All plants give off plenty of oxygen, and some help to remove pollutants from the air. While no plant will grow without any light, there are many that can be grown under fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, few flowering plants will grow or thrive under standard artificial lighting, so unless you purchase and install professional-quality grow lights, you’ll have to stick to foliage plants. Some plants that do well in low-light situations include: spider plant (Chlorophytum spp.), cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum), kangaroo vine (Cissus antarctica), grape ivy vine (Cissus rhombifolia), spotted evergreen plant (Aglaonema costatum), Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum), and snake plant (Sansevieria spp.). Many of these common indoor house plants can be purchased at your local garden center or greenhouse.

For more unusual houseplants, try a specialty nursery such as Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc., P.O. Box 249, Dolgeville, NY 13329-1249; (315) 429-8291; www.lyndonlyon.com. A good reference is Taylor’s Guide to Houseplants, edited by Gordon P. DeWolf Jr., Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1987.

Over two years ago I planted two three-foot Ginkgo biloba ‘Princeton Sentry’ trees near the front of our five-acre property. They have survived mostly on rainfall but have grown very little. Because I have to carry water to the trees during drought, I have decided to move at least one plant closer to a water source. What can I do to provide an optimal environment for the tree I plan to transplant? We live near the Gulf coast of Florida (USDA Zone 9). Our soil is sandy with some outcrops of limestone. —M.A., Chiefland, Florida

Ginkgos should perform well where you live, but there are a few steps you can take to help them along. Although they prefer a sandy, moderately moist soil, they may suffer in pure sand, which could be similar to what you have in Chiefland. If so, work organic matter, such as leaf mold or compost (about 10 to 15 percent by volume), into the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches. Do this 5 to 10 feet around the area in which you intend to plant the tree. This will help the soil retain water. The tree should be placed in full sun and watered regularly for the first year after transplanting. This remarkable tree is a relatively slow grower, but you can speed it up by top-dressing with compost or applying balanced slow-release fertilizer.

I have seeds of European beech and golden chain trees. How would I start these seeds? —D.N., via e-mail

The seeds of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) are known to be recalcitrant and should not be allowed to dry out. They lose their viability in storage, so they should either be planted in the fall or conditioned indoors for three months at 40 degrees Fahrenheit before sowing outdoors in the spring. Golden chain tree (Laburnum anagyroides) seeds will germinate without difficulty when properly scarified. Use a metal file to nick the seed coat before planting in the spring.

A friend wants to start a grape vine from a set of vines growing at his mother’s house. Should we start from seeds, or would it be best to take cuttings of the old vines? —B.S., via e-mail

Although grapes can be propagated from seed, this is rarely done because most grape plants are cultivars and won’t come true from seed. But you have three other options. The first option is to take hardwood cuttings. All grapes grown in the U.S., except Muscadine, can be propagated from hardwood cuttings. In the winter, take one-foot cuttings that have three buds and store them in moist sand or sawdust until early spring, when they should be planted with the top bud level with the surface of the soil. The cuttings should produce vines by the end of the first or second season.

Your other options are to take softwood cuttings or to layer a vine. Both methods work with all grapes, including Muscadine. Softwood cuttings should be taken before the stems harden in early summer and planted immediately. Layering involves taking a vine growing on the parent plant, breaking—but not severing—it at a node, and burying the node in the soil alongside the parent plant. Once roots form—usually within a year—the new plant can be separated and transplanted.