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I was wondering if my houseplants would be able to survive in darkness for 2 weeks? They are a variety of species, including an orchid, a dracaena, some cacti, some succulents and a spider plant.

Background: I am moving and all my belongings will be in storage for 2 weeks. The storage area will (possibly) not have windows, so if I leave my plants there as well they might be in darkness for 2 weeks. Would this be too long?

Of course, they would also be without water but that should be fine (from experience) and the temperature should be reasonable(ish) in storage. Hence the lack of light is my main worry.

Bence Kaulics
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user53923
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    I think the cacti and the succulents are risky. The *Dracena* is hard to tell, which species/variety do you have? Some of them could tolerate it I think, but probably none of them would die. You might lost some foliage maybe. Same with the spider plant, some yellow leaves that is all but it might not even notice. Maybe you could ask some friend or a kind person in a local plant Facebook group to babysit your plants for two weeks. It would be no work at all given they have a moderately lit area for them. – Bence Kaulics Jan 03 '21 at 20:58
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    If you're in an area that will stay above 50 F day AND night for those two weeks, then you could keep the cacti and succulents in your car (keep it out of direct sunlight if possible, though). Just a thought... – Jurp Jan 03 '21 at 21:04
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    If your cactus is dormant now (wintertime), you can keep it for sure in darkness for 2 weeks. Best is to have temperature around 10-15C. If it is summertime now (southern hemisphere), I wouldn't recommend to place a cactus in darkness. It will survive but it will grow leggy (etiolated). – benn Jan 08 '21 at 23:16
  • It is winter here, but then again, they are inside (room temperature). So I am not really sure whether they are dormant. – user53923 Jan 09 '21 at 15:16

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Personally what I'd worry about the most is the temperature. Storages in general have no heating whatsoever, yet all the plants you've mentioned are basically tropical plants, so they must be kept at least at room temperature (or just slightly below that at worst) at all times.

With that being said out of the plants the Dracaena tolerates the lack of light the most (it can even be kept in really dark rooms and bathrooms). I'd certainly be less worried about the orchid and the spider plant. Personally I'd avoid keeping the cacti and succulents in complete darkness for 2 weeks. The succulents would probably be hurt the most.

CoolKoon
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    I guess you make a good point about the temperature as well. I think I found a way to keep them out of storage. Yeah, I actually do not worry about the spider plant, apart from literal freezing cold, I have found it to bounce back from _anything_. – user53923 Jan 09 '21 at 15:25