Best plants to grow indoors

Houseplants to green up your space

If you don't generally keep company with plants indoors (because you're normally outside so often), here's a list of easy to keep low light options for you. 

Even if you think you don't have a green thumb, just remember - there's a houseplant out there for everyone, and sometimes it just takes a few tries to find your perfect match.

So, don't give up, just keep trying until you find the perfect ones for you.

Ivy

Let it dry out between waterings, and let this vine trail from a hanging basket or cover an indoor trellis - my personal experience with ivy is it needs more light than most sites claim, and low to moderate light is recommended.

ZZ Plant

Unusual (which always earns a star in my book), does well in a dry environment, and is VERY tolerant of low light.  "They" claim if you can't grow anything, you can grow this plant.  The ZZ plant is growing in the aluminum can at the forefront of this picture.

ZZ plant in aluminum tin pot

Snake Plant (aka Mother-in-Law's Tongue aka Sansevieria) 

I have had one of these for close to a decade.  It's moved with me from North Carolina to Colorado and Cali, and it now lives in the yard (in the ground, no longer in a pot) in So Cal.  The best I can tell, it's pretty much indestructible (before I planted it, I cross checked to be sure I wouldn't regret that decision - somebody in Jacksonville, Florida claims they've tried 18 ways to kill it, and it won't die). 

If its leaves start turning brown, it might be getting too much light, and it's okay if Snake Plant dries out between waterings.

Staghorn Fern

Take your greenery vertical with one of these ferns mounted on a log or wooden surface.  These ferns thrive with no soil and like a little humidity (a bathroom that receives natural light is ideal because they do like moderate light).

Best colorful houseplants

If you want a little color, check out the plants below.

African violets

Easy to grow and beautiful even when not in bloom.  African violets require light from a window, so they don't qualify as a low light option, but they are easy to grow, have interesting (and many varieties have colorful) foliage, and are just so uplifting - especially the mini African violets.  I'm not at all biased.

dwarf African violet in bloom with purple blossoms

Bromeliads

Low light lovers that like to dry out between waterings and don't even require a lot of soil.  Many bromeliads have colorful foliage (red, pink, or white and shades of green on the same plant), and they thrive with little attention.

This class of plants is quite large, and I do quite well with some and very poorly with others, so don't be afraid to try a few different varieties.

Other options

Farmer's Almanac compiled a list of the best houseplants for cleaning the air.  You can find that complete list here.

Where to buy houseplants online

Here are just a few of my favorite places to buy houseplants online.

woman watering houseplants from terra cotta pot

Lunarly is a monthly self-care subscription offering mindfulness in a box.  You'll receive a box monthly before the new moon that's filled with products to help you set your intentions and become more present in daily life. 

Every other month Lunarly includes a plant in with the box.

Succulent Studios is one more subscription box from $10 per month for 2 plants per month (a steal considering the price of succulents).  And, they're shipped in biodegradable pots.

I don't own a single thing from Dandy Farmer (this site is price-y... then again, it's Bonsai), but I have lost hours browsing their shop.  Dandy Farmer does an excellent job of offering plants according to light requirements, and I love that they work to find a way to bring nature into any space, which is how they got started.

The Violet Barn may be my favorite online store for African violets.  With tons of minis and trailing violets and a host of other terrarium and houseplants at great prices, well, this is a great little shop.

If you're into succulents, Fat Plant San Diego offers some really cute ones at some pretty incredible prices.

Finally, if you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out these as well:

Rain Organica Blog Post A hiker's guide to staying sane while sheltered in place               Rain Organica 8 Ways to Keep Company and avoid loneliness while Sheltering in Place               

Brandy Searcy founder Rain Organica

About the Author

Brandy's a formulation scientist and self-proclaimed health geek who loves hiking, gardening, bird-watching, and body boarding. 

Her struggle with acne during her teens and 20s led to a holistic and healthy approach to skincare, embracing skin as an organ to be loved and cared for rather than a canvas to wage war on. 

Since 2008, she's been developing all-in-one products for a simple routine at home, & Rain Organica started when her backpacking friends asked for a portable skincare routine to keep their skin healthy & happy on and off the trails.

You can try Rain Organica for yourself with The Essentials Kit, a complete skincare routine in just 3 steps.

Brandy's LinkedIn Bio

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