Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Home Maintenance

Ranked: The 7 best indoor plants to decorate your home with in November

Brighten your space with these indoor houseplants this winter

Veronica Sparks
By

In the summer, we naturally get lots of healthy exposure to nature and all of its greenery. Luckily, when the weather starts to cool off, you don’t have to wait until the next year’s bloom to enjoy some nature again. Keeping houseplants in the winter is a great way to maintain a piece of the outdoors in your life, even when it’s too cold to venture outside.

Indoor plants in varying planters on wood surface against window

Benefits of winter houseplants

Houseplants certainly spruce up the decor of any indoor space, but there are also plenty of other benefits. In fact, indoor plants can boost your physical and mental health when you’re hunkering down for winter.

Related Videos

Increased humidity

Winter months produce dry air indoors due to forced, heated air, and this can lead to uncomfortable dryness in the skin, nose, and throat. Indoor plants can increase the humidity levels in your home through their transpiration process, which expels excess moisture that eventually evaporates into the air.

Related

Air purification

Through the process of photosynthesis, houseplants can purify the air. They absorb carbon dioxide, allergens, and other airborne toxins, and expel that beneficial oxygen. You may find yourself feeling much healthier during the winter months thanks to these plants.

Mood elevation

Many people across the nation find themselves plagued with the winter blues. As the weather cools and daylight becomes a rarity, our moods take a hit. Luckily, houseplants can give your mood a boost. Plants are soothing and can relieve stress and even increase productivity. This makes them a welcome addition to any home or office space.

Green and pink houseplant on white surface in front of window

Best indoor plants for winter

To ensure your plants last all through the chilly season, it’s important to pick varieties that are resilient and can withstand dry, cool environments with low levels of light. We recommend the following varieties.

Christmas cactus

Since it tends to bloom over the holidays, they named this plant for the season of joy. While flowers are in bloom, be sure to mist the plant regularly, position it in a bright location, and keep the indoor temperature at or around 65 degrees F. Be aware that the flowers are a bit temperamental, so they may drop off if indoor temperatures fluctuate or watering is irregular.

Warneck Dracaena

The striking spiked leaves of the Warneck Dracaena add to your decor and assist with air purification during the winter. This plant prefers low to medium indirect sunlight and only needs water when the top half of the soil is dry. When watering, do so thoroughly with distilled water, as this plant is sensitive to chemicals like chlorine and fluoride.

Lavender flowers against white wall

Lavender

The scent of lavender is soothing and relaxing, but it’s also a great natural aid for those who suffer from sleep problems like insomnia. To keep your lavender plant healthy indoors during winter, avoid overwatering and only hydrate the soil when the top inch or so is completely dry. Make sure the plant gets as much light as possible and keep the indoor temperature at or below 65 degrees F.

Encore Azalea

The Encore variety of azaleas tend to bloom for longer periods than other azalea varieties, so you can enjoy those flowers throughout the winter months. They enjoy bright, direct sunlight as well as a humid, moist environment, so be sure you have a humidifier in the room or set the plant on a tray of wet pebbles to increase the humidity around it.

Colorful kalanchoe plants in white pots

Kalanchoe

The kalanchoe plant likes bright but indirect sunlight — direct beams can scorch its leaves. Additionally, it only needs water once every few weeks since it likes to dry out completely between watering. To help the drying process, ensure the pot has adequate drainage.

Peace lily bloom with green leaves in the background

Peace Lily

The Peace Lily is not only gorgeous, but it also has the added benefit of its air-purifying abilities. Keep these beneficial beauties in bright, but indirect, sunlight and keep the soil consistently moist with distilled water (they’re sensitive to fluoride). The Peace Lily likes warmer, humid conditions, so keep indoor temperatures above 70 degrees F and mist its leaves occasionally.

Spider plant in pot

Spider plant

Incredibly tough and resilient, the spider plant can withstand even the most neglectful plant parents. It likes to dry out completely between sessions of watering, but when you do water it, be sure you soak it thoroughly. This plant can survive in both low and high light conditions, but keep it out of direct sunlight.

Caring for indoor plants during the winter can lift your mood, purify your air, and increase the humidity levels in your home during those notoriously dry winter months. With any of these seven houseplant options, you can reap the benefits of an indoor garden all season long.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
The best dust mite sprays to eliminate those pesky microscopic bugs from your home
Sprays for carpet, furniture, and more
Dust mites

Some of the most invasive and troublesome pests are so small you can't even see them. So how are you supposed to mitigate tiny creatures when they are too small to see with the naked eye? You may not think dust mites are even a problem in your home, but you’ll definitely feel the difference after spraying a powerful and efficient dust mite repellent, especially if you suffer from allergies. Get rid of all those tiny dust mites that make you feel unwell, even if you don't know they’re there.

If you’re suffering from a runny nose and watery eyes, your symptoms could be more than seasonal -- dust mites could be causing your allergies if they're living in your furniture, carpets, cushions, or curtains. With an effective dust mite spray, you can get rid of and prevent those pesky microscopic bugs from taking a toll on your health. Let’s take a look at the best dust mites sprays to keep your furnishings clean and your allergies under control.
Bedlam Insecticide Spray
Best overall

Read more
Why your home should have an areca palm (and how to care for it)
Tips for properly caring for an indoor areca palm plant
how to grow areca palm decorative near white brick wall

Your indoor plants should reflect your unique style and integrate seamlessly with your home's decor. Indoor palms are a joy for anyone wanting to bring a piece of the greenery from warmer climates into their interior design. If you're looking for a bold, tropical addition to your indoor space, an areca palm is a perfect choice. With their substantial height and sharp, feathery foliage, these palms add a fresh and bright statement to any room.

Is the areca palm a good indoor plant?
Not only does an areca palm bring a mood-lifting splash of the tropics into your home, but it also offers numerous health benefits. This attractive palm can improve indoor air quality by removing toxins and adding humidity to the air, which is great if your indoor air tends to be a bit dry. Caring for a living thing, like this palm, is also a mood booster.

Read more
These are the best plants to put in your shower for a nature-inspired sanctuary
Adding a plant to your shower benefits both you and the plant
Bathroom with orange walls

Bathroom plants are a rising trend, and for good reason. Who wouldn't want to add a touch of refined nature or create a cozy farmhouse feel in their bathroom? Placing a plant in the shower, however, might seem a bit odd. The truth is, there are many benefits to having a plant in your shower, both for you and for the plant itself. We're going to discuss some of these benefits, and we're going to give you some ideas for the best plants to put in your shower. Once you've added a touch of nature to your shower, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

Why put plants in your shower?
Above and beyond adding a bit of color to your dim shower, there are some health and environmental benefits to keeping plants in your shower.
Less unwanted moisture
It's no secret that bathrooms tend to be hot spots for humidity. Excessive amounts of moisture, however, can have some adverse effects. Mold can grow around your bathroom, the paint on the walls can peel, and certain nasty bugs are attracted to moist places. A shower plant can help reduce unwanted moisture in your bathroom and minimize some of these issues. Since plants need water, they suck it right out of the air, providing the added benefit of not having to water the plant as often.
Cleaner air
You probably know that plants pull carbon dioxide out of the air and emit oxygen, right? But did you know that while this process is taking place, the plant is also filtering the air and pulling toxins out of it? With all of the cleaning products, hair products, and other nasty molecules that leave toxins in your bathroom's air, having a shower plant will allow you to breathe a bit easier and healthier.
Mental health benefits
Having indoor plants comes with numerous health benefits, but the most significant are the benefits to your mental health. We all know that plants are therapeutic, and studies have shown that plants help with stress relief, energy boosts, and even increased concentration and productivity. Why not reap all these mental health benefits right at the start of your day while you shower in the morning?
Elevated decor
Let's face it, indoor plants are beautiful, and they add so much charm and character to any room. Why not apply that same philosophy to your bathroom and shower? Having a plant in your shower is not only trendy and aesthetically pleasing, but it will leave you feeling like you're showering in the tropics.
The plants love it
Putting a plant in the shower not only benefits you, but it also benefits the plant itself. Many plants thrive in humid environments, so you'll see them flourish in your bathroom. If you tend to forget to water your plants for long periods of time, having them in an already moist area will allow you to feel less guilty about neglecting them.

Read more