As the planet continues to urbanize and people spend more time in barren, concrete buildings or cubicles, indoor plants have never been more popular. These living organisms provide several benefits including improving air quality, increasing productivity, and just making folks happy.
While you may see your local Home Depot swarming with cacti and a few “vines” dangling from sticks, there are many more plants for indoors that may fit your lifestyle better.
Here are the 18 best plants for indoors and their benefits.
See also: 60 Good Reasons to Work from Home
1. Aloe Vera
No backyard garden should be without an aloe plant. These plants can be used to ease the pain from a sunburn. It’s known to help heal cuts and scrapes as well, just split the side of the aloe vera leaf and use the clear goo that comes out and applies it to the wound. It should help with the healing process.
2. Boston Fern
One of the plants on the list that isn’t used purely for aesthetics. This plant is great at removing toxins from the air. It’s a fairly large plant and each leaf can grow to be two feet in length. It has small flowers that grow from the center and outward.
3. Cacti
These are great plants for people who forget to water their plants often. They actually prefer it. The cacti plant can survive in dry environments making it perfect for a college student’s dorm room. Who knows, maybe your plant could survive without water for as long as a month!
4. Corn Plant
This is another great plant to keep in the bedroom or anywhere in your home really. It helps to remove benzene from the air, which is always a good thing. It’s a pretty small plant and doesn’t take up too much space. It has pink flowers that grow upward and tend to bloom at night.
5. English Ivy
This is probably one of the most common houseplants you can find. It does well in a pot, so it’s perfect for students who need something to liven up their place. It grows fairly quickly, even when neglected, so make sure to give it proper care every once in awhile! It’s also known to help clean the air in small spaces.
6. Jade Plant
These succulent plants are fairly simple to take care of and can survive with little water. In fact, over-watering it could lead to its death, so be careful. If you don’t know what a succulent is, it’s a plant that can store water in its leaves or stems. That means it doesn’t need much water to survive. They’re fairly simple to take care of and make great additions to any house or apartment.
7. Rubber Tree
These trees are fairly large and aren’t really meant to be kept indoors, but if you have the space, then go for it! They’re great at cleaning the air around them and should last you a long time. Just don’t forget to water them every once in awhile.
8. Schefflera Arboricola a.k.a The Umbrella Plant
This is another one of those great plants for cleaning air. It’s also great if you don’t have a lot of natural light in the room you’re keeping it in since it can thrive with little sunlight. Just make sure to keep it away from windows since it can’t survive in extremely bright areas
9. Snake Plant
You’ve probably heard of the name and seen them on social media. A lot of people like to post pictures of their snake plants and some even seem to think they’re living creatures. (They’re not.) In reality, they’re very easy to care for. All they require is a lot of light and barely any water.
10. ZZ Plant
This is another good plant to keep in your bedroom. It’s specifically known to help remove toxins such as formaldehyde. It’s a fairly slow growing plant and produces small white flowers.
11. Ficus
Figs are probably some of the easiest plants to grow. They can survive with just a small amount of sunlight and can last for a long time without water. They also don’t require any special soil.
12. English Lavender
If you’re a big fan of lavender then you should really consider growing some in your home. Not only does it improve the smell of your house, but it’s also great for your skin and helping you sleep at night. It can even ward off mosquitoes!
13. Peace Lily
This is another plant that’s known to help get rid of formaldehyde in the air. (It’s extremely effective at doing this. In fact, you probably should only keep it in a room where nobody actually spends much time.) This is also a great plant for someone who tends to forget to water their plants. The Peace Lily is known to be able to survive with little to no water.
14. Gerbera Daisies
These are great for a windowsill. They’re extremely bright and colorful which helps bring some life and vibrancy to a room. They require moderate sunlight and water.
15. English Violets
These are a bit different than most plants on this list in that they require a bit more care. You can’t just throw them anywhere and expect them to thrive. They require a bit more sunlight and water than most plants and must be kept in cooler environments. That being said, they do have a sweet, pleasant smell and are extremely easy to grow.
16. Marimo Moss Ball
For those who have a hard time keeping plants alive, the Marimo Moss Ball is the plant for you. It’s extremely easy to care for and can even survive in small plastic cups. It doesn’t require any soil and can even survive out of water for up to a month. (As long as it’s kept away from direct sunlight). Most importantly, these are really cute.
17. Dragon Tree
These trees are extremely beautiful and pretty easy to take care of. They do require a lot of sunlight, but other than that they’re great for your home. They can grow up to three feet in a single year!
18. Ponytail Palm
Last, but certainly not least, we have the Ponytail Palm. This is a great plant that can easily spruce up any room in your house. It’s also extremely easy to take care of and can even survive with just artificial light (No sun at all). They’re also extremely cheap to buy.
So, there you have it! A list of 18 plants for indoor environments that are easy to grow and will spruce up your house or apartment.
If you have any suggestions for more plants you’d like to see added to the list, please don’t hesitate to mention them in the comments section below.
Happy growing!