25 Best Houseplants For Every Type Of Friend
Houseplants are among the best gifts to give your friends. They symbolize growth, luck, friendship, and prosperity. Depending on the indoor plant you choose, it can also mean much more. However, choosing the wrong one can have some embarrassing consequences for both parties when it ultimately dies. That's why it's important to think about your friends' personalities, lifestyles, and houseplant experiences before running to your local plant store.
Just as you wouldn't buy your bestie who can't cook a fancy frying pan, you shouldn't try to give just any plant to friends who have little luck in growing them. Indoor plants can last a long time if they're cared for properly and different houseplants require different levels of care. We don't doubt that there is one out there for every type of friend you have. In fact, we're certain. Below we've described 25 types of friends you might have and assigned the best flower, fern, epiphyte, palm, or succulent to each of them. Take a look!
1. The life-long friend
For a friend that you've had for a very long time, a sago palm (Cycas revoluta) is the perfect gift. Like your relationship, this cycad species lives for many years and requires easy regular maintenance. It also grows slowly, changing only a little each year as it matures and becomes more beautiful. Indoors, sago palms need to be grown in soil that will easily drain with materials such as sand and peat.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Size: 3 to 10 feet tall
2. The zen friend
Bonsai trees are for friends that enjoy meditation and mindfulness. Caring for a high-maintenance plant such as this requires a person who enjoys taking things slow and being in the present moment. Though many trees can be grown as bonsai plants, among the most popular options is the golden gate ficus (Ficus microcarpa). It is considered to be the best for inexperienced gardeners, as it's easy to care for compared to other bonsai trees.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Bloom Season: Rarely flowers indoors
Size: 40 feet tall outdoors
3. The pet-lover
Being a lover of houseplants and pets can be difficult to balance. Even though pets can chew on some, such as spider plants and a few different palm species, without any problems, many others are seriously toxic. However, nasturtium plants (Tropaeolum majus) can provide health benefits when your pet wants a snack. When consumed, the flower can help fight off bacteria and fungi that cause disease in pets.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Bloom Season: Summer to fall
Size: 1 to 10 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide
4. The friend who loves to cook
Anyone who enjoys cooking and experimenting in the kitchen should have an arsenal of fresh herbs at the ready. The basil plant (Ocimum basilium) is a good plant to start with if you have a chef friend who hasn't been able to begin their journey with growing herbs. Basil is super versatile in recipes and it can be grown indoors easily – no garden needed.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Summer to fall
Size: Up to 2 feet tall and wide
5. The friend you basically live with
Rubber fig plants (Ficus elastica) are a commitment, but they aren't so hard to take care of with help. It benefits from being jointly owned by greenery lovers, especially while it's young. Despite being extremely popular as a houseplant, it needs close attention paid to it, making sure that it's not subject to a chilly draft, soil that is too dry or too wet, dusty foliage, or low sunlight exposure.
Sunlight Needs: Medium to bright light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Bloom Season: Spring and summer
Size: 6 to 10 feet tall
6. The one that can't keep a plant alive
Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), unlike rubber fig trees, are notoriously easy to care for. They are popular with inexperienced houseplant owners who have had little luck in growing maintenance-heavy plants. Spider plants are tolerant of neglect, drought, poor soil, and even some chewing from curious pets. In all, they are hard to kill, so they should be perfect for your friend with a numb thumb.
Sunlight Needs: Bright to medium light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry out between waterings
Bloom Season: Spring and summer
Size: 12 to 15 inches tall
7. The trendy friend
The Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides) is a popular and unique plant that is also relatively easy to care for. For these reasons, it is the perfect plant for your trendiest friend who is up-to-date on what's in style. The Pilea species features round coin-shaped leaves, a compact growth habit, and slender stems. With very little effort, your friend will be able to decorate their room with this forgiving succulent plant.
Sunlight Needs: Bright to medium light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry out between waterings
Bloom Season: Winter
Size: 8 to 12 inches tall
8. The homebody friend
The weeping fig (Ficus Benjamina) is best described as a statement houseplant. It has needs that aren't difficult, but they can be intensive. For your friend who prefers staying in, weeping figs embody a cozy vibe with their bushy foliage and trainable stems. Remember, this plant also needs frequent watering and a watchful eye during its growing season.
Sunlight Needs: Bright, medium, or low light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Size: 5 to 30 feet tall and 3 to 30 feet wide
9. The flower lover
Some of our friends wilt a bit as the trees lose their leaves and flowers die away during colder seasons. But a freely flowering houseplant, like an African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha), can give your flower-loving bestie frequent and gorgeous blooms, even in the winter. This flowering houseplant requires specific soil and an intense watering schedule. But its sunlight, temperature, and other maintenance needs are fairly straightforward.
Sunlight Needs: Medium to low light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Flowers freely
Size: 6 to 9 inches tall
10. The intimate friend
Hoya heart plants (Hoya kerrii) make a wonderful gift for a friend with whom you share intimate feelings. It's compact, simple to care for, and it lives for quite a long time. A tough and adaptable plant, this hoya species doesn't ask for much and it successfully makes a romantic statement. With some moderate watering and filtered sunlight, it will grow with ease, even if it's forgotten about from time to time.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry between waterings
Bloom Season: Summer
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall
11. The snacker
Strawberry fruits (Fragaria × ananassa) are born on compact plants with delicate white or pink flowers that can fit in a small pot on a kitchen window sill. For your friend who loves snacks and sweet little treats, a small strawberry plant is what they need. Though it isn't widely known, strawberry plants can grow well indoors. Grown like this, your friend can snack on the plant's fruit while keeping a close eye on its needs.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Spring
Size: 6 inches to 1 foot tall
12. The creative friend
Creativity and movement go hand in hand, which is why we would recommend getting a prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura) for your friend who loves to paint, draw, craft, and give life to new ideas. This unusual plant is known for the movement of its leaves – up and down — which gives it its common name. The foliage folds together like praying hands at night and opens in the morning.
Sunlight Needs: Low to medium light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Spring to summer
Size: 6 to 12 inches tall and wide
13. The traveler
Snake plants (Dracaena trifasciata) are well-known for their blade-like upright leaves and low-maintenance habits. They tolerate low light, little water, and general neglect quite well. For a houseplant-lover who finds themselves out of the house often, snake plants are the perfect species that will forgive being left alone for days or even weeks at a time.
Sunlight Needs: Low to medium light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely between waterings
Bloom Season: Winter
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide
14. The one with a knack for gardening
Believe it or not, you can grow roses indoors with little effort. Miniature roses (Rosa chinensis hybrids) grow well in containers and can bloom on your windowsill. They are best for someone familiar with gardening. After a few weeks of indoor care, miniature roses should be transplanted outdoors. Doing so will allow the small bush to act as a perennial and reward your friend with blooms every year.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Spring to fall
Size: 6 to 36 inches tall
15. The self-sufficient friend
The allure of several houseplants and garden plants is that they are multi-functional. For example, lavender plants are known for their calming properties, and rosemary plants are used for their skincare abilities. The Aloe plant (Aloe barbadensis) is another medicinal plant with a long history of treating minor burns and some other skin conditions. Your friend who prefers to depend on what the Earth provides will appreciate this succulent for its versatile uses.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely before watering
Bloom Season: Winter to spring
Size: 2 feet tall
16. A friend from work
Buying gifts for a coworker is always somewhat challenging no matter how long you've been working together. Yet something that delights them every time is a nice desk plant. Zebra plants (Haworthiopsis attenuata) are a type of succulent perfectly suited to growing in an office setting. They need minimal care and won't mind some neglect over the weekends and holidays.
Sunlight Needs: Medium to low light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely before watering
Bloom Season: Summer
Size: 3 to 5 inches tall
17. The one with a classic style
It's undeniable that moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) are first-rate houseplants. They are commonly sold in sleek white pots and their slender stature makes them perfectly suitable for a classy design style. Moth orchids are available in a range of colors and they are easy to buy online or from your local plant store. After gifting, the flowers normally need little attention except for some deep watering and extra humidity.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Water deeply once per week
Bloom Season: Winter to spring
Size: 3 feet tall
18. The friend that gave you a new perspective
Air plants (Tillandsia spp.) are epiphytic plants that go against most of what we commonly know about houseplants. They do not grow in soil, they are submerged during watering, and they absorb the nutrients they need from the air. These small plants always impress houseplant owners with their unique habits and incredible resilience. Gift them as a token of appreciation to a friend who untangles your preconceptions time and again.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Submerge in water weekly
Bloom Season: Winter to summer
Size: 2 to 12 inches tall
19. The parent-like friend
English ivy (Hedera helix) makes for a good houseplant, especially because it's problematic to grow outdoors. This quickly-growing vine can spread out across walls with plant hooks or dangle from a hanging planter. A doting and parent-like friend can appreciate this plant's optimistic growth, which will drape beautifully around their home. They also may find their talent for pruning and training the vines.
Sunlight Needs: Medium to low light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Bloom Season: Fall
Size: 20 to 80 feet long
20. The health-conscious friend
For a friend that enjoys working out, eating a healthy diet, and taking their vitamins, the peace lily plant (Spathiphyllum spp.) would be a winner. In 1989, NASA and the ALCA teamed up to research "Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement," which found peace lily plants, as well as Gerbera daisies and dragon trees, to be effective air purifiers (per NASA).
Sunlight Needs: Medium to bright indirect light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
Bloom Season: Spring
Size: 1 to 4 feet tall and wide
21. The adventurous friend
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is known to grow quickly and spread out, like an adventurer traveling the world. The vining plant is easy to grow, so your friends don't have to worry while they're gone on their next excursion. It's tolerant of neglect, drought, and low-light conditions that kill other plants very quickly. As long as it is kept in a somewhat humid area, like a bathroom, your friend will have no qualms with this adventuresome plant.
Sunlight Needs: Low to medium light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely before watering
Size: 6 to 8 inches tall
22. The spiritual one
There are so many plants that are thought to bring forth wealth, luck, good health, and more. Some popular lucky houseplants include jade, lucky bamboo, and money trees. Money trees (Pachira aquatica), which can be identified by their malleable trunks and long lance-shaped leaves, are thought to provide their caretaker with good fortune. Grown indoors, they can reach up to 8 feet, although they grow slowly.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist
Bloom Season: Spring
Size: 16 to 20 feet tall outdoors
23. The friend you never know what to get
Your friend that seems impossible to buy for might enjoy a fun gift like living stones (Lithops spp.). They are extremely small, so they won't take up a lot of space, and they are easy to care for. The succulent plants are normally just a few inches tall, and they look like strange rocks at first glance. There are a few different cultivars in the genus, so you can pick out the ones you like best.
Sunlight Needs: Bright light
Water Needs: Water dry soil sparingly
Bloom Season: Fall
Size: Less than 3 inches tall
24. The friend that's a little strange
Everyone needs a friend who is a bit weird and keeps them on their toes. They are often creative, spontaneous, and sometimes deeply invested in seemingly odd things. The lifesaver plant (Huernia zebrina) is a great match for this friend. It features color-changing red to green stems covered in succulent spikes and unearthly flowers with striped petals and a thick glossy red center.
Sunlight Needs: Bright indirect light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely before watering
Bloom Season: Summer
Size: 6 to 8 inches tall
25. The one you haven't seen in a while
The jade plant (Crassula argentea) is also sometimes called the friendship plant. We all have a friend that we have drifted apart from somewhat. When you are looking to reconnect, the leaves of this succulent are a symbol of growth and renewal. Even though you have grown apart, you can come together once again to redefine your relationship and start anew.
Sunlight Needs: Bright, medium, or low indirect light
Water Needs: Allow soil to dry completely before watering
Bloom Season: Spring
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall and wide