Best Houseplants for High Humidity
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Houseplants are not only for the living room and kitchens any longer. Adding foliage to the bathroom can liven up your space and give it the oasis feel you desire. When adding plants, you need to opt for plants for high humidity that can tolerate the moisture levels produced by the steam that will come from your shower daily.
Greenery in bathrooms is perfect for those who want to make bathroom spaces feel like personal spas. There are indoor houseplants that can fit into any lifestyle, and high humidity plants are no exception. However, choosing a suitable variety for your space is essential to make sure your plants are happy. Does your bathroom have large windows with ample light, or do you need a plant that can tolerate fluorescent lighting conditions?
Most plants need humidity levels averaging around 60%. Succulents and cacti prefer lower levels between 25-35%, while some tropical plants thrive with up to 90% humidity levels.
Here are 12 of the best plants for high humidity:
Pilea Peperomioides
The Pilea Peperomioides is a tropical thriving plant. It loves increased humidity levels and needs them to prosper. Pilea needs bright indirect sunlight, so they need lots of natural light. While doing well with the bathroom due to increased moisture levels, they would fail if there were no windows. Suppose your bathroom does not have optimal lighting; consider placing it in a sunnier spot in your home and incorporating a humidifier in the room.
Monstera
Monsteras are high humidity plants that prefer bright indirect light conditions. What makes these plants prefer indoor foliage is not only their conversational starting appearances but their flexibility to the environment around them. Monsteras have the needs they desire, but they also have conditions they can tolerate and do just fine in, like low light and moderate humidity levels. Monsteras are one of the best plants you could choose to add to your indoor greenery.
Bamboo
Bamboo grows in water in its natural environment and is low-maintenance, capable of surviving harsh conditions. This plant is commonly seen in spas, massage parlors, and other resort-type facilities, for a good reason. This plant is excellent for low light conditions, does not require much work, and is believed to have calming effects on the mind and body. If your goal is to create a personal spa in your home, a Bamboo plant will be your fail-safe.
English Ivy
Charming, delicate, entangling Ivy that can make your home feel like a secret escape. English Ivy is adaptable and resilient, making them great additions to home decor. This Ivy will thrive with moderate lighting and an average humidity level of around 60%.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is the perfect succulent for the hectic lifestyle plant owner. These plants need access to ample amounts of sunlight and do well in moderate to high humidity levels. The gel inside aloe leaves is great for relieving burns, cuts, and skin irritations. Due to aloe’s medicinal properties, they are often one of the first houseplants people tend to snatch up to add to their kitchen or bathroom windowsills.
Golden Pothos
Vining, luscious green pathos thrive in humid environments like bathrooms. A common reason pathos dies is because the air tends to get too dry, causing leaves to turn brown and start falling off. Luckily for indoor plant owners, the only ingredient pathos needs to survive is increased moisture levels in the air because these plants can fair well in low light or bright sunlight.
Calathea Rattlesnake Lancifolia
Bright indirect light and over 60% humidity levels make up the perfect formula for a Calathea Rattlesnake Lancifolia to thrive. Calathea has beautiful deep green foliage that adds dimension to any space, making it the prime choice to place near a bathroom window. Calatheas are not only good houseplants; they are excellent gifts to give because they symbolize new beginnings, breathing life into the unknown.
Snake Plant
Sword-like foliage and striped color patterns make snake plants attractive for caretakers. People choose snake plants to add life to indoor decor, not only for their appearance but also because of their ease of care. Snake plants need high humidity and do well in low light that many bathrooms can provide with ease.
Alocasia
Bright indirect light and high humidity make this unique plant thrive in its happy home. These popular plants are not for beginner gardeners because they require more care than most other tropical dwelling species. Alocasias need humidity levels over 75%, so if a bathroom location is not possible, make sure you put into motion another method to release moisture into the air for your Alocasia plant. Misting regularly and a humidity tray are great ways to regulate increased humidity levels.
Heart Leaf Philodendron
Philodendrons are a favorite among many. Philodendrons prefer hanging pots, are incredibly resilient, great for beginners, and the higher the humidity, the more growth you will receive in return. Placing a Philodendron in a kitchen or bathroom window is a fantastic location indoors to watch their beautiful foliage flourish.
Orchid
Orchids are one of the easiest plants to manage and keep indoors. They never like their soil to become saturated but love absorbing moisture throughout the air, making them ideal candidates for high humidity levels indoors. These plants do great in low or bright filtered light resulting in one of the best plants to care for in your home. Adding an orchid or a bathroom windowsill and occasionally watering when the soil is dry will result in a beautiful, thriving plant.
Dracaena
Dracaena prefer bright indirect natural light; however, they can tolerate low lighting conditions. For a Dracaena to thrive though higher than average humidity levels is a necessity. A bathroom is a perfect place for a Dracaena of any variety since most home bathrooms provide the needed conditions for optimal growth.
How To Add Humidity to Your Home
Placing high humidity plants in a bathroom location offers plenty of humidity. However, if you decide to put them in a different area, that can work if you supplement natural humidity levels in the air.
To add humidity to your home, you have four basic options:
- Humidifier – Humidifiers are a great way to add moisture to the air. Large humidifiers can supplement entire rooms, while small humidifiers are available for individual plants.
- Humidity Tray – Humidity trays are plastic drip trays lined with pebbles and covering the stones midway with water. After creating your humidity tray, place your plant’s pot on top of the tray. Moisture will travel from the tray to your plant, providing it with the humidity it needs.
- Misting – Misting is controversial but can work if done correctly. It is best to mist your plant multiple times daily for best results in increasing humidity levels.
- Double Dipping – Double dipping refers to double potting your plant. Use a plastic pot to hold your plant and the soil, and then use a larger pot to place your plant’s plastic pot into. The goal is to ensure there is space between the two containers for the addition of peat moss. Keep peat moss moist to provide moisture to your plant and the air surrounding it without saturating its roots, potentially leading to root rot.
Best Indoor Plants for High Humidity – The Wrap-up
Average home humidity levels are typically lower than ideal for high humidity plants. Hence the reason experts recommend placing these plants in a bathroom or even kitchen to provide the optimal growing conditions.
Even though humidity levels are usually less than desirable, high humidity plants are some of the best and easiest to grow indoors, so there are ways to supplement indoor moisture levels to help indoor plants flourish.
Houseplants for high humidity can be gorgeous, rewarding, and easy to maintain plants if they are provided with the correct variables to help them prosper.
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Published at Mon, 01 Nov 2021 11:12:59 -0700