15 Houseplants Perfect For Growing Indoors
Having a houseplant can sometimes be a stressful thing if you don't have the greenest thumb, but for folks who do know how to care for plants, having an indoor plant can be life-changing. There are various plants to grow in your homes, such as orchids, succulents, and snake plants. You just have to find the right one for you that will be the easiest to take care of. Houseplants offer you a wide range of benefits, aside from taking up a small space in your house.
Healthline discusses how houseplants can reduce any stress or fatigue you may have and instead boost your energy and mood. Since most folks spend the majority of their time indoors, they don't receive the positive feel-good energy nature has to offer. Adding a few plants around your home can create a safe, mood-boosting, and healthy environment. Healthline touches on how houseplants can also increase your work performance, whether you're working from home or in an office because they increase productivity.
If you have trouble focusing on your work or feel sluggish throughout the day at home, think about growing a houseplant. Here are a few options you can choose from that vary from low maintenance to high maintenance through their growing process.
1. American maidenhair fern
If you're a plant growing expert in search of a challenge, then try growing an American maidenhair fern (adiantum pedatum). They're stunning large green plants with various long fan-shaped leaves that would look amazing in your living room. Maidenhair ferns have been used in medicine, but folks shouldn't consume too much of them since it's unknown whether it's safe to consume large amounts, according to WebMD. Instead, you can simply use it for its oxygen and decorative purposes. They should be watered weekly, keeping their soil moist but not soaked, and receive full to partial sunlight, via Monrovia.
2. Orchids
Orchids (orchidaceae) are gorgeous hardy plants that come in almost every color of the rainbow and can bloom flowers in multiple colors. They can provide health benefits to your home, such as improving air quality, reducing your stress, and improving your focus, according to Just Add Ice. Since they're planted in rocky material such as bark or stones and not in soil, orchids should be watered once a week while receiving at least six hours of sunlight a day, per American Orchid Society.
3. Ponytail palm
One of the easiest houseplants you can grow and keep alive is the ponytail palm plant (beaucarnea recurvata) since it's extremely low maintenance. This plant has a beautiful round base with a tall, lean trunk that sprouts numerous long leaves on every side of it. According to Insider, this palm is one of the best air purifying plants you can keep in your home, turning toxic gasses into oxygen, and it's hard to kill. They can go weeks without being watered since their trunk holds all of their water, and they should receive lots of indirect sunlight, as noted by Brittany Goldwyn.
4. Snake plant
Snake plants (sansevieria trifasciata) are one of the coolest indoor plants you can grow in your home. They have dark, long sword-shaped leaves that grow straight up from their soil and have different colored vein-like designs on their leaves. Similar to ponytail palm plants, snake plants can also be great air purifiers that remove toxic molecules, according to Healthline. They can help boost your mood and help fight off allergies. They're low maintenance, only needing water once a week and up to six hours of sunlight, per Insider.
5. Peace lily
The most elegant houseplant is a peace lily plant (spathiphyllum) which grows with lots of forest green foliage and pops of white flowers at the ends of them. While peace lilies can bring an abundance of personality to your home, it also helps filter the air to help you breathe better and helps you sleep better too by absorbing airborne mold spores, according to The Week Magazine. Peace lilies aren't too hard to handle; they just need their soil moist at all times and should receive bright, indirect sunlight throughout the day, via Miracle-Gro.
6. Jade plant
Succulents are also an easy houseplant to grow and keep alive; the jade plant (crassula ovata) can grow into a beautiful small tree with various sturdy branches and small oval forest green leaves. If you find yourself with a bit of bad luck, this evergreen plant can bring you some good in your life while also absorbing the CO2 in your house while you sleep, states Urban Organic Yield. Jade plants enjoy full to part sun and their soil moist at all times, per House Sparrow.
7. Bunny ears cactus
While the name sounds like a soft and cuddly animal, the actual plant is the opposite of everything you might have in mind. The bunny ears cactus (opuntia microdasys) is a small prickly cactus with an overwhelming amount of thorns you should be careful around. Also known as prickly pear, this cactus, among others, has many health benefits such as reducing cholesterol, improving diabetes, and curing hangovers, as noted by Mayo Clinic. Bunny ears can go weeks without water once established, but they need six hours of sunlight daily, via Succulents Box.
8. Split-leaf philodendron
The split-leaf philodendron (monstera deliciosa) is a massive green plant with multiple giant forest green leaves that resemble Swiss cheese. It's a great plant to keep in your home since it purifies the air, and it can also help cure any snake or insect bites, especially if you have pesky mosquitos flying around at night, claims GetGoldoon. To get your split-leaf to grow those gorgeous dark green leaves, place it in an area where it'll receive full indirect sunlight, and you'll want to water it when the first couple inches of its soil are dry, according to Wisconsin Horticulture.
9. Fiddle leaf fig
If you want to bring the trees into your home, you can grow a fiddle leaf fig (ficus lyrata) which grows up to 10 feet tall with large green leaves. Passing by a fig tree in your home can help keep your mental health positive and improve your focus and concentration, according to Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant Resource. Your fig tree should be placed in front of a large window where it can get direct sunlight, and water it once a week when you notice the top of the soil is dry, per Stump Plants.
10. Devil's ivy
A devil's ivy plant (epipremnum aureum) can be a great addition to your bedroom or kitchen. It sprouts numerous small green stems that grow big pointy leaves that can add a pop of color to any room. They're perfect for purifying the air in your home to help you breathe better, cleaner air, claims Plant Store. Devil's ivy is low maintenance as long as they're kept in an area where it'll receive indirect sunlight, and they're not overwatered, preferring damp soil to standing water.
11. Lemon lime plant
The bicolor lemon lime plant (dracaena fragrans) is a stunning potted plant that grows long pointy leaves that are exactly the colors of a lemon and lime. They promote various benefits such as increasing your productivity with its magical essence, via West Coast Nurseries Group. It can help improve your memory, reduce your stress, and overall make you feel better with its presence. Lemon lime plants should receive bright, indirect sunlight and be watered only when their soil is dry, according to By Brittany Goldwyn.
12. Croton
If there's any houseplant, you need to grow it's croton (codiaeum variegatum) for its striking foliage of orange, yellow, and green. Their seeds have a plethora of health benefits such as cleansing the intestines and stomach, but there are safety concerns to consuming the seeds, so definitely talk to your doctor before consuming them, according to RxList. The seeds can also be placed on the skin to help relieve joint pain. When you grow the plant, make sure it gets four to six hours of sunlight and water when the soil is dry, via Miracle-Gro.
13. Flamingo flower
If you're looking to add some color to your simple spaces, then a flamingo flower (anthurium) is a great plant to grow in your home. They grow with gorgeous forest green leaves and a few bright red-orange flowers among the green. Rolling Nature claims that the flamingo flower is on NASA's list for top air purifying plants, so you can have cleaner air to breathe. It thrives in indirect sunlight and watering it regularly when it's first growing, then after it's established, making sure the soil is kept moist, states Almanac.
14. Lucky bamboo
Growing lucky bamboo (dracaena sanderiana) can bring luck into your house, as it says in its name. The bamboo grows in small thick stalks that form in three different groups where the stalks grow from high to low. They grow small pointy leaves at the ends of the bamboo. The number of stalks that grow has various meanings; for example, from one stalk meaning goodwill to 21 stalks has the most powerful blessing, via fnp blog. They're extremely easy to grow, just change their water every seven days and keep them in bright indirect sunlight, per Almanac.
15. Money tree
Even though everyone wishes for money to grow on trees, it doesn't, but the money tree plant (pachira aquatica) can bring so much more to you and your home. The money tree grows tall with a thick braided trunk that sprouts large green leaves at the top. It can bring a lot of positivity and love to your home, according to fnp blog, as well as purify your air. They should be kept in bright, indirect sunlight and watered only when the soil is dry, via Miracle-Gro.