Just like every other room in your home, the bathroom deserves to be decorated with lush greenery. But the question is, what plant could flourish there? It can be a bit tricky due to warm temperature, low light, and high humidity where only a few houseplants will thrive.
We collected eighteen houseplant suggestions for you that you can grow in your bathroom. Check them out below. But first, let’s dig into the points that you need to consider when choosing bathroom flora.
Positioning
Space for greenery is often limited as bathrooms tend to be on the smaller side of your dwelling, and because of this, tall or large flora don’t usually thrive in the bathroom. The best thing to do is to opt for for plants that will trail down from a high shelf or can hang from the ceiling. You can as well make use of the windowsill, it’s a great location for your bathroom plants as they can enjoy lots of light exposure from there.
Light Requirements
Another challenge for picking a bathroom plant is that most bathrooms have small windows and others have none at all. Keep in mind that all plants, even the low light ones need some light to grow. Fluorescent light bulbs are a good idea in the bathroom as they produce wavelengths that your plants need.
Humidity in the Air
Are you a fan of a hot shower? Hot running water from your shower can cause temperature levels and humidity to rise instantly. This doesn’t suit most plants, but this gives you a better picture why some tropical plants do great in bathrooms.
Now let’s dig in deeper into the top 18 plant choices that can flourish in your bathroom:
1. Begonia
Begonia plants are great for indoors, and the bathroom is one of the ideal locations for them because they are overwintered inside in many climates. Use fluorescent lighting for this flora or place them on the windowsill, except for north-facing windows. Remember that they need regular misting and daily bathroom humidity.
2. Haworthia
Haworthia is a low light succulent plant that contains more than seventy species of the South African genus. Most of them are compact and easy to flourish in a low light setting. They are ideal types for bathroom growth because of its humid environment and limited space. They can simply glean their water from the humid bathroom air alone.
3. Cast Iron Plant
The cast iron plant is an incredibly tough houseplant. It can survive infrequent watering, extreme heat, and low light. Place this potted plant in low to moderate light for best results. Water it regularly and keep it out of direct sunlight as much as possible. It will flourish in temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees.
4. ZZ Plant
Also known as the ‘eternity plant’, this virtually indestructible houseplant can take long months of low light and neglect and still look amazing. It can do best in bright to moderate, indirect light but will also do fine in extremely low light levels. It boasts beautiful, glossy oval-shaped leaves that will bring a vibrant and fresh feeling to your bathroom.
5. Dieffenbachia
Dieffenbachia is a large and showy houseplant that is perfect for your home decoration. it is adaptable to different types of conditions and lighting in which you might not expect this houseplant to grow. This can be a great decor for your bathroom if you have a larger bathroom space. Add a fluorescent lighting in your bathroom or place it in a windowsill where it can keep out of direct sunlight.
6. Boston Fern
The Boston fern is a popular native to tropical and subtropical rain forests. With its long, hanging fronds and frilly leaves, this popular variety of fern is perfect for your bathroom. Place it on a windowsill or in any part of the bathroom that receives a lot of indirect light. For your fern to flourish, it’s important to maintain temperature and humidity of between 55 and 75 degrees. The soil should be kept moist but not saturated during its growing months.
7. Dracaena
This colorful, strap-like plant foliage also known as the dragon plant is easy and fairly simple to grow. Many cultivars are tall, tree-like plants while others are smaller. You should opt for smaller ones for your bathroom. Place your dragon plant somewhere in the bathroom that has brightly filtered light. It is forgiving of temperatures, as long as it is not too cold.
8. Snake Plant
Snake Plant or the ‘Mother-in-Law’s Tongue’ leaves feature white or yellow edging, which grow upright. It is considered as one of the hardiest indoor plants that can survive low light temperature and is flexible in terms of water and heat. It is also known to filter some nasty household toxins from the bathroom air.
9. Ivy
Ivy can make a bright light, wonderful houseplant. It can grow long and lush. English ivy cultivars are the most well known type of ivy grown indoors. Growing it indoors isn’t hard as long as you provide what it needs. The very important part of the ivy houseplant is light, it needs moderate light. Without appropriate light, it will become sickly and leggy looking and more prone to pests. Requiring just moderate sunlight exposure, this evergreen plant enjoys the high levels of humidity that can be found in bathrooms.
10. Chinese Evergreen
While most flora require minimal effort in providing proper growing conditions such as light, humidity and temperature, growing a Chinese evergreen can make even the beginner indoor gardener look like a pro. This tropical plant is described as ‘almost foolproof’ as it’s considered one of the most durable household flora you can grow in your bathroom. It can tolerate dry air, drought and poor light. It’s just easy to care for.
11. Orchid
Are you looking to have a luxury spa feel in your bathroom? The elegant orchid plant is an incredible addition.
Place the orchid on the bathroom windowsill, where there is indirect sunlight. You can also perch it next to the sink or on the corner of the bathtub.
12. Aloe Vera
Known as the plant of immortality due to the fact that it’s hard to kill, the aloe plant is a great and very useful plant that you can have at home.
The juice of aloe vera has lots of vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, the gel is used as a topical treatment for burns, insect bites, minor cuts, dry skin and a lot more.
This healing plant should be situated close to the window of the bathroom due to its low water requirements. With the humidity alone, it can already meet most of its water needs.
13. Philodendron
Philodendron is a tropical indoor plant that is easy to care for. They prefer medium light intensity. Make sure the light is not too intense because they will turn yellow. On the other hand, if its leaves are widely spaced, it may require more light so you must consider installing fluorescent lights.
14. Tillandsias
Tillandsias grow differently than majority of other houseplants so they can be a bit confusing to newbie gardeners. They are good low-care types for a humid bathroom temperature with low to moderate lighting. They don’t need soil to thrive.
15. Pothos
This plant is considered to be a great way to get started caring for houseplant flora. This lovely plant is an easy way to add some green into your home. Pothos plants do well both in bright indirect light and low light, and can be grown in vases of water or dry soil. It’s a great addition to your bathroom as they can tolerate low light. To stop pothos from getting out of control at the same time save on space, hang it from the high shelf or from the ceiling.
16. Bamboo
Bamboos need very little light to grow, so place them in low and indirect light. No need to use soil, just pop the bamboo stalk into some containers filled with water and pebbles —and you’re done. You need to change the water every 2 to 4 weeks.
The disadvantage of this plant is that it is fast growing. The best way to curtail its growth is to shape it regularly or provide a physical barrier like a recessed shelf.
17. Peace Lily
Peace lilies, also know as closet plants, are a common choice for homes and offices. They make excellent houseplants for indoors. They are the easiest to care for but be aware of the proper growing conditions that they require. Peace lilies enjoy medium to low light. Position the plant next to a steamy shower to stimulate the natural humidity of the tropics.
18. Spider Plant
This plant helps in removing fumes, odors, and around 90% formaldehyde from the air. A spider plant requires little care. Whether they get shade or full sun, they work well in bathrooms.
Inspiration for this post: Natural Living Ideas (with permission)
