15 Best Small Houseplants to Grow in Tiny Spaces

Maximize the use of small indoor living areas with space-saving houseplants

With more people living in smaller homes and apartments, space is at a premium. That doesn’t mean you have to give up on having a beautiful indoor living space. Houseplants can add a living touch to any room of your apartment, home, or office. Small indoor houseplants for tiny spaces can be displayed in space-saving hanging baskets, wall-mounted shelves, on windowsills, tabletops, or in an unused corner of a room.

Creating a relaxing sanctuary in your home or workspace with lush greenery can reduce stress, improve air quality, elevate your mood, and increase productivity. For small living areas, choose plants that stay small, or grow varieties with a slender upright or trailing habit that will fit in limited spaces. Here’s more on the best small houseplants, along with how to decorate and care for them in your home, apartment, or office.

1. ARROWHEAD VINE

Falling Arrows^® Champaign Reign^™
Syngonium podophyllum
Low to medium light
Height: 12”, with vines that can trail up to 72” long

Named for the arrow-shaped foliage, this tropical houseplant has a compact stature, developing a trailing habit as it matures. Falling Arrows^® Champaign Reign^™ produces pale green leaves with irregular splotches of champaign pink. Display younger varieties on a small tabletop, or in a hanging basket when plants begin to vine.

2. ANGEL WING BEGONIA

Bold Belles^® Dappled Morning^™
Begonia maculata
Low to medium light
Height: 8” - 14”

Angel wing begonia is grown for the upright habit and elongated wing-shaped foliage that lends instant appeal to any indoor space. Begonia Bold Belles^™ Dappled Morning^™ has rich green leaves punctuated with bright silvery spots and a paler green underside. This plant features a compact upright habit suitable for display on a nightstand or end table.

3. BUTTON FERN

Living Lace^® Cute as a Button^™
Nephrolepis cordifolia
Low to medium light
Height: 8” - 12”

This slow-growing fern is a smaller version of common Boston fern, with a compact habit suitable for displaying on a desktop or bathroom shelf. The pale-green leaves give off a faint lemony scent when crushed. These petite plants prefer average water and high humidity. Mist leaves regularly to boost humidity levels.

4. PRAYER PLANT

Color Full^® Like a Prayer^™
Calathea roseopicta
Low to medium light
Height: 12” - 24”

Prayer plant comes in a range of foliage colors, shapes and patterns. This variety has mesmerizing brushstroke patterns of pale green and dark green. The pinstripe midribs are pink, while the undersides are a rich shade of burgundy-purple that reveal themselves when the leaves fold up at night, resembling praying hands. Place on a desk or small tabletop in medium indirect light and provide high humidity as found in its native habitat.

5. CHINESE EVERGREEN

Igneous^™ Ruby Crab^™
Aglaonema x
Low to medium light
Height: 8” - 14”

Chinese evergreen is a no-fuss houseplant that tolerates a range of growing conditions, making it a good choice for those with a busy lifestyle. Igneous^™ Ruby Crab^™ has an elegant vase shape with shiny lance-shaped leaves. The eye-catching foliage exhibits bright irregular patterning of pink and cream, with contrasting dark green margins and veins. Provide a warm environment and place in medium indirect light to retain the vivid coloring.

6. INCH PLANT

New Vogue^™ Feeling Flirty^™
Tradescantia fluminensis
Medium to high light
Height: 2” - 4”, trailing up to 24 inches long

Also known as spiderwort, inch plant can be grown indoors and placed outside during warmer months. Plants produce colorful pointed leaves, with a trailing habit suitable for hanging baskets or wall-mounted containers. This unique variety has a vigorous growth habit, with pink-and-green-striped leaves and vivid magenta-pink undersides for a striking effect. Inch plant is easy to care for and thrives with regular moisture, bright indirect light and high humidity.

Find more: Stacy Ling of Bricks ’n Blooms shares some of her favorite easy-to-grow houseplants

7. NERVE PLANT

Network News^™ All the Time^™
Fittonia albivenis
Medium to high light
Height: 4” - 8”

These tiny houseplants, which are sometimes confused with polka dot plant, have a low creeping habit and small rounded leaves with distinct veining. Network News^™ All the Time^™ produces dark green leaves with a fishnet pattern of white veining for sophisticated elegance. The short stature is suitable for display on a small tabletop or shelf. Provide a warm environment, bright indirect light and high humidity.

8. BABY RUBBER PLANT

Savory Delights^® Spice is Nice^™
Peperomia obtusifolia
Medium to high light
Height: 6” - 12”

Not to be confused with Ficus rubber plant, Peperomia is a diverse group of tropical plants with thick succulent-like leaves in a range of colors, patterns and shapes. This variety has rounded cup-shaped dark green leaves with a shiny sheen and cinnamon-colored stems. The compact upright habit may develop trailing stems over time. Peperomia plants prefer bright light, warmer temperatures and moderate to high humidity.

9. PEPPER ELDER

Savory Delights^® Sweet and Sour^™
Peperomia obtusifolia
Medium to high light
Height: 6” - 12”

Pepper elder produces decorative foliage in a range of colors and shapes, and is tolerant of different growing conditions. The fleshy rounded leaves of Savory Delights^™ Sweet and Sour^™ are green with wide creamy yellow margins and marbled green centers. These small plants have an upright compact habit, but may eventually trail. Display in a hanging basket or on a tabletop near a bright bedroom window.

10. POTHOS

Beautifall^® Snowy Morning
Epipremnum aureum
Low to high light
Height: 6” - 108”

One of the easiest houseplants to grow, pothos has similar-looking foliage to philodendron, and adapts to most indoor environments. The elegant heart-shaped leaves of Beautifall^® Snowy Morning are delicately marbled in variable patterns of green, white, and creamy yellow. Display in a hanging basket, on a bookcase, or in a wall-mounted container where the long trailing stems can cascade down.

11. SPIDER PLANT

Urban Arches^® Pixie Punk^™
Chlorophytum comosum
Medium to high light
Height: 12” - 24”

This popular houseplant has a compact arching habit, slender grass-like foliage and baby spiders produced on long trailing stems. Urban Arches^™ Pixie Punk^™ has broader leaves than other spider plant varieties, with bright green coloring and slender white margins. Spider plant is tolerant of neglect and variable growing conditions, performing best with regular moisture and bright indirect light. Place on a tabletop, in a space-saving hanging basket or wall-mounted pot.

Small Houseplant Display Tips

Think creatively on how you can incorporate potted small houseplants into your indoor living spaces. Here are some ideas:

• Choose varieties of dwarf houseplant for tiny spaces with a slow growth habit that won’t outgrow their space.

• For apartment plants, add wall-mounted shelves, hooks and hanging baskets where space is at a premium.

• Decorate a dorm room with low-maintenance small houseplants that will thrive even for busy college students.

• Use a slender upright houseplant such as snake plant or rubber plant as a floor specimen to adorn an unused corner space.

• Vining houseplants for tiny spaces can be trained around a window, up a small trellis or moss pole, or allowed to hang down from a shelf or bookcase.

• Hang artificial grow lights on a bookshelf or desktop in rooms with low light.

• Good small indoor potted plants such as button fern or nerve plant are useful for cramped spaces such as a bathroom shelf or windowsill.

• Use plants that don’t grow tall for bookshelves and kitchen countertops.

• Place a tall narrow plant stand in an unused small space such as a room corner and adorn with a variety of small houseplants for a captivating display.

• Adorn a tabletop with dwarf houseplants complemented by small decorative accessories.

• Use a smaller attractive houseplant specimen as a captivating focal point on a coffee table.

• Place an air-cleansing houseplant variety on a bedroom nightstand to improve air quality as you sleep.

• Create a captivating houseplant display for small spaces using a living wall system.

• Place small office plants in a work space to improve your mood and increase productivity.

• Brighten up an entryway with a sideboard adorned with small houseplants, statuary, candles and other decorative accessories for a welcoming touch.

• Create an attractive hanging basket display by installing retractable wall brackets above window frames.

• Group plants together with similar growing needs for more efficient care.

• Use bathroom shelves or kitchen windowsills for the best houseplants that require higher humidity.

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