While you probably have heard that Snake plants can do well in low light and this is true, it’s certainly not ideal for the plant to be growing in low light conditions.
Snake plants thrive in bright indirect light as seen in my article on Snake plant light requirements to grow and look their best consistently.
So if you were considering growing your Sansevieria in a low light environment, consider some of the drawbacks of low light conditions and decide if it’s worth it to you.
Problems with growing Snake plants in low light
Since Snake plants need plenty of bright light to really thrive, you will run the risk of problems happening to the plant if grown in low light or super low light conditions.
While it’s not the end of the world if your mother-in-laws-tongue doesn’t get enough light daily as it can survive on little light, here are some problems that can occur.
Loss of color
When a Snake plant doesn’t get enough light chlorosis can occur which is a loss of essential chlorophyll needed for photosynthesis.
This can result in either yellowing of the leaves or general paleness in the foliage as chlorosis sets in which prevents your Sansevieria from having it’s natural lush color.
If you’re ever worried about yellow leaves now or in the future, check out my article on Snake plant turning yellow to learn the other causes and what to do.
Droopy leaves
Another issue that can be caused by growing in low light is your Snake plant can start drooping which means falling over, leaning or bending.
Although droopy leaves is often a sign of improper watering such as overwatering or excess drought, this can certainly happen if not enough light is being provided for it to support itself.
Leggy growth
When there isn’t sufficient light provided, you can often run into leggy growth which means your Snake plant will start stretching out or have long and thin growth.
It will also stretch towards the nearest light source it can find or in the direction it last received light.
Pro tip: If this ever happens, do a quarter turn once a week so your Sansevieria get’s equal amounts of light on all sides instead of neglecting whole parts of the plant.
Stunted growth
Although low light in Snake plants can produce weak leggy growth, it can also cause stunted or loss of new growth in general.
To put it short, Snake plants need lots of light to continue growing optimally and low light just isn’t going to cut it if you want the best growing plant possible.
Slower drainage
The less light a Snake plant receives, the slower the soil is going to drain which can make it all that much easier to end up with an overwatered Sansevieria.
Light and heat go hand in hand and if there isn’t enough of both, the soil is just going to drain slower than it would in optimal light conditions.
This can become a major problem down the road since Snake plants are drought tolerant and need fast drainage to prevent overwatering and root rot from occurring.
Even lower chance of blooming
Even though some varieties of Snake plants will never bloom, low light conditions will reduce the already low likelihood of blooming even further.
If you don’t want your Snake plant to bloom, then in this case lower light levels can actually be beneficial.
With that said, you will still have to worry about the other potential issues listed above.
Can a Snake plant live in a dark room?
If you were wondering if a Snake plant can live in a dark room, the answer is yes it can, but now you know it’s not going to be the ideal living space.
If you’re going to do this, it’s advised for it to be a temporary thing so less issues have a chance to start occurring and then get back to providing more light!
Can a Snake plant live in a room with no windows?
It’s certainly possible for a Snake plant to live in a room that doesn’t have any windows, but is it really going to thrive without that light source?
Your Snake plant will survive in a room without windows but it won’t grow it’s best unless you supplement the non existent light with an indoor grow light.
Just do whatever it takes to give your Sansevieria that much needed light so it can grow to be it’s full potential!