The best indoor plants to bring your home to life

If you're looking to become a plant parent or add some more greenery to your home, you'll be wanting to find the best indoor plants that'll thrive in your living space.

But not just any indoor plant! You'll need to find the right ones that suit your home's conditions, with different temperatures and light requirements, as well as match the aesthetic and vibe.

Adding an indoor plant is the perfect way to breathe new life into any room, and picking the best one for your home can help them reach their full potential (and look amazing!) Plus, there are loads of indoor plants to choose from packed with benefits, including ones that will help you concentrate, cheer you up, and are easy to care for if you find you can be a little forgetful.

Related: The best dried flowers: A trending at-home décor

We've listed the best indoor plants to buy in the UK and spoke to plant expert Claire Ransom, founder of plant subscription box Lazy Flora for her top tips and advice for helping your houseplants flourish.

Shortlist of the best indoor plants:

What makes a good indoor plant?

Claire Ransom at LazyFlora.com says, “When plants arrive at your home, check that the plants look healthy overall and if you can do so without disturbing the plant too much, check to make sure the roots are healthy too.

“A good healthy root should be thick, light in colour, and free from rot. The roots should help hold the shape of the pot and should not be brown or brittle.”

You could also choose an indoor plant based on the wellbeing benefits you're hoping to receive. According to The Little Botanical:

• Indoor plants such as Orchids, Jade Plant, Succulents, and Peace Lilies can help to relieve stress and anxiety.

• Indoor plants such as Devil's Ivy, Ficus Benjamina, and Sansevieria Punk can help improve productivity and concentration.

• Indoor plants such as Sansevieria Snakey, English Ivy, and Aloe Vera are great air purifiers and help remove harmful toxins from the air.

• Indoor plants such as Boston Fern, Fiddle Leaf Fig, and Areca Palm are great for adding Feng Shui and creating positive energy.

Not to mention, caring for your plants can produce a sense of calm and help you feel closer to nature.

When picking the ideal plant for your space, you should also check the toxicity - you don't want to pick a plant that may be toxic to nibbly pets or young children you have at home.

What are the best indoor house plants?

Here are just some of the best indoor house plants you can buy online. We've also included the best living conditions for each so you can work out which one will be the perfect fit for your home. Happy shopping!

This striking Palm is great for homes with dry air, especially if caused by central heating in the colder months. Not only does it help to purify the air, but this plant also acts as a humidifier that transpires water, helping to soften dry skin and help respiration. It's pet-friendly, looks beautiful with the smooth, feathery leaves, and is easy to care for - a great all-rounder in our books!

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Light watering – keep the soil lightly moist in the summer and water when slightly dry in the winter

• Best room location: As a sizeable plant, it’ll prosper in rooms such as kitchens and living rooms – keeping away from cold or heat sources

A beautiful Peace Lily is a versatile houseplant that'll suit any room in your home. Not only does it have gorgeous white blooms and glossy dark green leaves that'll make a statement in your living space, but this nifty plant is also low maintenance and easy to grow. It has been shown by NASA to help clean and purify the air in your home and is also considered an aura purifier in the Chinese art of Feng Shui.

Best conditions:

• Light: Medium to low levels of light or indirect light.

• Watering: Light watering

• Best room location: Bathrooms and kitchens for higher humidity

Philodendrons are a great choice, and this relatively new hybrid makes it a wonderfully robust houseplant. With large lush and vibrant leaves, it'll certainly up the green-rating in your home and has a wealth of benefits including air purification and even collecting dust! It's a fantastic pick if you have respiratory issues or allergies, or if you're looking for a plant to help create a healthy and relaxing atmosphere in your home.

Best conditions:

• Light: Moderate to bright indirect light but can do well in shade

• Watering: Light watering

• Best room location: Living rooms and bedrooms

Related: Best plants for your bedroom

The Snake Plant is an easy-care succulent that can also help to purify the indoor air, induce feelings of calm, and help remove dust from the air. It's a tough plant with simple, ornamental form with rippled striped leaves that grow upwards, so you don't need to worry about them growing outwards and invading your space if it's limited. As they can survive in a range of environments, these plants are favourites for tricky spaces and studios.

Best conditions:

• Light: Indirect light and low-light conditions

• Watering: Light watering – fortnightly recommended

• Best room location: Any rooms including shaded corners

The hugely versatile ZZ Plant is a highly dependable houseplant that can thrive in any room and tolerate a wide range of conditions - great for forgetful plant owners. Native to Central Africa, it has strong and structural tall stems and feathered, smooth, glossy leaves that'll stand out against any other houseplants you have. It's hardy, unique, and perfect for beginners.

Best conditions:

• Light: Medium to bright indirect light but adaptable to low light and fluorescent lighting

• Watering: Light watering

• Best room location: Any rooms including those without windows!

With fresh green and white striped leaves, the Spider Plant is sure to help brighten your home and help you feel closer to nature. Not only does this plant have a neat, attractive look, but it also has tremendous air-purifying qualities that'll help remove any harmful pollutants or toxins from the air around your plant. It's easy to care for throughout the year and it's non-toxic to pets (though we still recommend no snacking!)

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Light watering – keep the soil moist

• Best room location: Most rooms with good light availability

The ever-popular Rubber Plant is a stylish, and stunning houseplant with its wide glossy leaves and upright growth. Evergreen and tropical, it's so named for its 'rubber' leaf appearance and the latex sap that was used to make rubber. Generally, an easy-going plant, it's low-light tolerant and helps clean the indoor air of pollutants and toxins.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Light watering – allow soil to dry between waterings

• Best room location: Most rooms with good light availability – the perfect recommendation is a sunny spot shielded by a sheer curtain

So-called because their leaves are literally fiddle-shaped, this houseplant has the capacity to grow over six feet tall - a fantastic option if you're looking for a large indoor plant that'll make a huge impact on your living space. With flamboyant foliage, it's not quite the easiest plant to look after as it's quite sensitive to changes in its environment, so it might take a little time to adjust to its new home.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Light watering – keep the soil moist with a brief drying-out window between waterings

• Best room location: Away from the window in a sunny room

We're awarding these the easiest indoor plants to care for because we're sure everyone has had one that has somehow survived despite being forgotten! Succulents are plants that store water and have adapted to dry environments, including Cacti, Aloes, and Jade Plant among others. They are super hardy, require minimal watering, and make a great little addition to a bookshelf, window sill, tabletop, or desk. With this offer from PengSucculents on Etsy, you can get five random succulents for £15, or up to 20 for £45.

Best conditions: Check growing requirements of individual succulents

• Light: Shaded through to full sunlight

• Watering: Water sparingly

• Best room location: Any room ensuring light requirements

With its huge, signature leaves, this is a fantastic statement indoor plant for your home, and not too hard to care for either. Originating from South America, this plant is used to warm and humid surroundings and with the lush green being akin to that of the rainforest, it'll help purify the air while being amazingly eye-catching.

Best conditions:

• Light: Flourishes in indirect light, but suitable for semi-shaded spots too

• Watering: Light watering – allow to dry a little between waterings

• Best room location: We’d recommend bathrooms, conservatories, or misting your plant when in other rooms for improved humidity

With over 40 species, Dracaenas make for great indoor plants. Not only do they help improve air quality and create beautiful, tropical displays similar to the appearance of palm trees. This Gold Dust variety is slow-growing, easy to care for, and evergreen. The gorgeous glossy leaves are speckled with white and yellow splotches, hence the name, and will shine in bright light conditions.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light and some shade

• Watering: Light watering – once a week

• Best room location: Sunny indoor spaces such as near a sunny, sheer-curtained window

A fantastic choice for hanging pots and baskets, the luscious Boston Fern is one of the most popular houseplants in the UK. Not only will it help add a splash of green to your indoor space, it includes benefits such as air purification, humidity regulation, and the elegant flowing leaves that will leave you feeling calm and relaxed. Its Feng Shui will help create positive energy in your home, making this our best choice for mood-boosting and improved wellbeing.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Light watering – when top soil begins to dry out

• Best room location: Kitchens and bathrooms due to humidity

As previously mentioned, Aloes are a type of succulent but this one needed its own spot on our list. Aloe Vera is one of the best houseplants for skin health with its sap providing instant relief for a number of skin issues. It'll tolerate being forgotten, and loves to be in a bright, sunny spot. This Aloe Vera plant from Bunches comes in a cute woven jute pot with handles, great for incorporating into your own home or giving as a gift.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light and some direct sun

• Watering: Light watering – when soil dries to 2 inches below surface

• Best room location: A bright windowsill or shelf in your home

If you're looking to get the most for your money, the Chinese Money Plant is a great pick. Not only do Feng Shui experts say the plant will bring you good luck, money, and prosperity, it's also easy to propagate, so you can grow the baby plants in their own pots to expand your plant collection in your home or share with friends and family. This plant is also fantastic for air purification and according to researchers, the circular leaf shape is even linked to happiness.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Regular watering – hydrate when soil becomes dry

• Best room location: Any room where light requirements are met

If you're looking to improve the air quality in your home, this is the top recommendation from none other than NASA. A study carried out by NASA found English Ivy as the number one best air-purifying plant, due to it being the most efficient plant when absorbing formaldehyde. We also love the gorgeous flowing leafy stems that look dreamy draped from hanging baskets or from high shelves and cabinets.

Best conditions:

• Light: Bright, indirect light

• Watering: Regular watering – keep the soil moist

• Best room location: We’d recommend bathrooms and kitchens for humidity

Do indoor plants need sunlight?

Claire Ransom says, “Sunlight needs differ from plant to plant. Some indoor plants require direct sunlight and others don’t require as much.

“If you do have a sun-loving plant, the best home for it is often on a south-facing window sill or next to some patio doors. Make sure to rotate your plants each time you water so that one side isn’t deprived of the rays.”

What are some good indoor plant care tips?

“Firstly, you should always learn a bit about where a plant comes from and what conditions it grows in the wild," says Claire.

“If you can find this out, the easiest way to ensure a plant will survive in your home is by recreating these natural conditions to the best of your ability.

“So if you know, for example, that a fern grows well in a cool, shady spot beside water sources in the wild, you can use that information to create an environment and watering schedule that best mimics that environment.

“As tempting as it might be to want to be surrounded by (for example) a Bird of Paradise or hibiscus flowers in your home unless you have a very sunny conservatory or south-facing window (not to mention a lot of patience), you might have to be prepared to accept that dark, cool conditions just aren't going to be ideal for those plants.

“In terms of watering, I would say that learning the individual watering needs of each plant is the best way to ensure success. So for most people, acquiring one or two plants at a time is probably a good number, rather than going crazy and buying lots all together that you haven't grown before, and then feeling overwhelmed when you can't cope with the varied watering requirements.”

So as tempting as it may be, try to limit your plant buying habits to spread the love, get the right plants for your space, and get used to your new plants before collecting even more.

What is the best soil for indoor plants?

The Royal Horticultural Society says that a multipurpose compost or houseplant potting mix will be suitable for most indoor plants. These are available to buy, or you could try your hand at making your own if you're particularly green-fingered!

What to read next:

The best rustic plant pots

Best self-watering planters

The best plant subscription boxes

Eleanor Weaver is a Commercial Content Writer for titles such as Yours, What’s The Best, and Mother&Baby.

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