The Best Indoor Plants for Florida

There are quite a few reasons to seek out an indoor plant for your home! They've been proven to reduce stress and fatigue, improving our mental health and even purifying our air. Not to mention the beauty they add to our homes! However, there can be an overwhelming amount of variety—how do you choose?

Here’s a list of some of the best plants suited to liven up your home!

Snake Plants

Dracaena trifasciata, more commonly known as the snake plant or ‘mother-in-law's tongue’, is a great choice for an indoor plant! Not only is it visually striking, it’s also been praised by NASA for its unique ability to continue purifying air throughout the night.

Regardless of the variety of snake plant, they are all resilient and easy to care for, making them perfect for first-time plant parents! For more information about the benefits of snake plants, check out our blog!

Spider Plant

Most commonly seen in windowsills or hanging baskets, the spider plant is a very popular indoor plant in Florida! All it needs is a moderate amount of indirect sunlight and watering about once a week, depending on the season. All in all, another easy-to-care for plant.

The name comes from both its spider-like appearance and the offspring that fall from its leaves, appearing like tiny spiders surrounding the plant. (No actual spiders are included with the spider plant.)

Succulents

One of my personal favorites, succulents come in a wide variety of beautiful shapes and colors, and are without a doubt one of the most popular indoor plants in Florida. A very “trendy” plant, this popularity has come in part due to their resilience and low-maintenance lifestyle. Not only do they require little water, but even should they go without it for too long, succulents are known to rally and recover quickly from dehydration!

A succulent plant is defined as “any plant with thick fleshy tissues adapted to water storage.” You might notice that they appear similar to cacti, that’s because cacti are actually a subcategory of succulents! Though all cacti are succulents, not all succulents are cacti.

Calathea Rattlesnake

Although it’s difficult to compete with the succulent's hardiness, the Calathea Rattlesnake is just as easy to care for and more than makes up for it with its unique tropical beauty.

Calathea Lancifolia, more commonly known simply as the Rattlesnake, is a plant native to tropical South and Central America, Africa, and the West Indies. Its name comes from its uniquely shaped leaves, which also adjust as the sun rotates throughout the day! Grown primarily for those brightly colored rippled leaves, they add a tropical feel to any apartment or home.

Ponytail Palm

It may sound crazy at first, but ponytail palms have become a popular indoor plant in recent years! While they can grow up to 30 feet tall when planted outside, indoors they tend to only reach about 4-6 feet.

The name itself is also a bit of misnomer, as they’re more akin to a succulent than a true palm. As a result, it's rather easy to grow a ponytail palm! Ideally, they require six or more hours of direct sunlight per day with indirect sunlight the rest of the time. However, because they hold so much water within, they only need watering once every 1-2 weeks. Just like the snake plant, NASA also praised the ponytail for its air-purifying abilities in the same study.

Its unique aesthetic and near self-sustaining survivability make this the perfect indoor plant for any busy household.