Best house plants for your indoor space in 2022

Best: Overall

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: Yes
• Care: Medium light and weekly watering

Otherwise known as a kentia palm or howea forsteriana, this striking plant is a brilliant all-rounder that promises to make a huge impact on any room in your home. Easy to care for, with impressive fresh green leaves that fan out, it can tolerate most conditions but will be happiest in a position that gets lots of indirect sunlight.

When it comes to watering, kentia palms only need a drink when the soil is dry to the touch, which tends to be around once a week. However, it also appreciates humid environments, so if you want to keep its leaves looking healthy it’s worth giving them a mist a couple of times a week.

While it has simple needs, this plant should be at the top of anyone’s wishlist who is looking to create their own indoor jungle, but beware, while it is a slow grower that can take decades to peak, it can reach a maximum height of 10 metres. But this plant has more than just good looks to offer, as it’s great for improving air quality by removing toxins such as formaldehyde, ammonia and carbon monoxide from the air.

Kentia palms also have quite the claim to fame as they are known to be a royal favorite. The Victorians embraced the plant as an exotic status symbol, with Queen Victoria herself known to be a big fan, insisting the plant was placed around her coffin when she died. Need further convincing? They were also used for decoration on the Titanic.

Best: For air quality

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: No
• Care: Most light conditions and light watering

This plant has an impressive list of nicknames, including “viper’s bowstring”, “tiger’s tail” and “mother-in-law’s tongue”, owing to its spiky green and yellow stems. But whatever you call it, we’re sure that you’ll love it.

Notoriously hard to kill, the snake plant is super-tough and doesn’t need much watering, making it a great option for new plant parents. It will thrive in most light conditions, though you should avoid placing it in windowless rooms or in direct sunlight for more than four hours, as you’ll run the risk of its leaves drying up. The snake plant also doesn’t need much water – simply give it a drink when the soil feels dry, which is usually every two to three weeks, and even less in winter.

Aside from its hardiness, what makes this plant so great is that it has a NASA-approved magic power. One of the best purifiers, it absorbs harmful toxins from the air and releases lots of oxygen at night, which is said to help you drift off to sleep and lessen the impact of airborne allergens like dust. To make the most of its toxin-fighting abilities, keep your plant free of dust by giving its textured waxy leaves a wipe every now and then.

Best: For beginners

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: No
• Care: Most light conditions and light watering

If you’re worried about the responsibilities of becoming a plant parent, we recommend picking up a succulent as a starter. While they are available in a variety of colours, shapes and textures, our succulent of choice is the Chinese money plant (pilea peperomioides).

It has perfectly rounded, coin-shaped leaves on long, thin stems, making it a great decorative addition to any home. It’s also said that this plant can bring good luck and good fortune to its owner – though we’ve yet to reap said benefits.

Incredibly low maintenance, the Chinese money plant is designed to make your life easier. Its thick, fleshy leaves retain water better than others, meaning even the most forgetful among us will be able to keep it alive – just make sure not to neglect it completely by giving it a drink whenever the soil feels dry.

The house plant also loves being in a bright spot, and while it can tolerate partial shade, it will grow towards light, so if you want it to develop evenly it’s worth rotating the pot every few days. It will also thank you for a monthly feed with half-diluted liquid fertiliser in the warmer months.

Best: For long-lasting flowers

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: Yes
• Care: Indirect, bright light and regular misting

If you’re considering adding a plant to your home, you don’t have to stick solely to green vines. For an instant dose of zest and colour to an otherwise dull interiorscape, we recommend investing in a bromelia guzmania, which is known for its distinctive and bright pink rosette-shaped flower head and striking blade-like foliage.

The blooms can last for up to six months at a time, and once fully grown it should reach around 75cm tall, making it a real statement plant that’s guaranteed to bring some joy into your home. Our spot of choice? A sunny entranceway that suits its love of indirect, bright light.

While bromeliads are low-maintenance, one of the biggest mistakes made with this plant is over-watering, which leads to rotting roots. During warmer weather, you should ensure the soil is kept moist but not soggy, and in the cooler months allow the soil to dry out slightly between waters. It should also be watered by pouring into the central rosette and enjoys humidity, so will benefit from regular misting.

Noticing some curled or brown leaves? Fear not, Beards and Daisies’ founder Jo Lambell says that while this is likely to be the result of too little water and too much full sunlight, if you adjust accordingly then your plant should recover. You can sign up for an email notification when the plant becomes available again.

Best: For bathrooms

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: Yes
• Care: Soft light and moist air

It might seem like a strange place to keep your plants, but some varieties actually thrive in these spaces due to the higher humidity levels, which help them live their best lives. Not to mention it also helps create your own personal oasis.

A maidenhair fern is a great choice if you’re looking for a bathroom plant, as they love moist conditions. Featuring black stalks with triangular fronds that are made up of lots of segments to create a soft, lacy effect, the plant is an elegant choice that looks great in a hanging pots, but it can be quite demanding. This species is very particular about its growing conditions: it thrives on moisture and needs a lot to survive, so you need to check it frequently and give it a good water as soon as the top inch of soil is dry.

If you can’t keep it in your bathroom, the plant will also require misting every other day but, whatever you do, don’t handle it too much, as this can cause the leaves to turn brown in protest. While it’s not the most difficult plant to care for, it needs daily attention, so because of its higher demands, we think maidenhair ferns are better suited to more experienced plant parents.

Best: For bookshelves

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: Yes
• Care: Medium light and moderate watering

While bookshelves serve as practical storage, they’re also the perfect platform for showcasing plants that cascade out of their pots. One of our favourites is the ceropeegia woodii – also known as the “string of hearts” – which grows pretty heart-shaped leaves on long vines, hence the name.

Ready to take pride of place in your home office, this plant already comes with long vines, measuring approximately 25cm but, if it’s given conditions it loves, they can grow as long as two metres in length. If you notice leafless stems getting too long though, don’t be afraid to prune them with a pair of clean secateurs.

Speaking of its favourite conditions, the string of hearts is low maintenance. It doesn’t like to be soggy, so water sparingly and allow the soil to dry out between drinks. It’s also pretty easy going when it comes to lighting and, while it prefers bright, indirect light, it will still do well in moderate shade. If you want to give your plant a boost though, you can help it grow by giving it a feed with liquid fertiliser once per month in spring and summer.

Best: For stylish homes

• Air purifying: Yes
• Pet/baby safe: Yes
• Care: Bright light and regular misting

The Musa dwarf cavendish banana is the poster boy of millennial-beloved plants, and it’s not hard to see why. Named after William Cavendish, the sixth Duke of Devonshire, this particular species doesn’t grow very tall, maxing out at around three metres, but its leaves are pretty large, making it a good one for homes with lots of space.

Ideal if you’re looking to make a real statement, its leaves feature unique blotches that gradually disappear as it matures, and it will reward you with lots of new shoots during its growing phase. A word of warning though, this plant is kind of high maintenance.

It prefers to be in a warm spot with bright, indirect light and likes its soil to stay slightly moist, so requires regular watering. Plus, its leaves are extremely fragile, so it is rare to find them without any imperfections. Don’t let that put you off though, you just need to remind the plant of its jungle home by misting it regularly to stop the leaves from tearing. It’s also worth noting that, despite its name, this banana plant won’t fruit. Make sure to sign up for an email notification when the plant becomes available again.