12 plants that will thrive in your bathroom (Part 1/2)

DC Plants (Image: Archant)

The bathroom is possibly the best room in the house to keep plants.

Much like the outdoors the temperature alters, the climate switches between high humidity and drier air, and it’s a water source. It makes for an excellent environment for house plants, and a flourishing green bathroom looks fantastic. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce more climate-controlled tropical foliage in the home.

Whether you’re planning to turn your bathroom into a mini rainforest or just want to brighten it up with a couple of bursts of greenery, here are 12 species of plant that will thrive in this particular part of the house...

Aloe Vera:

Aloe Vera is a natural choice for the bathroom given its use in many moisturising products. It gives a real sense of nature in a bathroom space, and comes in a variety of shapes and colours depending on its growth-stage. Try not to position it in direct sunlight or it could singe the leaves - it does enjoy a light room overall though. The best thing about it is that the humidity that your bathroom creates will provide enough of a water source to keep it flourishing healthily.

Baby’s Tears:

These plants love a well lit and damp place to grow. They are fluorescent and bountiful - they grow out rather than up. They are ideal for potting in smaller tubs and for placing on the back of the cistern or sink, bringing some colour and life to smaller corners of the room.

Ferns:

botanicals infuse in the gin for six to twelve weeks before being distilled (Image: Archant)

Possibly the best plant to have in the bathroom is the Boston Fern, given that it loves humidity. Quite often these die quickly in other parts of the house, unless you mist them regularly. In the bathroom, they are misted daily simply when you have a shower. Maidenhair Ferns are a different species of this plant family, a little less straggly looking and very luscious. Ferns are full plants, that stretch out and look luxuriant and copious when at their healthiest. They enjoy peat moss, not too much fertilizer and damp soil. What keeps their leaves green is the humidity they enjoy - so if they start to go a little yellow then your showers aren’t hot enough!

Begonias:

Begonias are flowering plants that thrive in a climate of high moisture. They don’t like to be water-logged and appreciate the humidity of bathroom air. These are great choices for the bathroom should you want to inject splashes of colour here and there around the room.

Ficus:

For a floor-plant option, tall standing Ficus plants - or rubber plants, as they are also known - add height to the space. Display it in an interesting pot and place in the corner, by the shower or even as a way of disguising the laundry baskets. These produce large impressive leaves and enjoy the temperature of this part of the house. They look great in more spacious bathrooms and make for a feature point of the room.

Ivy:

The opportunities with ivy in a bathroom can be a fun thing to plan. Because this variety of plant creeps and crawls, you can coax it to grow around a mirror, across the back of the basin area, down from a hanging basket or even around the bath or shower, using the piping as a trellis. You’ll feel as though you’re showing in a jungle waterfall - if you like that sort of thing!

Come back tomorrow morning to snatch up our final six recommendations for bathroom friendly greenery.