Houseplants that will Thrive in your Bathroom
We don’t know about you, but we’ve filled every single corner of our homes with houseplants, even the bathroom. Bathrooms & wet rooms are the perfect spots for our tropical green beauties. They’ll just thrive in bathrooms, absorbing all the extra humidity.
If you haven’t filled your bathroom with houseplants yet (give it time!), read on to learn more about our favourite moisture-loving houseplants and why they benefit from being positioned in your bathroom.
Why are plants so good in Bathrooms?
Plants that love humidity are great for bathrooms and will thrive because they replicate their natural tropical climate. They’re hot, humid and bright, which are three things moisture-loving plants need to be happy and healthy.
Not only that but having plants in your bathroom creates an instant spa-like vibe, enabling you to unleash your inner zen when you’re getting ready in the morning or winding down in the evening, soaking in the bath surrounded by greenery.
Pruning and caring for your plants can also be a bit like taking a meditative moment, giving you five minutes to forget about your worries and stresses.
However, bear in mind that not all plants are suitable for bathrooms, especially lower light level bathrooms, so choose your bathroom plants carefully. We’ve pulled together a gorgeous plant selection below to help you get started.
Will plants grow if my bathroom has no window?
While some plants are happy to tolerate low light levels, all plants need some light to survive and grow. No living plants can survive for too long in a bathroom without windows.
Think about it this way: how often do you use your bathroom every day? Most of us are only in there for a short time while we shower and bathe. Because the lights are rarely on, a bathroom without windows becomes dark, replicating nighttime conditions for the majority of the day. This prevents plants from carrying out photosynthesis, which is a key process they use to turn light into oxygen and energy.
If your bathroom doesn’t let in any natural light, pop your plant elsewhere to keep it happy or you can always move a low light-loving plant like the Zamioculcas in and out every 10 days so it gets good light for the 10 days it is on the windowsill.
Plants that are Happy to Live in Bathrooms
If you’re looking to fill your bathroom with a selection of gorgeous green beauties, take a look at @our_snow_nest for some inspo. We’ve pulled together a list of our favourite small bathroom plants that’ll thrive, taking up moisture and humidity produced by your shower or bath. Find out more below and take your pick of this stunning plant gang.
Chinese Money Plant
Officially known as Pilea Peperomioides, the Chinese Money Plant is an eye-catching green beauty and one of the most popular and instafamous houseplants. It’s believed to bring good luck and fortune to anyone who owns one – hence the name.
The Chinese Money Plant’s perfect for bathrooms because it enjoys plenty of humidity and moisture. It doesn’t like being too dry, so a nice, warm shower or bath will keep it happy. As long as it gets plenty of moisture, the leaves will remain a beautiful dark green colour.
Top styling tip: Bundle it up with other moisture-loving houseplants like the Chamaedorea or Hoya Heart to create an indoor jungle vibe in your bathroom.
Boston Fern
Boston Ferns are quite possibly the ultimate bathroom plants. They’re also the easiest fern to care for and make a beautiful centrepiece in any indoor jungle.
High humidity is essential for Boston Ferns because they come from woodlands, swamps and forests. They don’t like drying out and get pretty grumpy without enough moisture, so a lovely warm bath or shower provides plenty of hydration. In turn, your plant will restore moisture to the air and cleanse it of nasty toxins, such as formaldehyde, xylene and toluene. This means the air you breathe will be much cleaner, making you feel better – especially after a long, hard day.
Top styling tip: Let the bushy fronds grow wild by placing them on a shelf or on a bath board across your bath making a feature with your greenery.
Asparagus Fern
The Asparagus Fern is a furry green beauty. The softy feathery leaves add a fun tropical vibes to your bathroom. Similar to the Boston Fern, this cute little guy likes a humid environment with dappled sunlight so works well in your bathroom space.
Placing your plant in a humid bathroom allows the environment to do the misting for you, meaning you don’t have to worry about giving it a regular spritz. Pop it near your bathroom window and watch it thrive before your very eyes. Just don’t forget to water your bathroom plants too. They will still need a good drink, ensuring the soil is fully hydrated.
Top styling tip: Keep it simple and let the leaves take centre stage by putting your Asparagus Fern on a shelf or on the side of your sink. Keep the area around it free from clutter to let the plant stand out. Green on white is a winning colour combo! Inspiration taken from @hughes_at_home.
Monstera
If you only have space for one houseplant in your bathroom, make sure it’s a Monstera. Both the Monstera Monkey Leaf and the Monstera Deliciosia (which is also known as the Swiss Cheese Plant because of the holes in the leaves) are excellent bathroom plants.
Monsteras are happy in medium light and environments with around 40-50% humidity. However, they thrive best in rooms with at least 60% humidity, which bathrooms provide when they’re being used regularly. Make sure your Monstera has access to good light and water your plant once a week to ensure it thrives.
Top styling tip: Pop your Monstera on a bathroom unit or in the corner ensuring it gets good light to allow the characteristic split leaves to form as the plants grows.
Devil’s Ivy
The Devil’s Ivy is an all-round easy going guy and one of our faves here at The Little Botanical. It has gorgeous heart-shaped leaves with bright yellow flecks and stripes running through them. Just looking at them before your morning shower is enough to brighten up your day.
The plant gets its nickname because it’s so hard to kill. It only needs a bit of water every 7-10 days , and it’ll visible wilt if it doesn’t get enough, letting you know when to give it another drink. It also thrives when it gets enough moisture. Coming from warm, tropical climes, it’s used to plenty of humidity so it’ll be right at home in a well-used bathroom.
Top styling tip: Pop your Devil’s Ivy as high up as you can or fix a shelf in your bathroom so you can watch the leaves beautifully trail. It’ll also benefit from the rising moisture from your bath or shower. This trailing beauty looks perfect in a macrame hanger too!
Bathroom Plant Bundle
If you want to create a full jungle look in your bathroom, we’ve made life super easy for you by creating our gorgeous Bathroom Plant Bundle. It comes with some of the best bathroom-loving green beauties, including:
- Chamaedorea (Parlour Palm)
- Calathea (Prayer Plant)
- Boston Fern (Sword Fern)
- Monstera Monkey Leaf (Monstera Obliqua)
- Medium Croton (Codiaeum Variegatum)
- Single Hoya Heart (Sweetheart Plant)
We’ve selected these plants because they love humidity and thrive in bathrooms with the right lighting.
Top styling tip: Place them against light tiles to make the greenery pop. You could also hang some plants from the ceiling with a Macrame Hanger to create a fresh new look.
Tradescantia
You’ll go wild for the Tradescantia’s two-tone stripey leaves. It trails beautifully and is oh-so easy to care for, making it an all-around fabulous plant.
Tradescantia plants thrive in humidity and enjoy frequent, regular moisture to keep their leaves from turning brown. Don’t be fooled into thinking they need much water, though, as they’re happy to have a drink once every 7-10 days.
Top styling tip: Tradescantia plants look great in a macrame plant hanger. Attach one to the ceiling and witness your plant take pride of place in your bathroom.
Fiddle Leaf Fig
The Fiddle Leaf Fig is instafamous, it even has its’ own hashtag; #fiddleleaffriday! It’s large paddle leaves are just stunning – and they don’t stop growing. It’s a tolerant houseplant, and it thrives in, warm, bright conditions, making your bathroom a perfect position for your plant to grow.
It does take a little TLC to look after this beauty, as Fiddle Leaf Figs like a good drink but should never sit in water. That’s why the soil must be fast draining to stop root rot from setting in.
Top styling tip: Perfect as a floor standing plant in your bathroom. Make sure it gets good light and it will reward you with new paddle leaves! Search for the hashtag #fiddleleaffig on Instagram to get some inspo on how to style your plant.
Spider Plant
With their retro vibes and palm-like stripey leaves; Spider Plants are the easiest plants to look after. They also produce babies, which you can share with your friends and family. How cute is that!
While Spider Plants can tolerate low humidity environments, they enjoy higher moisture levels than many other plants, so keeping one in your bathroom takes away the hard work of misting it every day. They also like warm temperatures, so when you are enjoying a soothing bath or shower, they’ll get the moisture they need. Just don’t forget to water them too.
Top styling tip: Because the leaves are so interesting, keep the styling simple by leaving your Spider Plant in its concrete pot (which comes included). Place it in front of your neutral tiles to let the colours pop.
Chamaedorea
The popular British Chamaedorea is effortlessly stylish and boasts beautiful palm shaped leaves also commonly used in flower bouquets. They’re so easy to grow indoors and only need a little TLC to be happy. Here’s a fun fact: Chamaedoreas were kept in parlours during Victorian times as they were a sign of wealth. This is also why they’re also known as Parlour Palms.
Keeping your Chamaedorea in your bathroom provides the moisture and warmth it needs to be happy, especially during winter when it’s cold and dry. It also keeps the leaves free from dust, encouraging them to grow. Brown leaf tips are an indication that your plant’s not getting enough moisture, so keep an eye on this and increase the humidity levels if it seems a bit sad.
Top styling tip: Parlour Palms look great on their own or in the centre of an indoor jungle. Why not create your own bathroom plant gang with your favourite pick of moisture-loving plants?
Hoya Heart
The distinctive Hoya Heart is just so cute. It comes with a single heart or double heart leaf, bringing a smile onto your face .
Surprisingly, these little beauties like to be misted, so placing it in a bathroom keeps it hydrated, particularly during the summer. Doing this means you barely have to do anything to it – just sit back and admire it when you next enjoy a nice, relaxing bath.
Top styling tip: The Hoya Heart’s such a sweet little plant; planted in our signature dipped pot it’ll look fab on your bathroom windowsill. This will also give it the indirect light it needs to stay happy and healthy.
Peperomia Piccolo
The Peperomia Piccolo is a leafy succulent with beautiful patterned leaves, guaranteed to add a bit of interest and style to your home. Despite its ornate appearance, it’s easy to look after – even for plant newbies.
The Peperomia Piccolo, which is known for storing water in its leaves, is usually found in tropical rainforests and cloud forests where the humidity’s at around 90%. This means it enjoys environments with about 40-50% humidity, which bathrooms provide.
Top styling tip: Create a plant shelfie with your favourite high humidity bathroom plants, making sure you place your Peperomia Piccolo in centre stage, so you can admire those beautiful leaves.
Peperomia Rotundifolia
The Peperomia Rotundifolia, which is also known as the Trailing Jade, is a great trailing plant and one of our bestsellers. One of its other nicknames is the Radiator Plant because of its fondness for warm temperatures.
The plant copes well under artificial or fluorescent light, making it perfect for low-light bathrooms. As a tropical plant, it also needs plenty of moisture, so it’ll benefit from the steam of a warm bath or shower.
Top styling tip: Place it on a shelf and let the gorgeous small, little leaves and trailing stems grow downwards. You could also hang our Medium Peperomia Rotundifolia from your bathroom ceiling in our small macramé hanger. Arriving in our signature Little Botanical pot, this little guy is easy to style in your home.
Peperomia Watermelon
If you’re anything like us, you’ll love the Peperomia Watermelon. As the name suggests, the leaves look like mini watermelons – aren’t they cute! It loves humidity, especially in the warm summer months. This will keep the leaves moist and healthy.
Perfectly sized, it’ll fit into a bathroom no matter the space. Peperomias are also comfortable living in low light environments, so they’re happy to adapt if your bathroom doesn’t get as much light.
Top styling tip: Add a bit of contrast to your bathroom plant gang, by including the Peperomia Watermelon as your centrepiece.
Jungle Orchid
Our Jungle Orchid is a beautiful orchid with a leafy green Chamaedorea, giving it an urban jungle look. The plant produces lots of tiny blooms, allowing you to enjoy its long-lasting flowers during the growing seasons. Enjoy the drama of watching the blooms open while you enjoy a bath.
While orchids only need watering once every -14 days with 20ml at a time, the moss needs to be frequently freshened with plenty of moisture. Instead of misting your plant, place it in your bathroom and let the steam from a shower or bath do it for you. This ensures it gets all the hydration it needs without the risk of it sitting in water.
Top styling tip: Place your Jungle Orchid on a windowsill and let the gorgeous blooms do the talking. It’s so beautiful to look at; it doesn’t need any additional styling.
We’d love to see pictures of your green beauties in your gorgeous bathrooms. Tag us on Instagram using @thelittlebotanical to be featured on our feed.. And contact our team if you have any questions, get in touch with us at [email protected].
Lots of love,
Team TLB xx
