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I have just purchased a beautiful Aloe vera plant that I intended to place on a unit in the hallway of my flat. The hallway is a little corridor with no window. It has a ceiling light which I usually leave on and it is also the main walk way between the kitchen and the living room, so it is not totally shut off from the rest of the flat and it's not dark like in a cave.

I read at the time of purchase that it is ok to place it in a room with no sunlight, but now I have researched Aloe vera care and I seem to be getting mixed advice regarding this: some say 'yes, its fine for them', others say 'no, they need to go on a windowsill', so I'd appreciate some advice here as the purpose of me buying it was to proudly place it in my hallway.

Alina
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Emma Matthews
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2 Answers2

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My first instinct was to say that a room without a window is not suited for an Aloe vera, but ultimately it depends on the level of light that gets through other windows. If you intend to keep it there only for a few months, you don't water it and you live in a sunny area of the world, it will survive.

Otherwise, it may start to etiolate because of the low level of light (especially during winter in a temperate climate) and rot due lack of ventilation.

The ceiling light doesn't help if it's a regular light bulb. For hallways I prefer keeping a pot of ivy, even if it may look boring for visitors.

Alina
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  • If you're willing to change the light bulb to a full spectrum (sometimes called a daylight) bulb that would help. They are usually in the 5600k range and produces a light with more blue and a cool white (which has more blue than a soft white). – Ben Nov 02 '17 at 13:53
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Aloe are not low light plants; as houseplants, they require bright daylight, but not direct sun. It is unfortunately not a good subject for display in a windowless area, despite the fact it may receive low levels of ambient light from other rooms.

Hedera helix varieties (ivy), possibly Aspidistra elatior (cast iron plant) may tolerate those low light conditions well, but may need moving to better light conditions periodically if they're obviously suffering after some months.

Bamboo
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