Living plants make bathrooms more pleasant places for users, improving the decor and air quality. And bathrooms can be good environments for plants, too. A bathroom is typically a warm, humid room that provides the perfect environment for plants, and water to irrigate the plants is always close at hand. But you still need to make your choices wisely. The bathroom environment is not perfect all the time, and not all plants are well suited for the conditions found in a bathroom.
Even though there is plenty of warm, humid air during shower time, the room can get much colder when left empty for hours, especially at night. These wide temperature fluctuations are not ideal for many plants.
Not all plants enjoy high humidity. Succulents prefer drier conditions and will rot if kept constantly moist. And evergreens and several other plants may develop powdery mildew in high humidity.
Many bathrooms have low levels of sunlight, if they have windows at all. Do not give up if that is the case with your bathroom. Fluorescent bulbs provide plenty of light in wavelengths that plants can use.
These three factors—low light, high humidity, and temperature swings—need to be considered when choosing plants for a bathroom.
Here are 19 suggestions for plants that will do in average bathroom conditions.
Aloe vera is an easy-to-grow tropical perennial with a good tolerance for temperature swings when grown as an indoor house plant. Aloe vera is a handy plant to have around. The juice from the leaves can relieve the pain of scrapes and minor burns. It is a succulent, so it requires minimal care. When grown indoors, aloe needs lots of bright indirect lighting. To prompt flowering, move potted aloe outdoors for warm months. Potted aloe vera rarely grows more than 2 feet high.
Color Variations: Gray-green leaves; yellow seasonal blooms Light Exposure: Bright indirect lighting Soil Needs: Potting mix formulated for succulents
Airy, lacy asparagus fern loves the humidity of a bathroom. It does well in either moderate or bright light, so a spot by a window is best. Asparagus ferns may look soft to the touch, but the stems have thorns, so beware. It can grow to 2 feet high, but with branches that can sprawl laterally as much as 6 feet. Asparagus fern can go as long as two years before it requires re-potting.
Color Variations: Pale green foliage Light Exposure: Bright artificial light or window sunlight. Soil Needs:Well-drained potting soil
Growing bamboo in containers is a good way to control the plants, which can grow invasively when planted in the garden. But even confined in containers, bamboo plants can get large, requiring re-potting every year or so. The clumping varieties will need re-potting less often than those that run. Feed bamboo with a diluted fertilizer weekly during the growing season, cutting back to monthly in the winter.
Color Variations: Pale to dark green foliage; variegated forms available Light Exposure: Bright indirect lighting or moderate window sunlight Soil Needs: Prefers sandy potting, but tolerates most potting soil mixes
Many types of begonias grow well in containers, and they enjoy the warmth and humidity of a bathroom shelf. In particular, the rex begonias (Begonia x rex) are extremely colorful and ornamental and grow well indoors. Begonias like humid conditions, but not water-logged soil, which can cause root rot. Fibrous and rhizomatous types make the best houseplants; tuberous varieties are not well suited to grow indoors.
Color Variations: Light-green, dark-green, bronze, or variegated foliage; blooms are rare with plants grown indoors Light Exposure: Prefers bright filtered light; will tolerate low light Soil Needs:General-purpose soilless potting mix
Bromeliads are unusual specimens, in that they readily produce long-lasting blooms in locations where most house plants do not blossom at all. Bromeliads flower with pink or red blossoms in winter, and the blooms last for several weeks. Bromeliads include several different plant genera and dozens of species, many of which are epiphytic (drawing moisture from the air rather than from soil). These are ideally suited to bask in the humidity of a bathroom, but they also need good air circulation, which can be provided by running the bathroom exhaust fan or setting up a small portable fan to run for a few hours each day.
Color Variations: Dark green foliage; pink or red flowers Light Exposure: Bright, indirect light; will tolerate a few hours of direct sunlight each day Soil Needs: Depends on genus and species; those requiring soil do well in an ordinary well-drained potting mix
Called the cast-iron plant because it is so hard to kill, Aspidistra elatior makes for an excellent low-maintenance houseplant. A tropical plant growing 2 to 3 feet tall, this is one of the rare house plants that will tolerate near full shade. It also does not require high humidity, making it good for guest bathrooms that aren't used often.
Color Variations: Medium-green foliage; rarely flowers when grown as a houseplant. Light Exposure: Low, indirect light; tolerates full shade Soil Needs: Well-drained, peaty potting mix
Few plants are as forgiving and adaptable as the Chinese evergreen, comprising about 20 species within the Aglaonema genus. These large-leaved, tropical perennials will thrive even if you forget to water and feed it. While it loves humidity, it will also tolerate dry air, provided you keep it out of cold drafts, which can damage the leaves. It grows 1 to 2 feet tall, with dark green leaves; some cultivars (such as 'Silver Queen') have gray-green variegation.
Color Variations: Dark green; some varieties are variegated Light Exposure: Low, indirect light; does not like any direct sun Soil Needs:Rich, well-drained potting mix
You will find croton plants in an assortment of colored foliage. The pictum variety has gaudy, multi-colored leaves. These tropical broadleaf evergreens grow slowly, but they can get 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, so be sure you have space for one. Croton plants need bright, but indirect light, and lots of humidity and moisture, although they do not like to sit in wet soil. Reduce watering in late fall and winter.
Color Variations: Green, or combinations of yellow, pink, orange, red, bronze, purple, and green Light Exposure: Bright, indirect light Soil Needs: Well-drained, humusy potting mix
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