10 Best Bathroom Plants

Beautiful humidity loving plants to decorate your bathroom and purify the air

Indoor plants are most often found in the living and dining areas of the home but some plants thrive in the moist, humid environment of the bathroom.

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What are the best bathroom plants?

The best type of plants to have in your bathroom are those that like a warm, humid environment and can tolerate low light.

Tropical plants love these conditions and are well suited to growing in the bathroom.

If you have a tropical plant that isn’t doing well in another part of the house, move it to the bathroom for a while and see if it improves.

beautiful plants in a white bathroom

10 Best Plants for the Bathroom

1. Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.)

Moth Orchids have long stalks with multiple flowers in beautiful colors including yellow, white, pink and purple.

Moth Orchids love humidity, so they’re great for the bathroom, but they don’t like to be constantly wet.

It’s not a good idea to let the plant sit in a saucer of water for a long period of time.

Orchid

2. Mother-In-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata)

Mother-In-Law’s-Tongue, also known as Snake plant is a type of succulent that has long, sword shaped leaves.

They’re easy to care for and can tolerate low light conditions.

Mother-In-Law’s Tongue does best in well drained pots and can handle drying out between watering.

sansevieria plant

3. Air Plants (Tillandsia spp.)

Air Plants are part of the bromeliad family and have the unique ability to survive just on air.

They’re able to absorb moisture and nutrients through their leaves without needing to grow in soil.

Air Plants can be placed in a bowl or terrarium on a bed of pebbles or gravel.

RELATED: How To Grow Air Plants

Air plant

4. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)

Peace Lily is one of the most popular and easy to care for indoor plants.

They’re great for purifying the air and will filter out formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia. [1]

They will let you know when they need water by drooping their leaves.

Peace Lily like humidity so they do well growing in a bathroom and they can be misted during hot dry weather.

Peace Lily can be divided and re-potted to create new plants.

Peace lily

5. Bromeliads

Bromeliads are humidity loving, low maintenance indoor plants.

They have bright, long lasting flowers that are actually modified leaves called bracts.

During the warmer months their leaves can be misted with water.

Bromeliad

6. Nerve Plant (Fittonia spp.)

Nerve plants have dark green leaves with white, cream or pink veins.

They love constant moisture and humidity, so they’re perfect for the bathroom.

During hot dry weather the leaves can be misted with water.

Nerve plants grow to about 6 inches (15 centimetres) tall, but they can be made more compact and bushier by regularly pinching out the stems.

RELATED: 10 Beautiful Small Indoor Plants

Nerve plant

7. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

Spider plants are hardy, fast growing plants that get their name from the new growth (spiderettes) that dangle down from the plant, like spiders.

These low maintenance plants are adaptable to many different conditions and they’re great for humid bathrooms.

Spider plants look great in hanging baskets or placed on a shelf in the bathroom.

Spider plants can be propagated from the mini spider plants they produce.  Just place them on top of moist soil, while still attached to the plant and they will form roots.

striped foliage

8. Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum)

The Arrowhead plant, also known as Goosefoot plant is an easy to care for plant that can be trained to grow up or cascade over a hanging basket.

They don’t need much maintenance and can be kept in the same pot for several years.

The potting mix should be allowed to dry out in between watering and they can be misted in hot weather.

arrow head plant

9. Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)

Polka Dot plants are also known as Freckle Face plants and have foliage in a variety of colors including green, pink, cream, red and burgundy.

They love humidity and can be placed on a saucer with water or misted regularly during hot dry weather.

Polka dot plant

10. Croton (Codiaeum variegatum)

Croton, also known as Joseph’s coat have beautiful foliage in bright colors including yellow, pink, orange, red, cream, white and green.

They like warmth and humidity but prefer a brightly lit spot, so they’re best placed on a window sill in the bathroom.

Croton plants don’t like being moved and can lose their leaves if they’re relocated.

RELATED: 10 Colorful Houseplants

Croton plant

Tips for Growing Healthy Bathroom Plants

  • Ensure your plants have access to natural light – if your bathroom only has a small window or no window at all, you may need to rotate your plants between the bathroom and another well-lit room.
  • Some plants will need regular misting during warm dry weather.
  • Cut off any leaves that are moldy.
plants in a green bathroom

How to Style Plants in your Bathroom

Plants can be placed in many areas in the bathroom:

  • In the bath (if you don’t use it regularly)
  • Hanging from a hook on the ceiling
  • Next to the sink
  • On the floor
  • On a shelf
  • On a plant stand

Plants are a gorgeous addition to any room in the house including the bathroom.

Not only do they increase the natural beauty of the bathroom, they also create a calming and peaceful environment, while also purifying the air.

houseplants in a bathroom

RELATED ARTICLES

Do you have plants in your bathroom? Let me know in the comments below

Are you on Pinterest? I have boards dedicated to Indoor Plants and Gardening Tips that you may enjoy. You can also find me on Facebook.

Best bathroom plants
plants near a white bathtub

Best humidity loving bathroom plants

Kelly Martin

Hi, I'm Kelly Martin, a landscape gardener and designer with over 10 years experience. I have a passion for small space gardening and I love designing and creating beautiful outdoor spaces that maximize the potential of small urban gardens. Read more

This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Gina

    I’m so happy I found your blog! I’m starting into houseplants, and I’m such a newbie. I also have rooms that just don’t get a lot of light – and one of my plants is a mother-in-law’s tongue and I’ve been worried about it – even moving it around during the day to get light. I feel so much better now knowing I don’t have to stress about my plants so much!

  2. I can’t say that I had ever considered putting plants in my bathroom, but then I didn’t know some would thrive in that kind of environment. You’ve taught me a lot in this post, Kelly! Some of these are absolutely beautiful. My favorite being the nerve plant, with the pink veins. I’m a pink girl, so my plants tend to reflect that love. The nerve plant would be a perfect addition to my bathroom.

  3. Trish Veltman

    I love plants in a bathroom, especially ferns. this is really good information and encouraged me to try a few others in the bathroom too.

  4. Alexandra

    I wish I had a home and bathroom where I could decorate with plants. I love nature and I love to bring the outdoors indoors so it feels like outdoors. I just don’t have time to care for everything and I have boys. Young boys and teen boys and they destroy everything! But I love the plants above and the idea of having plants in a nice clean bathroom. Maybe one day when I actually HAVE a clean bathroom.

  5. Smita

    I have a snake plant in my living room, never thought about putting one in the bathroom too! Great idea!

  6. Despite Pain

    I love a nice bit of greenery in the bathroom. Many plants love that type of environment, don’t they? I have a lovely shamrock plant in mine which came from a seed from my husband’s grandmother’s plant. I’ve had it for over twenty years.

  7. Snehal

    Wow… I have never thought of keeping a plant in the bathroom. Now am thinking of getting some moth orchids! 😍

  8. Carol

    I love plants but tend to have a black thumb. I’m going to give a few of these a try.

  9. Debra Roberts

    I love mother-in-law’s tongue and have had the same one for over 30 years! It’s huge and beautiful and I had no idea it loved humidity!

  10. Betsy Carter

    I loved reading about all the options for plants in my bathroom. Currently, I have a Spider plant with lots of baby hanging off of it and one container with an Air plant, but now I want to add more!

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