18 Fast-Growing Houseplants That Turn Dull Corners Into Vibrant Spaces

Houseplants work beautifully for adding depth and dimension to an indoor space, breaking up wall colors with green hues typically only found outdoors. And there are certain spaces that can use more enlivening than others. You can use fast-growing houseplants to make your interior space lush and green — even empty, dull corners. Some of the houseplants you can use to liven up these sad spots include banana plant, golden pothos, and money tree.

However, when choosing an indoor plant to brighten up a corner, first assess the light in that area of the room. Houseplant light needs range from full sun, to indirect light in bright, medium, or low intensities. You'll only succeed in adding vibrancy to your space if the chosen plant stays healthy, so before you make a choice merely on the plant's appearance, try to make a strong match between the houseplant's light needs and the conditions in that corner. If they don't quite match up, you can always relocate the indoor plant, or help it out with the aid of a grow light.

In addition to light requirements, for the following selections you'll also learn what to expect from the houseplant in terms of looks and mature size. When you choose the right indoor plant for your space, these fast-growing houseplants will add a vibrant energy to your corner that is hard to capture in any other way.

Also known as Amazonian elephant's ear, African mask plant (Alocasia × amazonica 'Polly') is a fast-growing houseplant whose large leaves provide dramatic appeal and cannot be ignored. These Alocasia plants have large, arrowhead-shaped leaves that are dark green with contrasting veins, and have wavy margins, creating an impressive focal point when placed in the previously dull corner of a room. These indoor plants need bright, indirect light, high levels of humidity, and reach 1 to 2 feet tall and wide at maturity.

With heart-shaped to arrowhead-shaped leaves that can appear in solid or splashy shades of pastel pink, light green, and cream, the pale coloration of Arrowhead vine (Syngonium podophyllum) foliage can brighten up a boring corner. This fast-growing vining plant can be grown in a hanging basket or on a moss pole, where its vines can grow to be 6 feet in length, with a 2 foot spread. As a houseplant, arrowhead vine prefers bright, indirect light – and it may also be the perfect plant for your humid bathroom.

Banana trees (Musa spp.) are tropical trees you can grow as houseplants, and they will thrive indoors in corners when provided with full sun – or the equivalent exposure from a grow light. These 1- to 3-foot, fast-growing indoor plants have extra-large, paddle-shaped leaves that grow from non-woody trunks. While indoor gardeners are unlikely to grow crops of fruit indoors from banana plants, these large indoor plants will have no trouble producing a tropical atmosphere in your living space.

Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) produces long, green fronds that look beautiful in hanging baskets or on plant stands. Also known as sword fern, Boston fern can be grown in corners with bright, indirect light, as long as there is plenty of humidity. This fast-growing fern extends to 3 feet tall and wide as a houseplant, and while the fronds of an all-green Boston fern will help any indoor space glow, variegated cultivars with yellow coloration will brighten a room even more.

'Cebu blue' is a cultivar of Epipremnum pinnatum, a type of pothos also known as dragon tail plant. With its blueish green, lance-shaped leaves, this indoor plant will bring some cool tones to any corner in need of brightening up, as long as you can provide this tropical plant with bright, indirect light and a moderate level of humidity. The fast-growing vines of 'Cebu Blue' pothos can grow up to 6 feet long as a houseplant.

Also known as Japanese aralia or big-leaf paper plant, fatsia (Fatsia japonica) is a gorgeous foliage plant with big, glossy, green leaves. Fatsia's leaves are deeply lobed in a palm shape, and in some cultivars, are variegated. If your hopes are to bring a bit of the outdoors to a lifeless corner of your home, growing a fatsia as a houseplant will do the job — it can reach 6 feet tall and wide or more at maturity. This fast-growing plant can grow in a wide range of light exposures, from full sun, to low light.

With arching, wobbly stems that each bear a single, rounded, green leaf, friendship plant (Pilea peperomioides) cuts an unusual, attention-grabbing profile as a houseplant even though it grows to be just 1 foot tall and wide. Also known as UFO plant, coin plant, or pancake plant, these indoor plants are low maintenance and fast-growing, providing interest without overwhelming the room. Situate a friendship plant in a corner with bright indirect light for a unique touch of green.

With long vines that can reach 40 feet in length, golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) will shine like a star, brightening a dim corner of a room. Known also by the names devil's ivy or devil's vine, golden pothos is a fast-growing and low maintenance houseplant, whose vines are covered with glossy, variegated, green and yellow leaves. While golden pothos tolerates low light levels, these indoor plants thrive with brighter light and don't mind up to six hours of direct sunlight per day.

Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) is one of the beautiful, fast-growing houseplants that thrive in low light. With glossy, heart-shaped green or variegated leaves, heartleaf philodendron's climbing and trailing vines can reach 20 feet long, giving your indoor space a jungle feel, and making this philodendron a perfect indoor plant to brighten up a dull corner. Sometimes called parlor ivy or sweetheart plant, these easy-to-grow plants are also fun to propagate, and cuttings can be rooted in a glass of water.

A rapidly growing houseplant that is full of color, inch plant (Tradescantia zebrina) is loved for its variegated purple, green, and silver foliage on trailing stems. There are also many cultivars with variations on these color combinations, including paler versions with creams and pinks in the mix. Inch plant grows beautifully in a corner when provided with bright, indirect light. Inch plants are easy to propagate from cuttings, with plants reaching 9 inches tall with a 24-inch spread at maturity.

Also known as cutleaf philodendron, Monstera deliciosa has a big presence when grown as a houseplant, so if you have an empty corner that needs filling quickly, this monstera can do the job. With extra-large, dark green leaves that develop splits or perforations in them as they age, this fast-growing plant will easily grow to 8 feet tall and wide as an indoor plant. Provide this monstera with bright, indirect light, and offer it warm temperatures and extra humidity to keep it thriving.

Money tree (Pachira aquatica) is a fast-growing tree that has compound, palm shaped, green leaves. Sometimes sold with braided trunks, these attractive houseplants prefer indirect, bright light, and can infuse boring corners with a tropical vibe. When grown outdoors, it can grow up to 60 feet tall, but cultivated as an indoor plant it remains at a more manageable 6 to 8 feet in height. As a bonus, money tree is considered safe for households with cats and dogs.

Network prayer plant (Goeppertia kegeljanii) is a houseplant with a surprising leaf pattern. Also known as mosaic calathea, the large, glossy leaves of this species look as though they've been decorated with a light and dark green mesh pattern. These heart-shaped leaves don't just catch your eye when located in the corner of a room — they captivate your attention, making you wonder if they are real. Network prayer plant rapidly reaches its mature size of two feet tall and wide, and grows best in bright, indirect light.

It's no wonder this indoor plant is so widely grown, since spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is one of the easiest houseplants anyone can keep alive. With long, wispy, green or green and white leaves, this foliage plant can light up gloomy corners — even in low light conditions. This fast-growing indoor plant grows to be 2 feet tall and wide at maturity, and it produces long stems that bear cute plantlets, which can be easily propagated into new plants.

Often grown in a hanging basket, string of pearls (Curio rowleyanus) is a striking succulent plant whose trailing stems are covered with globe-shaped leaves. The strings of leaves that cascade from these plants bear a resemblance to peas, providing a playful sense of novelty in a houseplant. String of pearls is best used in sunny corners where it can soak up at least two hours of direct sun per day, and where its fast-growing vines will reach 2 to 3 feet in length.

Like Monstera deliciosa, Swiss cheese vine (Monstera adansonii) is one of the monstera plant varieties you should know about, especially when seeking out houseplants for bright, indirect sunlight. With verdant climbing vines that support large, perforated, green or variegated leaves, Swiss cheese vines create a jungle-inspired atmosphere when they grace the corner of the room. Also known as five hole plant, this fast-growing tropical rainforest species can reach 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide as an indoor plant.

With semi-succulent, triangular leaves that look like English ivy, wax ivy (Senecio macroglossus) has twining vines that look beautiful spilling out of a wall planter or hanging basket. Differing from its look-alike, wax ivies produce cheery, daisy-like blooms that will brighten up a glum corner. Also known as Natal ivy, to make the most of this fast-growing houseplant provide it with bright to medium light, coupled with around six hours of direct sun per day. Expect wax ivy vines to reach 6 feet long.

Wax plants (Hoya carnosa) are long-lived houseplants whose vines can travel around a room, even if they start in a distant corner. These fast-growing hoyas produce vines covered with green, variegated, or splashy foliage, and breathtaking flowers. With many different cultivars in addition to the straight species, there are a number of ways these plants can breathe life into a room. Provide wax plants with bright indirect light plus just a few hours of direct sunlight per day, and let your jaw drop as their vines grow to lengths of 25 feet or more.