The Best Plants for a North-Facing Window
A north-facing window has a bad reputation. In the northern hemisphere it rarely gets direct sun, only a little early-morning and late-evening sun in summer, so people assume nothing will grow there. In practice it is one of the easiest windows to work with. The light is soft and steady from morning to evening, it never scorches a leaf, and the room stays at an even temperature. What it lacks is strength, so the trick is choosing plants that are happy with less.
First, check how much light you really have
Stand where the plant will go at midday and hold your hand a foot above a sheet of white paper. A soft but clear shadow means medium light, which suits a surprising number of plants. A faint, fuzzy shadow, or none at all, means low light, and your choices narrow. Most north-facing sills sit in the medium range right by the glass and drop to low light a few feet back into the room. Our light guide walks through this test in more detail.
The two toughest choices
If the spot is genuinely dim, two plants stand out: the snake plant and the ZZ plant. Both store water in their leaves or roots, both grow slowly, and both forgive a missed watering far more readily than an extra one. Customers ask us which to pick more than almost any other question, and the honest answer is that it depends on the shape you want and the space you have.
Snake plant
A snake plant grows straight up in stiff, banded leaves. It takes up very little floor or shelf space for its height, so it suits narrow spots beside a window frame or the end of a desk. Some varieties reach three feet or more over a few years. It likes to dry out completely between waterings, which in a north-facing room can mean every three or four weeks.
ZZ plant
A ZZ plant grows outward as much as up, with arching stems of glossy, dark green leaves. Those leaves reflect what light there is, so the plant looks healthy even in a dim corner. It copes with slightly less light than a snake plant, and it grows from thick rhizomes under the soil that hold weeks of water. It needs a little more width, so give it a wider shelf or a spot on the floor.
Choosing between them
Pick the snake plant if you need height in a narrow space or like a crisp, graphic outline. Pick the ZZ plant if you want something fuller and softer, or if the spot is the darkest in the room. If you cannot decide, they look good side by side, the upright leaves of one against the rounded mass of the other. Neither is safe for pets: the snake plant and the ZZ plant are both toxic to cats and dogs, so keep them out of reach and call your vet if one gets chewed.
Other plants that do well in north light
If your window gives medium light at the sill, more options open up.
- Parlor palm: feathery fronds, slow growth, and safe around cats and dogs. It was a fixture of dim Victorian parlors for good reason.
- Golden pothos: a trailing vine for a shelf or the top of a bookcase. In north light it grows greener and a little slower, but it keeps going.
- Calathea: patterned leaves that fold up at night. It likes the gentle light of a north window but wants steady moisture and humidity, so it suits someone who enjoys a little routine.
Most of these, along with the snake plant and the ZZ plant, are in our collection of low-light plants, where you can compare them side by side.
What struggles in a north-facing window
Cacti, most succulents, herbs and flowering plants such as citrus want several hours of direct sun. They will hang on for a while in north light, then stretch toward the glass, fade, and stop flowering. If you love them, a south or west window, or a grow light, is a better home.
Watering in lower light
The most common mistake with plants in a north-facing room is watering them on the same schedule as plants in a sunny one. Less light means slower growth, and slower growth means the soil stays wet for longer. Check the soil before every watering instead of following the calendar: push a finger two inches in, and if it feels damp, wait a few days and check again. This matters most in winter, when the light drops further and a pot can stay wet for weeks. Learning to read the soil this way is the single most useful habit for keeping indoor plants alive.
A simple starting set
For a typical north-facing living room, we would start with a snake plant beside the window, a ZZ plant on the floor a few feet back, and a pothos trailing from a shelf. Add a parlor palm if you have pets or want something softer. Give each one a pot with a drainage hole, water only when the soil is dry, and turn them now and then so they grow evenly. Within a season you will know exactly how much light your window really gives.