonema

More popularly known as the Chinese Evergreen, the Aglaonema plant is remarkably tolerant to drought, dry air, and inadequate lighting.

It only requires watering once a week or two, and it can thrive even without fertilizers.

This plant is not a fast grower, which means you don’t have to transfer it to a bigger pot or a larger area very often.

2. Air Plant

If you don’t want to handle soil now and then, you might like the Air Plant.

It is a plant that takes its nutrients from the air and ambient moisture, and it really doesn’t need soil to live.

However, what it does need is bright, indirect light, so be sure to have some full-spectrum fluorescent lighting in your windowless space.

3. Aloe Vera

Although it is also a succulent plant, the Aloe Vera can grow to sizes much larger than most succulents.

Depending on your region, this plant only requires watering when the soil completely dries out.

While it is a sun-lover, it could survive in an artificially lit space. Just be cautious and let it bask in the sun some days of the week.

4. Arrowhead Plant

Another excellent indoor plant is the Arrowhead Plant, as it can easily adapt to artificial light. However, it likes moisture, so give it occasional misting.

5. Bird’s Nest Fern

The Bird’s Nest Fern can die out in direct sunlight, so they usually grow under the shade of trees and other large plants.

Like the Arrowhead Plant, this tropical plant loves humid environments, and it can grow under fluorescent lighting.

6. Bromeliad

Bromeliads can add the color your office sorely needs if you want something vibrant like the Aglaonema.

Surprisingly, this tropical plant is content with artificial light.

7. Cast Iron Plant

The Cast Iron Plant got its name from its capability to do well in artificially lit spaces and minimal watering.

It has large, green leaves that shoot up and then bow sideways as they become larger.

8. Dumb Cane

If you haven’t heard about the Dumb Cane, you probably already know it as the Dieffenbachia.

They look like Chinese Evergreens, but with longer stalks and white to light-green midrib patterns.

9. Dragon Tree

The Dragon Tree is a type of Dracaena that can grow in a room with low, filtered light. For this reason, it is an excellent choice for dark workspaces.

10. English Ivy

The English Ivy is a climber that can very well decorate your office shelves.

While it can thrive in artificial lighting, it also likes to be regularly taken out to natural light.

11. Ficus Benjamina

Also called the Weeping Fig Tree, the Ficus Benjamina is a slow grower that can do well even under inadequate lighting.

Its leaves droop when it’s unhappy, so try to find a spot with just the right amount of light.

12. Lady Palm

The Lady Palm is a medium to large-sized plant with dark green fronds that can brighten up a space.

It can survive in low-light conditions, but it also loves to stay under the sun for hours on end.

13. Lucky Bamboo

A Lucky Bamboo Plant is probably one of the simplest plants to care for, which makes it perfect for beginners.

It can grow in any lighting condition, including areas with almost minimal lighting.

14. Maidenhair Fern

While the Maidenhair Fern prefers growing in a room with indirect lighting, it has strict requirements for watering.

15. Money Tree

Out in the open, Money Trees can grow up to 50 feet tall. They need adequate sunlight exposure to grow to a height of three feet.

However, they remain as shrubs or miniature trees in small pots and under artificial lighting.

16. Monstera

If you want a big plant with a dramatic flair, check out the classic all-green Monstera.

It is a low-maintenance plant that grows in artificial light, albeit very slowly.

17. Parlor Palm

The Parlor Palm looks like a miniaturized version of the Lady Palm, and it also requires very little maintenance.

However, unlike other palms, the Parlor Palm can thrive without natural sunlight.

18. Philodendron

The Philodendron is a plant genus that comprises about 450 species.

While some varieties survive in artificially lit environments, most strikingly variegated varieties can’t thrive without natural light.

The trick is to pick an almost all-green Philodendron.

19. Pothos

The Pothos Plant is probably one of the most resilient indoor plants you can find. It can thrive in artificially lit spaces, and it is a low-maintenance plant.

Like the English Ivy, the Pothos Plant can trail from a hanging pot or on a shelf.

20. Snake Plant

Another type of Dracaena, the Snake Plant, is a hardy, beginner-friendly indoor plant that requires very little care and attention.

It can grow in low-light areas, and it doesn’t even require regular watering.

The Snake Plant can grow fairly tall, making them an excellent corner piece for your office.

21. Spider Plant

The Spider Plant is hardy; it can thrive in low light and only need occasional watering. What’s more interesting is that it grows fast, even indoors.

22. Succulents

Succulents are plants with fleshy parts that usually retain water in arid soil conditions. They won’t survive continuous rains, so you normally find them indoors.

While these plants can survive in artificial light, they love the sun and will thrive with regular exposure to natural light.

23. ZZ Plant

The Zamioculcas zamiifolia, more commonly known as the ZZ Plant, is a very popular indoor plant because it can tolerate neglect, drought, and low-light conditions.

It has wide, attractive, dark green leaves, so it will be a perfect addition to an otherwise dull space.

Finding Inspiration Through Green Interior Scapes

The list above only contains some of the best plants for an office with no windows.

If you do some more research, you’ll probably find a lot more plants suitable for a windowless, dimly lit room.

Without the wall openings, your workspace can look tight and unwelcoming.

However, with indoor plants, anyone inside can find inspiration and motivation to convert the room into a pleasurable workspace.