We asked Nicky Roeber, Online Horticultural Expert at Wyevale Garden Centres, to share his top tips for which bathroom plants are the most likely to thrive and what the benefits are of having house plants hanging around.
The Best Bathroom Plants
Plants can be great additions to bathrooms, whether used to provide a pop of colour or create a relaxing mood. However, the bathroom environment presents some unique challenges for plants.
For example, running hot water for extended periods of time means that our bathrooms get hot and steamy, and not all plants do well in this kind of environment. Most succulents prefer it dry and will rot if the air is too humid, and evergreens can develop mildew. Plus, although they're humid when they're in use, bathrooms can be one of the coldest areas of the home, especially at night. They don't get a lot of natural sunlight, either —some don't even have windows.
So, you'll need to look for bathroom plants that absorb moisture, or plants suitable for little to no light that thrive in bathroom spaces.
To get you started, here are five different plants to have in your bathroom that tick all those boxes and provide some extra benefits as well.
The Happy Bathroom Plant
One of the plants that will feel most at home in your bathroom is bamboo. Bamboo grows in dense tropical forests, so it's used to not getting a lot of light, and it thrives in cool and humid temperatures alike. It's a type of grass that can grow to be the size of a tree, and because bamboo is so happy in bathroom-like environments it can grow very quickly. It might need a bit of trimming as a result, but it otherwise doesn't need a lot of attention. It’s one of the plants suitable for bathrooms in every possible way, and adds a natural splash of greenery that feels and looks entirely calming.
The Pretty Bathroom Plant
Finding flowering plants that can survive in a humid environment can be a colourful and fragrant way to decorate your bathroom. One of the best plants for bathrooms to choose is the orchid, as they suffer if they dry out and prefer conditions that are warm and steamy. These exotic flowering plants are tall and narrow, taking up little space, but a bigger bathroom can have a few different coloured orchids placed together for a bolder look. Plus, if you’re considering artificial plants for your bathroom there are a whole array of artificial orchids that look equally as wonderful when paired with real greenery.
The Healing Bathroom Plant
Some plants can bring even more to your bathroom than a splash of colour. Aloe vera, for example, has healing properties to rival your medicine cabinet, with thick, juicy leaves full of gel that can be used to soothe burns and scrapes. The aloe plant will also live happily in your bathroom, as it prefers indirect light to protect its leaves from sun damage. Place a few next to a countertop basin on a vanity unit for a cute and calm look that's easy to access should you need some gel. A good bathroom plant? We know so.
The Handy Bathroom Plant
Ivy is one of the best air-purifying plants for bathrooms, so it can help keep your space clean and healthy by filtering out airborne toxins, mould and other nasty particles. This is good news for asthma and allergy sufferers but, as improved air quality can also reduce blood pressure, fatigue, and headaches, everyone can benefit from having potted ivy in their bathroom. Ivy also makes for a spectacular hanging bathroom plant; trailing down from carefully picked places for a peaceful aesthetic.
The Tough Bathroom Plant
There are a few notable indoor plants that can withstand a lot of different environments and should therefore be fine in most bathrooms. Consider the cast iron plant, so called because it is notoriously difficult to kill, and ferns, which can withstand both hot and cold temperatures.
The real star of this category, however, is the spider plant. It prefers cooler temperatures, but this hardy plant can survive in many different environments and is undoubtedly one of the best plants for the bathroom. It likes being packed into small containers, so it can be squeezed into even the tiniest of en-suites, and has air purifying qualities similar to ivy.
By choosing the right bathroom plants, you can turn your space into an oasis of calm and benefit from better moods, improved air quality and design harmony. With these tips, you'll be well on your way to the relaxing bathroom that you deserve.
