Indoor plants for Dubai homes: what thrives with AC, low light and pets

The short answer#

Start with the light in your room. Then check three Dubai things: how dry your AC makes the air, whether a cat or dog will chew the plant, and whether you travel in summer. For most flats the easy starting set is ZZ plant, snake plant, pothos, parlour palm and cast iron plant. They put up with dim rooms and forgive a late watering.

Pets change the list. ASPCA lists pothos, ZZ plant and snake plant as toxic to cats and dogs, so in a home with a pet start from the pet-safe guide instead.

Quick picks by situation#

A dim apartment: tinted glass, deep rooms, north windows#

Tinted or low-E glass, a north-facing window or a living room that runs deep from the glass all mean less light than plant labels assume. A low-E coating alone takes only a further 5–10% of the visible light plants use (Melinda Myers). Tint takes more, and how much depends on the glass. Light also falls off quickly with distance from the window, so a corner 3 m back can be dim even in a bright flat.

Choose plants that tolerate low light, and know what that means: they survive and grow slowly. Cast iron plant prefers partial to full shade and is intolerant of direct sun. ZZ plant will grow in very low light, even under fluorescent tubes alone. Snake plant tolerates very low light. Pothos survives long periods in low light but loses its variegation. Parlour palm copes with dry air and dim light. Green and silver forms of aglaonema adapt to low light, while the colourful pink and red forms need brighter light to keep their colour.

The full version, with distances from the window, bathrooms and what fails in the dark, is in our low-light guide.

For a dim room

Cast iron plant

Cast iron plant

Aspidistra elatior

Low–MediumPet-safe

ZZ plant

ZZ plant

Zamioculcas zamiifolia

Low–BrightNot pet-safe

Snake plant

Snake plant

Dracaena trifasciata

Low–BrightNot pet-safe

Pothos

Pothos

Epipremnum aureum

Low–BrightNot pet-safe

Aglaonema

Aglaonema

Aglaonema modestum

Low–BrightNot pet-safe

Parlour palm

Parlour palm

Chamaedorea elegans

Low–BrightPet-safe

A bright villa: big glazing and garden views#

Tall villa glazing gives you the light most plants want, so use it for the plants a dim flat cannot grow. Ponytail palm wants full sun and does well in dry indoor air. Spineless yucca takes full sun or partial shade and rots if overwatered. Rubber plant and fiddle-leaf fig prefer bright indirect light and protection from afternoon sun. Bird of paradise likes a well-lit, sunny spot.

Glass does not protect leaves from hot sun. NC State warns that fiddle-leaf fig scorches in too much direct sun and says to keep monstera out of direct sun. In midsummer the sun is almost overhead in Dubai, so west-facing glass and glass with no overhang take the harshest light. If leaves bleach or crisp after you move a plant, step it back from the glass.

Olive trees are sold as indoor trees for Japandi and majlis rooms. NC State rates the olive as a full-sun plant, six or more hours of direct sun a day. Keep an olive only on your sunniest glass or on a balcony.

For a bright room

Ponytail palm

Ponytail palm

Beaucarnea recurvata

Bright–SunPet-safe

Spineless yucca

Spineless yucca

Yucca gigantea

Bright–SunNot pet-safe

Rubber plant

Rubber plant

Ficus elastica

Medium–BrightNot pet-safe

Fiddle-leaf fig

Fiddle-leaf fig

Ficus lyrata

Bright–SunNot pet-safe

Monstera

Monstera

Monstera deliciosa

Medium–BrightNot pet-safe

Bird of paradise

Bird of paradise

Strelitzia reginae

Sun/part shadeSalt: 2 of 5

Flowers

Dry, air-conditioned rooms#

Many Dubai households run AC day and night for months. A 2022 study of Dubai homes found AC running three to nine months a year, typically from May or June to October and mostly around the clock, with windows opened only briefly or in winter (Murtagh et al.). Air-conditioned rooms are drier than most tropical foliage plants like. Exact figures vary from flat to flat, and a cheap hygrometer will tell you yours.

Some plants cope. Ponytail palm does well even in dry indoor air, snake plant tolerates low humidity, lady palm has low humidity needs, parlour palm thrives where dry air and dim light defeat other plants, and peperomia prefers medium to low humidity. Others struggle. Boston fern, prayer plant and alocasia want high humidity, and NC State links dry air to scale and spider mites on Boston fern.

Keep plants out of the direct airflow from vents. NC State notes brown spots on fiddle-leaf fig when room temperature swings with heating or cooling vents. Misting does not help: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension says you would have to mist every few minutes to make any real difference. A humidifier does work. Grouping plants makes a slightly more humid pocket but will not fix a dry room. More in our guide to plants and air conditioning.

Homes with cats or dogs#

ASPCA lists these as non-toxic to both cats and dogs: Areca palm, kentia palm, lady palm, parlour palm, cast iron plant, ponytail palm, peperomia and moth orchid. It lists pothos, monstera, philodendron, peace lily, ZZ plant and snake plant as toxic. Non-toxic still does not mean harmless: ASPCA says eating any plant material can cause vomiting and an upset stomach in dogs and cats.

Watch the 'money plant' label. In Dubai shops it usually means pothos, which is toxic to pets. The braided money tree, Pachira aquatica, is non-toxic, and jade is toxic. Both have plant pages: Money tree and jade plant. The pet-safe guide sorts out the names and has the full table.

Non-toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA)

Areca palm

Areca palm

Dypsis lutescens

BrightPet-safe

Kentia palm

Kentia palm

Howea forsteriana

Low–BrightPet-safe

Lady palm

Lady palm

Rhapis excelsa

Low–BrightPet-safe

Peperomia

Peperomia

Peperomia obtusifolia

Medium–BrightPet-safe

Moth orchid

Moth orchid

Phalaenopsis hybrids

Medium–BrightPet-safe

Money tree

Money tree

Pachira aquatica

Medium–BrightPet-safe

If you travel in summer#

Plants that store water cope with a missed watering better than leafy ones. ZZ plant stores water in its rhizomes and fleshy leaves, snake plant needs its soil to dry out between waterings, and ponytail palm is drought tolerant. Water thoroughly just before you leave and move plants back from direct light to a cooler spot so they lose less water (University of Saskatchewan). For a longer trip use a wick, a capillary mat or self-watering pots, and test the set-up before you go.

Set the AC higher rather than switching it off: a shut-up flat with no cooling can get far hotter than plants tolerate. Our summer travel guide has the full checklist.

Plants to think twice about#

• Boston fern, prayer plant and alocasia need high humidity. Fine with a humidifier, a struggle without one.
• Olive is a full-sun plant sold as an indoor tree. Sunniest glass or a balcony only.
• Any plant you carry home in summer. University of Arkansas Extension warns that a plant in a shut car can be destroyed in a short time. See our buying guide.

When to buy#

Buy in the cooler months, October to November or February to April, so the plant is not carried home in summer heat. Airport average highs for June to August run 40–42°C, against 26–34°C in February to April (Wikipedia: Climate of Dubai).

Our where-to-buy guide lists nurseries, online shops and what plants cost. The October planting page has the month's indoor jobs.