Houseplants bring an air of luxury and calm to our homes. With their health-boosting benefits and appealing aesthetics, it’s no wonder we’re choosing to share our living spaces with them.
Many houseplants are native to tropical countries and are well suited to the warm, bright conditions of our kitchens.
Adding a plant or two to your kitchen adds a welcome splash of color and can provide fresh produce too.
We’ve rounded up a list of the best houseplants for your kitchen and some tips on how to care for them.
1. Golden pothos (Devil’s ivy)
These attractive, waxy-leaved, trailing vines are incredibly easy to care for.
The beauty of pothos is that they can be left to trail down from a shelf or trained up a support, giving you flexibility in an area of the house that’s often short on space.
Pothos is a resilient plant and doesn’t need much water. Wait for the soil to dry out between watering and water once a week or so. It likes a position in bright but indirect sunlight.
Your pothos will also benefit from a water spray once in a while. Misting helps to encourage the growth of aerial roots, this is beneficial if yours is climbing up a stake.
You can also propagate golden pothos very easily, just cut a section of the plant that has aerial roots, pop it into a pot of compost, water well and watch it grow.
2. String of hearts
The super-cute and subtle string of hearts plant makes a wonderful addition to a kitchen shelf. Tiny heart-shaped leaves hang down on delicate strings that can reach up to 9 feet long.
The string of hearts is a semi-succulent plant so can tolerate dry conditions and won’t like sitting in damp soil.
Water once or twice a week when the weather is warm and once every week or so in fall and winter when the plant is dormant. Always check that the soil is dry before watering.
Place your string of hearts in bright but indirect sunlight. If you’re lucky, you might get to see small purple flowers during spring and summer.
3. Herbs
If you’ve got a sunny windowsill in your kitchen, planting a range of indoor herbs is well worth the effort. You can’t beat having a fresh supply of delicious herbs to add to your culinary creations and you can easily experiment with different flavors.
Try growing basil, mint, cilantro, lavender, bay, dill, sage, and chives. Herbs need plenty of sunlight to thrive.
4. Spider plant
A popular fixture in ’70s homes, these spiky plants are definitely making a comeback. Spider plants are so easy to care for and thrive in the warm environment of a kitchen.
They’re perfect plants if you’re short on space as you can hang them from macrame or ceramic plant hangers.
Water your spider plant when the soil feels dry to the touch and avoid placing it in direct sunlight.
Spider plants like a little fertilizer in the warmer months and should reward you with little spiderette babies which you can pot on.
5. Snake plant
One of the most low-maintenance plants you can own, statement snake plants are very difficult to kill so are a great choice if you’re a houseplant-parenting novice.
Sansevierias thrive on neglect and can go for weeks without water, we recommend a light watering every couple of weeks to keep yours in tip-top condition.
The real beauty of these plants is that they’ll survive in most light conditions from low to high so you can pop one in a shady corner of your kitchen, safe in the knowledge that it’ll do just fine.
6. Fiddle leaf fig
Compared with some of the other plants in this list, these showy specimens are a little more high maintenance.
You’ll need to take care not to over or underwater this diva of a plant and it needs bright, but not direct sunlight.
To keep your fig happy, check that the top 2-3 inches of soil are dry before watering, mist your fiddle leaf every few days and make sure it isn’t in a draughty spot.
Like pothos, monstera, and other waxy-leaved plants, the fig’s leaves will benefit from a frequent wipe-over with a damp cloth. It will thank you with a resplendent display of lush foliage.
7. Polka dot plant
With its distinctive spotted leaves, this plant is sure to be a talking point in your kitchen. Available in a range of colors, this little plant likes warmth so will be right at home in a cozy kitchen.
These plants are native to Madagascar and southeast Asia and thrive in humid environments. Keep your polka dot plant well-watered and give it a regular water mist to keep it looking its show-stopping best.
8. African violet
Most of the plants we’ve mentioned are famed for their gorgeous foliage but these pretty plants are well worth a mention for their incredibly long flowering time.
If kept in the right conditions, these cheery plants can bloom for most of the year.
African violets can be a little picky about their watering requirements. Use water that’s at room temperature or tepid and has been standing for 48 hours, and take care not to splash water onto the foliage as it can cause spots.
African violets like medium to bright indirect sunlight. To keep your violet blooming, pinch off any spent blooms and make sure the plant is kept in a small pot as they need to be root bound to flower.
9. Orchid
Few plants shout ‘look at me’ more than the opulent orchid. Available in a range of colors and sizes, these plants will add an instant touch of luxe to your kitchen.
Orchids like to be watered weekly and regularly fed when flowering. Place your orchid in bright light for the best results.
Don’t be tempted to chuck out your orchid once it’s flowered. It can take a while to flower again it’s true, but it’ll be well worth the wait.
Repot the plant into a fresh orchid mix and continue to water and fertilize once or twice a month.
10. Boston fern
These graceful, cascading plants are easy to care for but you may need to adjust their position throughout the year.
Boston ferns benefit from bright, indirect sunlight in fall and winter but will need a semi-shady spot in spring and summer.
Water well when the top 2-3 inches of soil feel dry and let the water drain through before placing the plant back into its pot. Your fern will like a feed every 4-6 weeks in the warmer months of the year.
To End
Some of these plants are so popular, there’s a whole Instagram community dedicated to them! Tag them (and us) in your plant’s social media journey.
