Does anyone have any suggestions of plants that i could grow? At this point i almost dont care what it is, i just want to see some life! I use a lot of cilantro, rosemary, mint, and medicinal herbs. I dont think any of them will work though...

any ideas? thank you!

My Asian wife now has many of our windows stuffed with plants that were growing outdoors or in our currently unheated greenhouse. Only one south-facing window gets much light. An east-facing window only gets a moment of sunlight because of another building close by. Even on the west side, 2 trees, albeit without leaves, shade the house.

A plant that has grown very well for us for a number of years indoors is "broadleaf thyme." We don't use it for cooking but I believe one can. The plant has large, thick, fleshy leaves and is a pleasant soft green color. The leaves have a very thyme-like fragrance. We have kept broadleaf thyme plants in both the east window and those shaded west windows. It thrives.

Your first plant on the list, cilantro, got my attention. I think there's really no way but here's an idea - culantro. It is also known as Mexican coriander and Vietnamese coriander but it isn't very much like coriander (cilantro). Culantro is a tropical herb. Growing instructions are that it does best in moist, shaded conditions outdoors. Culantro has something of the fragrance of cilantro and we use it in the kitchen. It has done just fine in one of shaded west windows.

Something else we've had in one of those windows is curly-leaf parsley. I can't recommend it too strongly because starts were brought in during late Winter and allowed to root in water to go outside in the Spring. So, it wasn't there thru the depths of Winter.

Do a little searching for info on these 3 using your terms low-light indoors and check out some images. These plants might be of use to you. Oh, and for healthier plants - the less the light, the lower the temps . . . just a little advise from an old (really old ;o) greenhouse guy.

Good luck!

Steve

broadleaf thyme = Plectranthus amboinicus

& culantro = Eryngium foetidum

Parley used to grow beside the leaky facet on the other side of the farm house when I was a kid. I ate some of it most every Summer day because it was fresh and handy. Apparently, it just continued flowering and reseeding.

Steve

I will look into these plants tonight. I hope i can find something that doesn't just die on me here in the city!

Looks like i will probably go with Culantro for my room! I am still going to keep an eye out for more plants to grow. I've been wondering if ferns would work well...

I don't know that at this time of year, or in the downtown Chicago area I'd actually be able to get seeds. I posted the above links in case anyone else is interested. I suppose that will be my next thing to hunt for.

Richters has a fairly hefty shipping charge and minimum order but since you use a lot of culinary and medicinal herbs and they sell some dried, cut herbs . . . you may be able to find what you need there. If you have some friends who make use of these products, maybe a cooperative order could be arranged.

However, a large Asian food market may have culantro plants. And, all it takes to start Plectranthus is a leaf and a cup of water - easy peasy. I suspect there are folks in your community who could spare a leaf if you could find a way to let them know that you could use one or 2.

Steve