Choosing Houseplants

When you want lots of greenery in your home, stat, but don’t want to pay high prices for large houseplants, buying a few fast-growing indoor plants when they’re small can save you a bit of money. Plus, you’ll get a healthier plant long-term because a small plant adjusts quicker to the conditions in your home than a mature plant. This means fewer leaves dropping off your new plants because they’re pitching a fit about the light in your house. Here’s a list of fast-growing houseplants that will go from mini to massive in next to no time. Pothos Bob Stefko Also known as devil’s ivy, pothos (Epipremnum auereum) grows super fast, adding up to a foot a month in the right growing conditions. Indoors, the vines grow up to 5 feet long. You can train them to grow up a moss pole or trellis or put them in hanging container and let the vines trail down. Pothos comes in many varieties, including golden, ‘Marble Queen,’ Neon, N’Joy, and ‘Pearls and Jade.’ All have green leaves dappled with white, yellow, or pale green. These tropical vines are a great pick for houseplant newbies because they’re so easy to grow and thrive in low light. Syngonium Jacob Fox Also known as arrowhead vine, Syngonium podophyllum is a climbing tropical vine native to the rainforests of Mexico and Ecuador. It takes its common name from the shape of its leaves. Syngonium is fast-growing and lush, reaching a mature size of 3-6 feet long and 1-2 feet wide. Give it bright, indirect light and consistent watering, and it will scramble up a moss pole or spill from a shelf as a hanging plant. There are many Syngonium varieties with leaf colors ranging from solid green to variegated types with splashes of white, cream, and pink. For example, ‘Albo Variegata’ has dark green leaves with big splashes of white, and ‘Pink Splash’ has pink leaves with splashes of green. Philodendron Dean Schoeppner This fast-growing climbing tropical vine comes in many different varieties and colors and is easy to grow. Depending on the type, philodendron hits a mature size of between 3-12 feet long. It likes moist, well-drained soil and bright indirect light. It’s tolerant of shade, though, so it’s a good pick for a room where natural light is scarce. One popular type is heart leaf philodendron (shown here). It has deep green leaves shaped like hearts that will trail from a hanging planter or grow up a trellis or bookshelf. Heart leaf philodendron is also forgiving when it comes to watering, bouncing back quickly if you forget to water a time or two. Hoya Marty Baldwin There are around 500 hoya varieties, and not all are fast growers. However, Hoya carnosa, commonly called wax plant, grows so fast that these tropical vines are considered weeds in their native Southeast Asia. As houseplants, they wont’ take over your house, but they can grow several inches a month if you water them regularly and keep them in bright but indirect light. Hoya plants have glossy leaves and produce clusters of star-shaped flowers several times a year. Look for ‘Krimson Princess,’ which has green leaves variegated with pink and white, and ‘Krimson Queen,’ which has white or pink margins on green leaves. Put a hoya in a hanging planter by a sunny window and let its vines trail down, or train them to grow up a bookshelf, window, or archway. Begonia Kindra Clineff Begonias can double in size in two to three weeks, so they’re one of the fastest growing indoor plants out there. Some types of begonias have fancy leaves that feature dots and swirls, and they can bloom at all times of the year. Cane begonias are the speediest growers, and they are dramatic-looking plants that will make a statement in your home. Another striking houseplant is polka dot begonia, which has silver dots on green and red, wing-shaped leaves. It will grow up to 2 feet tall and produce clusters of white flowers. Monstera Elvira Kashapova / Getty Images Big, bold monstera (Monstera deliciosa) is the star of many indoor Instagram jungles, thanks to its iconic fenestrated leaves. When you buy a smaller monstera, the leaves will look completely different because they haven’t yet developed the signature splits and the plant may not be climbing yet. But as a monstera matures, it develops those striking signature leaves, a process that takes around two years. Give monstera medium to bright light and consistent watering, and guide it to grow on a moss or coir pole. It can reach 8-10 feet high and up to 6 feet wide in ideal conditions. Monstera is sometimes called Swiss cheese plant, the same name used for its smaller cousin, Monstera adansonii, which also makes a fast-growing indoor plant. Swiss Cheese Plant Jacob Fox Swiss cheese plant (Monstera adansonii) is named for its heart-shaped leaves that develop holes as the plant matures, reminiscent of Swiss cheese. It’s faster growing than its cousin, Monstera deliciosa, with an average growth rate of one to two feet a year. Indoors it will grow to a mature size of between 3-8 feet. Train it to grow up a moss poll or place a pot of Swiss cheese plant on a shelf and let its vines trail to the floor. Spider Plant Juli Lopez-Castillo Spider plants are among the easiest houseplants to grow because they tolerate both