The Best Vining Plants for Your Indoor Garden
The Best Vining Plants for Your Indoor Garden
These leafy greens are teeming with décor potential.
If you're looking for a low-maintenance houseplant with lots of beautiful foliage, consider a vining plant. "Vining plants have long stems that trail and climb wherever they want to go," says Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, author of House Plant Party: Fun Projects & Growing Tips for Epic Indoor Plants ($18.23, amazon.com). "They add movement to your houseplant display and offer a form of privacy when hung in a window."
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Along with creating excellent window displays, vining plants can add ample visual interest to other areas of your home. "You can buy a plant support or wall frame and wrap them around the structure, wind them horizontally across the center of a table, or let them trail right over your bookshelves," says Dr. Katie Cooper, founder of Bloombox Club. "Their stems drape downwards, as opposed to growing upright, which makes them super malleable."
Interested in integrating some gorgeous vining houseplants into your home décor? We asked Cooper, Steinkopf, and Joyce Mast, Bloomscape's plant mom, to share their favorites for your indoor spaces.
Related: These Indoor Garden Ideas Mean You Can Enjoy Live Plants Even If You Don't Have a Backyard
Monstera Deliciosa
For a fast-growing plant that provides plenty of privacy in a window, try a Monstera deliciosa. Also known as the "Swiss cheese plant" thanks to the holes in their leaves, Monstera can grow up to ten feet tall when placed in bright indirect light and watered weekly. "Monstera becomes a large focal point in a room and therefore needs plenty of room to grow," Steinkopf says.
Philodendron
For an easy-to-find vining houseplant that can tolerate low indoor light levels, look no further than philodendron. "Philodendron micans are a more interesting version of the ubiquitous heart leaf philodendron," Steinkopf says. "Its leaves are a dark green with undertones of burgundy with an almost velvet looking texture." For a philodendron with a more colorful twist, she recommends Philodendron hederaceum 'Brasil', variegated heart-leaf philodendron with streaks of neon green in the leaves.
Pilea Glauca
Searching for a short vining plant that won't take up a ton of space on an end table or desk? Cooper says Pilea glauca has a dense mop of tiny grey-green leaves that trail over the edge of the pot, but won't grow taller than seven centimeters in height. "It has a shrubby feel when small, and gains a more delicate appearance as it grows," she explains.
String of Pearls
If you thought there was no such thing as a vining succulent, you'd be mistaken. Commonly known as "string of pearl plants" because of their fleshy bead-like fronds, Senecio rowleyanus are succulents with vines that can grow up to three feet long. "They require direct sun to keep their unique shapes," Steinkopf says. "So place in a south-facing window or under grow lights."
Pothos
Beloved for their colorful, heart-shaped leaves and long, trailing vines, pothos plants are low-maintenance and available in many varieties. "Pothos have been around forever but have been reimagined with an assortment of new cultivars, including ones with variegated leaves," Steinkopf says. "The darker green, older varieties, such as the Golden pothos, are easy-to-grow and can tolerate low lighting."
Tradescantia Zebrina
A native to Southern Mexico and Guatemala, Mast says Tradescantia zebrina is popular because of its green and purple colored leaves with silvery striping. According to Cooper, they're also incredibly hardy, too. "This plant is known to be pretty non-fussy when it comes to their environment and can come back fighting even when it looks like they're on the brink of destruction."
