12 Tropical Plants that can enhance your home decor – A 2024 Guide
Your home can become a green haven with the help of tropical houseplants. Beyond being beautiful, these plants can change any room’s look with bright flowers and green leaves. Caring for tropical flowers is easier than you think. As long as they have enough light, warmth, and moisture, many types, like philodendrons and peperomias, can be well indoors.
Choose humid and warm places, like your bathroom or kitchen, to make it feel like a tropical paradise. Lighting for growth can help your plants grow even if there isn’t much natural light. You don’t have to go on a tropical trip to enjoy beautiful tropical plants like Monstera or bright greenery. Instead, let these plants turn your house into a calm, tropical haven.
Find out about popular choices and easy-care tips to make your home garden come to life.
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Orchids (Orchidaceae)
Orchids are popular indoor tropical plants because of their attractive flowers, which can be white, pink, purple, or orange. These pretty plants need warm, wet conditions and indirect light to grow well. Unfortunately, orchids don’t grow well in hot, dry places, wind, or direct sunlight. Generally, water once weekly and let the soil dry out between waterings. Avoid watering too much.
Light: Bright or indirect light
Grows to 1 to 3 feet tall and 6 to 12 inches wide.
2. Variegated Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
Bringing a variegated pineapple plant into your home can make it feel more like a tropical place. These plants grow best in full sunlight, whether inside or outside. Even though they do best in damp areas like greenhouses, they are also adaptable to grow inside. Also, remember that pineapples grown outside might taste sweeter than pineapples grown in a yard.
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Native Region: Brazil
3. Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae)
Gardeners of all skill levels like bromeliads because they are one of the easiest tropical plants to grow. Because the soil drains fast, a pot filled with peat and sand suits these versatile tropical epiphytes. Mounting them on boards or logs allows you to create one-of-a-kind wall art in vibrant red, green, orange, and yellow colors. Water once a week, and don’t let the water stagnate.
Light: Bright light coming from behind
Size: varies by species
Care Tip: Ensure they have good drainage to keep their bright look and stop root rot.
4. Parrot Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum)
When placed in a sunny spot, tropical perennial parrot heliconias, which look like little birds of paradise, add an explosion of color. This plant does best in soil that is high in compost. Its blue fruits and nectar-filled flowers are delicious. After the soil dries out a bit, it must be watered often. Because it is so tall, it’s great for flower arrangements. For best growth, give it lots of sunshine and soil that drains well and is full of nutrients.
Light: From full sun to some shade
Size when fully grown: 3 to 6 feet tall
Region: Brazil, Colombia, or Guyana
5. Dieffenbachia (Dieffenbachia seguine)
The tropical foliage plant Dieffenbachia has big, striped green and white leaves that look lovely in a home. Regularly feed it a healthy 20-20-20 fertilizer mix to ensure it grows well, and use a potting mix that drains quickly. Keep it in a warm place (above 60°F) and out of drafts to prevent stress and ensure it thrives. It must be watered twice a week, but less in the winter.
Light: It needs bright light in the winter and partial shade or indirect light when it’s growing.
Size: 3 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide
6. Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
The dwarf palmetto is a tough tropical plant that makes any space green, inside or out. Its pretty blue-green fan-shaped leaves and flowery, creamy white blooms make any room feel rich and warm. It does best in consistently wet soil but can handle short periods of dryness. If you don’t want root rot, water the plants often, but let the soil dry out between the waterings.
Height: Four to six feet
Native Region: Southeastern United States
Light: Full sun to part shade
7. Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)
The fiddle leaf fig is a tropical plant that comes from western Africa. It is becoming famous as a houseplant because it resembles a tree with thick, ovate leaves. Growing indoors requires intense, indirect light and special care. To keep the leaves from fading or turning brown, water the plant as needed and turn it so that all parts receive the same amount of light. Even though it requires a lot of care, the fiddle leaf fig is well worth it for people who like tall plants because of its beauty.
Light: Bright, indirect light
Size: 6–10 ft. tall, 3–4 ft. wide
Watering: Water when the top inch of soil is dry
8. Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)
As a tropical evergreen shrub, the polka dot plant is easy to spot because its leaves are green with red, pink, and white designs. This plant needs rich, well-drained wet soil to do well enough. It does best in both indirect and direct sunlight. Put it near a sunny window or partly shaded outdoor space to keep its lush greens. The polka dot plant is an adorable addition to any plant collection, indoors or outdoors. It brings a splash of colour to any room.
Light: Bright and indirect
Size: 1 to 3 ft. tall
Region: Madagascar
9. Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Ponytail palms are beautiful tropical plants that don’t need much care. They make great pets for bedrooms or offices. Their thick stem holds water so that they can handle low humidity. Ponytail palms are great for families with pets because they are safe and don’t need much care. They are beautiful and easy to care for houseplants because they have unique trunks and hanging green leaves.
Light: Bright, indirect light
Mature Size: 3 to 6 ft. tall and wide
10. Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides)
The coleus is a decorative plant with striped leaves in many colours. It is a tropical plant that looks great in parks and on windowsills because of its dramatic, bushy shape. It’s easy to spread and grows best in soil that doesn’t stay wet, whether indoors or outdoors. Nature lovers love the coleus. Its bright, colourful leaves don’t have many flowers, but they stand out.
- Light: Bright and indirect light
- Maximum Size: 1–3 ft. tall
- Native Region: Asia and Africa
11. Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)
The Swiss cheese plant Monstera has strangely shaped leaves with many holes. This tropical vine can grow 15 feet tall if kept inside and doesn’t need much care. When you water, give the soil a short break occasionally, allowing it to dry out slightly. Its unique leaves will split more when the light comes from the side. Because it looks so dramatic and doesn’t need much care. Monstera is an excellent option for people who want a tropical accent plant that looks great.
12. Angel Wings (Caladium)
You can also call this plant “angel wings” or “caladium.” Its heart-shaped leaves come in a rainbow of colours. Its beautiful leaves will be the focal point of any space, inside or outside. Plant in rich, well-drained soil, but don’t eat it because it’s toxic. With their stunning beauty and ability to grow in dark places, angel wings are a great way to illuminate dark places and make them brighter.
- Light: Partial to full shade
- Size: 12 to 30 inches tall
- Native Region: South America
A Guide to Caring for Tropical Indoor Plants
Houseplants are a great way to make any room look better. They also keep airborne pollution out. Ferns, ivy, orchids, philodendrons, and tropical indoor plants do well in controlled environments. This article explains how to care for almost any tropical indoor plant.
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Giving Your Plant Water
The most important thing you can do for a houseplant is to ensure it gets enough water without getting too much. You can give the plant water when the top inch or two of dirt feels dry. If water sits at the bottom of the pot, you need to provide it with less water. Check the draining holes in the pot as well. If you want to water your houseplant, use lukewarm tap water. Cold or chlorine water can shock it and hurt it.
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The light and temperature
Most tropical indoor plants like bright indirect sunlight, so make sure your plant is not in direct sunlight but still gets a lot of light during the day. It would help if you also considered the relative humidity in your home. If it falls below 60%, you should moist your plant or keep a fan nearby.
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Adding fertilizer to plants
For plants that will be outside, most fertilizers have too much nitrogen. When you feed your flowers, you should use a fertilizer made just for them. You should feed the plant once a month in the spring and summer when it overgrows. Feeding your plants too much fertilizer could hurt or kill them.
Conclusion:
Tropical plants are an excellent addition to any home because of their vibrant colors, interesting designs, and soft leaves. A tropical houseplant can enhance any décor, whether you want tough monstera leaves, bright coleus, or beautiful orchids. Beautiful indoor plants clean the air and make the space feel calm. Anyone can benefit from tropical houseplants if they know how to water, light, and control the temperature. A beautiful indoor tropical plant can make any space fragrant.
FAQ’s
What is the name of a tropical plant?
A plant is called a tropical plant if it can live in hot and humid conditions. Caladiums, monsteras, orchids, and bromeliads are among the most well-known examples.
What is a 5-letter word meaning tropical plant?
“Palm” is a five-letter word that means tropical plants. There is also “Alpin,” which is short for Alpinia, a tropical decorative plant.
What are the best indoor plants for a tropical look?
You can grow tropical plants inside, like peace lilies, philodendrons, Monstera, and fiddle leaf figs. With these plants, you could turn your house into a green paradise.
What does a tropical plant mean?
Every kind of plant from the tropics or subtropics is called a tropical plant. These plants can live in hot, wet places and often have beautiful flowers or thick, green leaves.
