Last updated on March 14th, 2022
Our site is reader supported, this means we may earn a small commission from Amazon and other affiliates when you buy through links on our site.
If you have a small apartment or small room, you can still enjoy a splash of natural colour by including indoor plants. There are many indoor plants that will remain small themselves, not taking up too much space but still providing you with some texture and colour. Some even provide air-purifying qualities, such as Anthuriums, Aloe Vera and the popular Peace Lily, while still being small enough to be grown in the smallest of rooms.
Below we have listed ten of our favourite houseplants that are perfect for those who cannot grow the larger houseplants such as indoor palms and fig trees.
1. Tillandsia – Air Plants
Air plants, of which there are many, many varieties, are wonderful plants to grow indoors. Many of these do not need direct sunlight, but rather, indirect sunlight, so they can be grown near a small window or on a table that has access to brightness during the day. In fact, if you have a small balcony or window, you can (with certain air plants) simply give them outdoor direct light for a couple of hours to compensate for limited access indoors.
Moreover, these plants don’t need planting in pots because they take the moisture they need from the air, although they benefit from a quick dunking in water once a week to keep them well hydrated. As pictured above, the opportunities where you place them are limitless.
2. Saintpaulia – African Violet
As the name suggests, these small indoor plants offer stunning violet flowers that are contrasted by the verdant leaves, giving your small room or apartment a splash of colour. They thrive indoors and are very easy to maintain, giving you flowers almost all year round if cared for correctly.
The plants themselves need bright, indirect light and if they get it, they will remain compact and beautiful. They prefer to be slightly pot-bound in a small pot and feeding them with a general plant food will keep them flowering prolifically.
3. Oxalis triangularis – Purple Shamrock
Purple Shamrocks are a great plant for small spaces because they add a real splash of colour, unlike that of most houseplants that are shades of green. The colloquial name captures the unique facet of this plant: the purple colour. There are three purple leaves in clusters, each shaped like hearts, and beautiful tiny flowers. This plant is well known for its ability to revive itself after it has died, so you can really keep it anywhere in your home and if you accidentally mismanage it, you can usually resuscitate it with a little extra care. Overall, they prefer not to be watered too often and like the soil to be a little drier rather than moist.
4. Aloe Vera
If you have an apartment or small room, then the Aloe Vera is a succulent you might want to consider. These plants are quite popular for their medicinal uses, although the leaves themselves are beautiful. When grown indoors you need to provide good drainage so the plant never stands in water. You should also give it plenty of light. Unlike other houseplants, this one is a succulent, it needs lots of natural light and it also offers air-purifying qualities too.
5. Anthurium
Anthuriums are stunning plants that offer combinations of dark green, glossy leaves topped with rich, bright pink/red flowers that span out in the same shape and style of the leaves. They need a bright, indirect light source. If they don’t receive as much natural sunlight you won’t get as many flowers, so a room with plenty of light is preferred.
They also prefer warmth and don’t do well in colder climates, so keep it between 20-22 degrees for optimum growth. Given their love of high humidity, they grow best in bathrooms and kitchens. Over winter, water them once per week and twice per week during summer.
6. Pilea peperomioides – Chinese Money Plant
This indoor plant, also known as the Chinese Money Plant, is featured heavily in small rooms and apartments in Europe. They are known for their pancake-shaped leaves and easy maintenance. You can find small varieties, that grow between 15-30cm indoors. They like bright and indirect light, like most plants. They can contend with small bouts of cold temperatures and in fact, short periods of cooler temperatures will help to encourage more of the pink stems and small white flowers.
7. Crassula ovata – Money Plant
This plant has earned its nickname of Jade Plant or Money Plant from its association with Chinese Feng Shui. The plant can be pruned and trained as you see fit and was once a very popular houseplant in our grandparents’ days. The colour and texture of the leaves embody thick green, against the woody stems. They are fairly easy to grow and perfect for smaller spaces.
8. Venus Flytrap
This carnivorous plant is a great deal of fun to have about the house, and if you often contend with flies it’s a good plant to have. Children also tend to enjoy them because their pods snap shut to catch their prey. It will solve your insect problem for you, keeping your home cleaner and the air free from flying pests.
Bright and verdant, each of the leaf clusters is hinged, with tooth leaves that get triggered like bear traps when an insect lands inside. They do best indoors when grown on windowsills in small pots. During the summer and autumn they will be most active but go into dormancy in the winter. Rest assured that come spring, they will come back to life.
9. Coffee Arabica – Coffee Plant
If you have an apartment or small room, you can add some colour with a coffee plant, which also makes a great talking point and gift. Now, these won’t produce the coffee beans that you can roast and grind, but they are from the same family of evergreen perennials, and when properly cultivated and pruned, they can remain quite compact. The leaves are a rich glossy green and the flowers a vibrant white. No matter where you live, they need plenty of water and good drainage, high humidity and acidic soil which means using ericaceous compost.
10. Spathiphyllum – Peace Lily
The Peace Lily is one of the most common plants for small rooms or apartments because its size can be restricted to whatever container it is grown in, making it perfect for all spaces. Moreover, it has stunning white flowers that once produced, last for a long time, sometimes as long as three months. The plant can do quite well inside as long as you don’t overwater them and give them enough sunlight, although it will grow in areas of low light. It was also featured on NASA’s list of the best air-purifying plants, so it even cleans the air inside your home.
Image credits – Shutterstock.com
