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Over the course of the past 10 years of keeping houseplants, I’ve lived in all sorts of buildings: from a ground-floor flat at the base of a hill (hello, Pittsburgh friends!) to a large suburban house to an attic closet (ok, it was an apartment, but hardly qualified).
I’ve grown houseplants in the bathrooms of all of these places – five, in total – and most of the time the plants thrived in the humidity of the bathrooms. The only catch: all of these bathrooms had windows, with the exception of the attic flat which had a skylight that resembled a New York manhole in reverse.
Here are the plants that were perfect for my bathroom and a few tips on how to keep them happy. You’ll notice that they have one major thing in common: they NEED humidity. Not “like” or “prefer” humidity, but need it. Otherwise, you’ll ask yourself why your plant hates you and why it gets crispier than a plate of French fries.
Plants for bathrooms
1. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum)
This plant routinely shows up on lists of plants that are easy to care for, and I have no idea why. I found it finicky and hard to grow until I had the excellent idea of placing it on the washer in my bathroom.
Peace lilies do well in a humid environment, even though they hate living in soggy soil, and will promptly turn yellow if the roots are too wet. They’re the Goldilocks of houseplants, if you ask me.
Keep peace lilies happy: They’re tropical, evergreen plants that live on the forest floor in the wild. A good way to mimic that in our homes is by keeping them in bright indirect light and offering them consistent moisture without overwatering. They’re also sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and drafts. Don’t mist peace lilies, but do place them in a well-ventilated bathroom.
If they get the proper amount of light, peace lilies produce white blooms in early summer. When the peace lilies grow too large for their pot, you can either upgrade their vessel (1.5 inches larger in diameter should be enough) or divide them into two or more plants.
Peace lilies are a tropical plant, so keep the temperature above 60°F (16°C), ideally over 70°F (21°C). In my opinion, peace lilies are not the best plants for a beginner unless said beginner lives in a humid environment.
2. Croton (Codiaeum variegatum)
Crotons come in all shapes and sizes, but my favorite are the banana croton and the Petra crotons.
They love humidity, but also need bright light if you want the colors to remain vibrant.
Keep crotons happy: If they don’t get enough light, crotons tend to grow lanky and with sparse leaves that turn from their customary bright hues (red, yellow, orange) back to green. In warm and humid climates, crotons can grow as large bushes.
Check out the one below that I found in a botanical garden in Lisbon. It was absolutely breathtaking.
But in our homes, we need to keep crotons in the bathroom or the kitchen to help with the humidity requirements. Don’t water the croton if the top layer of the potting soil still looks damp. And let it dry between watering sessions because it’s quite susceptible to root rot.
3. Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
I’m going to come right out and say it: if you don’t live in a humid climate, don’t get a Boston fern unless you have space in your bathroom or kitchen for this plant. Boston ferns can get quite bushy and full when they’re in a hospitable environment, so they’re the perfect plant if you have more space to let them grow.
Keep Boston ferns happy: They will thrive in a warm and high moisture environment, so even placing them close to your shower might be a good idea.
Ferns grow aerial roots that are just as important as underground roots for taking in water. People often mistake these aerial roots for naked fronds and trim them back. Don’t do that if you want a healthy fern; aerial roots are essential for moisture control.
If your fern isn’t getting enough humidity, it will let you know by turning yellow and dropping leaves. There’s no need to panic if this happens. Just increase the frequency of watering. Always water ferns above a sink and let the water run through the pot and out through the drainage holes.
Buy a Boston fern from Costa Farms.
4. Sterling Silver Scindapsus (Scindapsus Treubii)
If you’re familiar with other types of Scindapsus (such as pothos or philodendron), you’ll know they’re easy to grow, no-fuss plants. And if you can’t get your hands on a Sterling Silver, I recommend starting with its more popular cousin, the satin pothos. Use it as a training plant to learn how to trail vines around your bathroom and how to adjust the watering schedule.
This is a newcomer from Costa Farms, one of the largest growers of houseplants in North America. At the moment, Costa Farms only sells via Amazon or through retailers.
Keep the Sterling Silver Scindapsus happy: This plant is native to Southeast Asia, and it can survive (and even thrive) indoors in bright indirect light. Unlike ferns, if you put the Sterling Silver Scindapsus in a humid room, you should pay attention and not overwater it. This is a slow-growing plant, so it won’t take too much counter space in your bathroom.
5. Arrowhead plants (Syngonium podophyllum)
My favorite thing about growing arrowhead plants is how easy they are to propagate. The plant grows its own dry root nodes. Just snap it below the node and pop it in water, and you’ll get new root growth in less than a week. (Careful with the white sap when you cut the stem, as it is a skin irritant.)
Keep arrowhead plants happy: They can tolerate low light, but will do well in medium to bright indirect light. However, don’t place them too close to a window in direct sun. They don’t like direct sun or scorching heat, so they will react by turning pale or yellow.
Arrowhead plants like to be evenly moist, so don’t let them dry out too much. I must confess that I scorched a few leaves and dried a few leaves. But arrowhead plants are forgiving plants and they bounced back a couple of weeks after I rectified the problems in my care routine.
My favorite thing about arrowhead plants: they do not need to be fertilized. They are fast growers with a no-fuss attitude. If you want to keep the plant bushier, cut the new growth and start another one.
Buy arrowhead plants from the House Plant Shop
6. Bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus)
Here we go, another fern. They’re the best companion that you could have in the bathroom (Don’t roll your eyes. You know it’s true.) But this time, we’re talking about thick leathery leaves rather than delicate fronds. These lush houseplants have been popular for decades, well before Instagram found them out. In the wild, they can be found in Australia, Hawaii, South East Asia and India. Indoors, they’ll live their best life in a humid room.
Keep bird’s nest fern happy: Even though it’s not as finicky as its distant cousin, the Boston fern (see point 3), this fern prefers bright indirect light. It can also survive in low light, but it won’t grow as fast. However, it does not tolerate bright direct light, so don’t place it directly in front of a window that gets full direct sun for most of the day.
Don’t let the soil get too dry: water the fern as soon as you notice that the top inch of the potting mix has become dry to the touch.
Buy bird’s nest fern from the American Plant Exchange.
7. Mosaic plant/Nerve plant (Fittonia albivenis)
This is one of my top 5 favorite houseplants, although I wouldn’t recommend it if you are a newbie inclined to forget to water your plant. Fittonia loves humidity and having moist (but well-drained) soil, but it does have the bad habit of fainting if it gets too thirsty.
Total eclipse of the heart? More like total collapse of the plant.
Don’t worry, your fittonia is not dead. Just give it a good gulp of water and it will recover its bouncy shape in a few hours.
Keep fittonia happy: The bright veins of the fittonia plant are not just for show. Because fittonia is usually an undergrowth in its natural habitat (the rainforests of South America), the veins help the plant catch as much light as possible. This should be a good clue that fittonia plants prefer indirect light. In fact, bright direct light will make them turn pale and sometimes even crispy.
When you water the nerve plant, place it under the jet stream of your bathroom tap and let the water run through the soil and out the drainage holes. This should ensure that you’re moistening the soil evenly.
You can get the pink variety from Hirt’s or the dark green variety from California Tropicals.
8. Button fern (Pellaea rotundifolia)
These cutie pies have been a new addition to my plant collection, but I’m already quite smitten with their round velvety leaves. My plant is still young, so I can’t wait for it to get older and have the stem turn dark red.
Keep button ferns happy: Give them enough water without letting them stand in soggy soil. Keep them out of direct sun (you’re beginning to see a pattern here, right?). They’re such robust plants and they’ll look gorgeous in a hanging basket, but it’s best if you err on the side of a smaller basket as button ferns like to be a bit cramped. Too much extra soil might retain too much sogginess.
As a general rule, keep ferns away from sources of warm air (heaters, radiators, fireplaces).
JM Bamboo has good reviews at the time of publication.
9. Prayer plants (Marantas)
Fair warning: if you’re new to houseplants, don’t start with this one. It will break your heart in a million pieces and you’ll end up praying it survives its first winter. Hmm, I wonder if this is why it goes by the name “prayer plant.”
I’m in the Northern Hemisphere, in a cloudy and damp corner of the world, so my prayer plants don’t do well when the indoor heat kicks on in the winter. Leaves go crispy and fall faster than you can say “maranta.” However, I’ve noticed these plants are quite resilient, and so far they have always bounced back in late spring.
Keep prayer plants happy: Don’t dare breathe around them!
Just kidding, they’re not that bad.
They do best in bright indirect sun and prefer high humidity and moist well-draining soil. Prayer plants generally have shallow roots, so don’t place them in containers that are too large or too tall.
Also, don’t let your prayer plant dry out too much between watering sessions. But don’t keep it soggy either. Yes, we do have a “the princess and the pea” scenario going on when it comes to prayer plants.
My recommendation is to get one prayer plant and try to keep it alive. See if it likes you and your environment. And see if you enjoy catering to its whims. Only add to your maranta collection if the answer is a resounding “yes” even throughout the cold season.
California Tropicals sells a beautiful lemon lime prayer plant.
10. Air plants (Tillandsia)
Air plants have a reputation for low-maintenance, but I think this is somewhat undeserved. It comes from a misconception based on their name rather than their actual needs. Even though they shouldn’t be planted in soil, air plants do need water. They absorb the water through their entire surface, not just through the roots.
Keep air plants happy: That’s easy! Several hours of indirect light coupled with a warm and humid environment will make your air plant as happy as a clam. And a happy air plant might even surprise you with a bloom.
Some people mist their air plants once a week, while others just submerge them in water for 15-30 minutes. This might not be necessary if you keep your plant in your bathroom.
Shop Succulents sells a gorgeous 12-pack of air plants.
One mistake I have seen is keeping the air plant right in the shower cabin, within spraying distance of the shower stream. Yes, the plant will like the water, but subjecting it to hot water is a recipe for disaster. If you do want an air plant shower companion (who am I to judge?), make sure you hang it above the water flow, not underneath it.
These are the 10 houseplants I would recommend for bathrooms based on my experience, but I’m betting there are other plants out there that would do just fine. I’m still on a quest to find more, but I’m running out of space in the bathroom.
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Featured image by Beazy via Unsplash.
Disclaimer: Please do your due diligence before buying a houseplant or any other supplies. Some houseplants may be toxic if ingested (especially for pets and children). You can check on the ASPCA website for a list of plants that are poisonous.
