Whether your room is dark or light, petite or sprawling, here are some leafy friends to bring green joy into your home.
14 Foliage Plants to Enhance Any Room
Updated on Sep. 07, 2024
My mom’s had the same ficus for more than 50 years now. It’s moved with us from east coast to west. It’s also become our holiday tree, which we decorate yearly with colored lights and ornaments. Turns out, we’re not alone in considering foliage plants to be actual family members.
“I have my mom’s fern she received at her bridal shower in 1957 and mine from my wedding in 1984,” says The Houseplant Guru, Lisa Eldred Steinkopf. “I propagated a piece for my daughter for her bridal shower in 2018. How comforting to care for something you know your mom or grandma or some other family member used to love and care for.”
Beyond nostalgia, the vibrant greens of foliage plants bring color and therapeutic value to our inside spaces. Foliage plants in particular are great for growing indoors because they can generally tolerate lower light levels than plants coveted for their flowers.
“Plants that produce showy flowers tend not to flower well and may struggle to grow in general in the average home without a very bright window or supplemental artificial lighting,” says Justin Hancock, a horticulturist at Costa Farms.
Here are some houseplant experts’ favorite foliage plants to consider adding to your home, based on your rooms’ size and light needs, and your plant parenting abilities.
What Are Foliage Plants?
Foliage plants are houseplants that we appreciate primarily for their leaves. They include many of the most common houseplants, like fiddle-leaf fig, philodendron, pothos, Monstera, ZZ plant, dracaena and snake plant. Most foliage plants are capable of producing flowers, but they typically aren’t showy and may never bloom in the home.
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Raven ZZ Plant
An ultimate beginner plant, ZZ tolerates low light and won’t die if you don’t water it every week. “It’s great if you’re forgetful, tend to get busy or don’t have a lot of confidence,” says Hancock. “You can grow it in practically any room of your home or office — even if you work in a cube farm and only have fluorescent lights.”
It’s called ZZ because of its lengthy botanical name: Zamioculcas zamiifolia. “It’s also interesting to look at,” says Hancock. “New leaves emerge from the soil lime green and slowly mature to a dark, purple-black color. They’re very chic!”
- Water weekly or monthly
- Tolerates low light (but thrives in bright light)
- Prefers east or west windows
- Grows to four feet or more (but slowly)
- Level of care: Super easy
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Snake Plant
A great option for almost anyone, the snake plant, aka sword lily or Sansevieria/Dracaena, grows in just about any light level and tolerates infrequent waterings. “It’s an ideal choice for those seeking a striking yet undemanding houseplant,” says Abby Perry, founder and owner of Abby’s Garden Parties. “With sword-like leaves that come in various patterns and colors, the snake plant adds a touch of elegance to any room.”
- Water regularly (but can survive a month or so without)
- Does best in bright, indirect light (but tolerates low light)
- Varieties grow between 12 inches to more than 36 inches tall
- Level of care: Super easy
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Ponytail Palm
Native to areas of Mexico, this very slow-growing tree sports a thick trunk that stores water, helping it survive its natural environment. “This translates to your home and office, too, where it can carry on for two weeks or more without watering if you’re not around or you accidentally forget about it,” says Hancock. “Its long, narrow leaves atop the trunk also remind me of a green hula skirt.”
- Water regularly
- Loves bright light, tolerates medium light
- Grows a couple of inches a year, up to tree size
- Level of care: Easy
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White Aspen Dracaena
Variegated houseplants, with green leaves marked with other colors like white, silver, yellow or pink, are all the rage these days. “So White Aspen Dracaena is both super fashionable and wonderfully easy to grow,” says Hancock. For something new, try the Corn Plant variant with green leaves, artfully edged in white.
- Water regularly, or white edges will brown
- Does best in bright light, tolerates medium light
- Grows 10 to 15 feet tall and eight feet wide
- Level of care: Moderate
Pro-tip: If you have a low-light spot, get a couple of plants and rotate them monthly or weekly from bright spots to the low-light one, says Hancock.
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Pothos
Pothos grows quickly when it gets lots of bright light. “This trailing vine is loved for its beautiful, variegated leaves that come in shades of green, yellow and white,” says Perry. Grow it as a trailing plant from a shelf or hanging from a basket. “Or let it climb a trellis, wall or totem, or scramble horizontally across a mantel,” says Hancock.
- Water regularly
- Loves bright, indirect light, but tolerates medium light
- Grows up to 10 feet long
- Level of care: Easy
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Dieffenbachia
This tried-and-true houseplant has been grown and enjoyed for generations. “It’s great for well-lit bedrooms and offices,” says Hancock. “Cool Beauty is a chic newer variety, with green leaves with creamy centers and crisp white edges.”
- Water regularly
- Prefers bright light but can tolerate medium
- Grows one to three feet tall
- Level of care: Easy
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Philodendron
The hardest part about philodendrons is figuring out which variety to bring home. Most people are familiar with the vine-like heart-leaf philodendron. “My favorite is Brasil, a green and yellow variegated form,” says Steinkopf.
Hancock is partial to the Golden Crocodile variety. “This incredibly eye-catching plant is a perfect statement plant if you have bright light,” he says. “It shows off bright, golden-yellow leaves that are long, narrow and have toothed edges that can get two feet long.”
Avoid south-facing windows, as the sun might bleach the foliage. “Keep them evenly moist, erring on the drier side,” says Steinkopf. “They are quite forgiving of drying out, but would rather not.”
- Water regularly
- Okay with lower light, like an east or west window
- Grows one to three feet tall, one to six feet wide
- Level of care: Easy
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Peace Lily
Another commonly grown houseplant, peace lily is known for its lush foliage. “Though this plant does produce attractive flowers, its real beauty is in the lush, dark green leaves,” says Hancock. “It’s also a communicative plant in that it will start to droop when it’s thirsty. But it perks back up right away when you water it again.”
Choose a room with bright, indirect light. While it can survive with less, it probably won’t flower. Otherwise, “It is versatile and easy to care for, and as such makes a great addition to any living or working space,” says Vladan Nikolic, aka Mr. Houseplant.
- Water regularly
- Prefers bright, indirect light
- Grows one to four feet tall and wide
- Level of care: Easy
Pro-tip: Most commercial potting mixes aren’t well-draining enough, so it’s best to amend them with chunky amendments, says Nikolic. “You can make a potting mix by mixing three parts of any store-bought mix with one part of perlite and one part bark,” he says.
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Aglaonema
One of both Hancock and Steinkopf’s top picks for foliage plants, aglaonema (aka Chinese evergreen) is easy to care for, comes in a variety of colors and fits well in smaller rooms. “Agloanemas will flower with good light, but I cut them off,” says Steinkopf. “These plants are grown for their beautiful foliage and flowers take a lot of energy. I’d rather that energy was used to grow foliage.”
- Tolerates missed waterings
- Can tolerate low light, but more is better
- Grows to two feet tall
- Level of care: Super easy
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Ficus
Ficus, aka fiddle-leaf figs and rubber trees, may have a reputation as standard-issue houseplants, but with a multitude of variations, including green, burgundy and variegated, anyone can find one to match their decor and personality. “These plants get large and are enormous trees in their native habitats,” says Steinkopf. “They can grow as tall as the room you have to give them. Yet, with trimming, you can keep them at the size you need them to stay.”
- Keep moist (don’t let dry out, but no standing water)
- Does best in high light
- Grows to tree size in right conditions
- Does not tolerate cold well
- Level of care: Moderate
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Ferns
There are so many types of ferns to choose from, each with their own fuzzy personality. And caring for them isn’t that hard, either, as long as you give them the right conditions: bright light, but not full sun, and plenty of water.
“Ferns are my favorite plants in the universe!” says Steinkopf. “Though they are touted as low-light plants, they need more light than you think. Mine do best in my east windows and I also have some residing under grow lights.”
- Keep moist (never let dry out)
- Does best in well-lit areas
- Grows to two to four feet tall (most varieties)
- Level of care: Moderate
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Stromanthe Triostar
Unfussy Stromanthe Triostar is great for beginners and “famous for its stunning pink, purple and green variegated foliage,” says Nikolic. “If you’re a fan of plants with striking colors that accentuate the space, Triostar is a perfect plant for you.”
Triostar doesn’t have any massive light requirements, but the more indirect the light you give it, the more vibrant the variegation will become, with whiter topside leaves and more purple undersides.
- Water regularly
- Does best in medium, indirect light
- Grows two to three feet tall
- Level of care: Easy
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Monstera Deliciosa
A large and super-trendy houseplant, “Monstera deliciosa sports big, dark green leaves in a shape that’s all the rage these days, used across fashion and home décor prints,” says Hancock. Because it’s a big plant, it needs a big space to grow, like a bright living room or den. Like almost every other houseplant on this list, he advises that too little water is safer than too much water.
- Water regularly
- Does best in bright light, tolerates medium light
- Grows to 10 to 15 feet tall and eight feet wide
- Level of care: Easy
About the Experts
Justin Hancock is a horticulturist at Costa Farms, the world’s largest houseplant grower. He has more than 25 years of experience in the horticulture industry as a garden editor and retail garden center operator.
Lisa Eldred Steinkopf founded The Houseplant Guru, a website devoted to teaching people how to care for their plants. She’s also a writer, lecturer and author of Houseplants: The Complete Guide; Grow in The Dark; Creative Houseplant Projects; and Bloom.
Vladan Nikolic runs the blog Mr. Houseplant. He has more than a decade of experience tending to indoor plants and is a social media influencer for plants with more than 500,000 followers.
Abby Perry is a certified master gardener, founder and owner of Abby’s Garden Parties and an advocate for unplugging to spend time in nature.
