Living plants increase our connection to nature and make our bathrooms more attractive and pleasant. They improve the air quality.
Bathrooms provide an excellent environment for plants with optimal levels of warmth and humidity. But not all plants can survive bathroom conditions. Therefore, you need to select what plant you put in your bathroom carefully.
Here are the 11 best plants suited for the bathroom environment.
1. Asparagus Fern (Asparagus Densiflorus)
The asparagus fern is a pale green plant that’s well suited for bathroom humidity levels. It’s lacy and airy and does well in bright or moderate light. Although this plant seems soft to touch, the stems have thorns. It’s also highly toxic.
Asparagus fern does best when placed by the window where there’s more light. Plant it in well-drained potting soil, and you can expect it to grow up to 2 feet tall with branches spreading as wide as 6 feet.
2. Cast-Iron Plant (Aspidistra Elatior)
Aspidistra elatior is an excellent bathroom plant that requires very little maintenance. The plant is highly resilient, which explains the name cast-iron. Aspidistra elatior requires little to no light. In fact, it can tolerate a full shade, although the variegated variety requires a bit more light than solid green types.
The plant features a medium green color and can grow to 2 to 3 feet high. It’s worth noting that the cast-iron plant doesn’t tolerate much humidity. Therefore, consider placing it in a well-drained peaty potting mix in your rarely-used guest bathroom. Also, although it’s a flowering plant, it’s rare for it to produce flowers when grown indoors.
3. Begonia (Begonia Spp.)
Though most begonia varieties do well in containers, rex begonia is the best one for bathrooms. It has flashy foliage that makes it thrive in the humidity and warmth of a bathroom shelf. Ensure the general-purpose soil-less potting mix where you plant it never gets waterlogged. This can cause its roots to rot.
The plant comes in various colors, including dark green, light green, bronze, and variegated foliage. If you want them to produce flowers, allow direct sunlight through to your bedroom. For foliage, ensure the plant gets bright light but not directly from sunlight.
4. Bamboo (Bambusa Spp.)
Most of us know the bamboo plant and its love affair with water. If it’s your plant of choice for your bathroom, expect it to give that room some good spa vibe with very little maintenance. Remember, the bamboo plant is quite an invasive plant, and though a container may help control this, it will still grow large. So, it may be necessary to re-pot the plant almost every year.
Bamboo color varieties include dark green and pale foliage and variegated specimens. Allow about 6 hours of direct sunlight for proper plant growth, although bamboo can still do well with low light levels. Keep it in sandy potting and feed it with highly nitrogenous diluted fertilizer every week during the summer, and in the winter, reduce the feeding to monthly.
5. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron Scandens)
Heartleaf philodendron is a beautiful plant with heart-shaped leaves. It gives your bathroom a charming look, in addition to freshening the air. The plant grows pretty fast. You can make heartleaf philodendron bushier and fuller by cutting out the growing tips.
Alternatively, just allow the tips to grow and then trim over the container’s sides later. The plant is extremely hardy, requiring minimal light but loves high humidity.
6. Snake Plant (Sansevieria Trifasciata)
The snake plant also goes by other interesting names—mother-in-law’s tongue, St. George’s sword, and viper’s bowstring hemp. This plant is almost impossible to kill. Sansevieria varieties, in particular, can survive any conditions, from nearly no light to direct or bright light.
The good news is that the snake plant doesn’t need as much water. Actually, the humidity in your bathroom may be enough for these hardy plants to thrive and grow up to 4 feet tall. The only time watering is necessary is when you observe dryness in the top 2 inches of the soil.
7. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum Spp.)
The peace lily is a plant with glossy green foliage and white flowers. These plants give your bathroom an elegant look and need little care. All you need to do is water regularly and keep them away from direct sunlight—plant in a well-drained potting mix and feed with a very diluted fertilizer mix from time to time.
8. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema Spp.)
A Chinese evergreen plant needs a warm, humid atmosphere with partial shade to grow and remain healthy. And what better place than your bathroom? Note that you need to be patient with this plant because it grows slowly. Their color varieties include red, dark green, and silver.
Grow the plant in a rich, well-drained potting mix and only water when the soil is completely dry. Depending on the variety, Chinese evergreen plants can grow to 10 inches to 4 feet tall. For best results, apply a slow-release fertilizer during the growing period.
9. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)
Spider plants make your bathroom more attractive with their cascading thin and long striped leaves. As long as you grow it in proper conditions and take good care, the plant will grow so fast. Allow the plant bright, filtered light throughout the day, and ensure the soil is always slightly moist.
Liquid fertilizer will do but only feed monthly during the growing period and maintain cool temperatures. Also, as long as you plant in loose, well-draining soil, the plant can grow up to 3 feet high and 2 feet wide in a pot.
10. Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia Spp.)
The dumb cane plant needs very little main10ance. Only water it when you feel the soil is dry. During summer, ensure the plant receives less bright but indirect sunlight and increase the same in the winter. Dumb canes come in a combination of white or yellow and green foliage and can grow a few feet high.
11. Pothos (Epipremnum Aureum)
Pothos is an elegant plant with heart-shaped leaves. It’s one plant you can use to help cleanse the air in your bathroom with minimal care. They like the warm and humid bathroom atmosphere and have variegated leaves.
Place them on a shelf or hanging pot to take your decorating a notch higher. The plant will thrive in bright, indirect light. Don’t expose it to direct sunlight for long, and only water when the soil gets dry.
The plant has green to marbled yellow foliage color varieties. Plant it in a peaty potting mix to do well and grow up to 6 to 10 feet high. Don’t forget to feed pothos with all-purpose houseplant fertilizer monthly during the growing season to grow well.
Takeaway
Now you know the plants best suited for a bathroom’s humidity, light, and warm conditions. But just remember, not every plant will do well in your primary or family bathroom, where people are frequently showering. Some do better in drier and shadier conditions, such as those in your guest bathroom. Therefore, you have to choose wisely.
