18 Flowering houseplants
Most houseplants earn their place on foliage alone, but these bring colour too. Every plant here is one whose notes highlight its flowers - showy, colourful or long-lasting blooms you can genuinely coax indoors, rather than a leafy plant that only flowers once in a blue moon.
Flowers ask a bit more: most bloomers want brighter light and steady feeding in the growing season, and many need a specific trigger - a cool rest, shorter days - to set buds. Worth it when they open.
African Violet (Saintpaulia / Streptocarpus)
The African Violet is the small, cheerful classic that can flower almost continuously, all year…
Bishop's Cap Cactus
The bishop's cap is a spineless, sculptural little cactus shaped like a plump star or a…
Bromeliad (Guzmania, Aechmea, Neoregelia & more)
Bromeliads are the bold, exotic, long-lasting flowering plants that bring a true tropical…
Byblis (Rainbow Plant)
Byblis, the rainbow plant, is a haze of thread-fine leaves beaded in glue that splits sunlight…
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera)
The Christmas Cactus is a beloved heirloom houseplant - the one that bursts into vivid, exotic…
Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
The Cyclamen is the elegant, cool-season flowering plant that brightens homes through autumn…
Dendrobium Orchid
The Dendrobium is one of the largest and most diverse genera of orchids in the world, with well…
Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus)
The Epiphyllum - commonly called the Orchid Cactus - is a jungle cactus that breaks all the…
Hatiora (Easter Cactus)
The Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri, sometimes sold as Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri or…
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
The Flaming Katy Kalanchoe is the cheerful, easy succulent that you buy already bursting with…
Mexican Butterwort
Mexican butterworts form pastel rosettes whose greasy leaves are lethal flypaper for gnats…
Old Lady Cactus
The old lady cactus is a plump, globe-shaped Mammillaria wrapped in a soft-looking veil of fine…
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
The Peace Lily is one of the few easy houseplants that flowers reliably indoors.
Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid)
The Phalaenopsis, or Moth Orchid, is the orchid for everyone.
Phragmipedium (S. American Slipper)
Phragmipediums are South American slipper orchids that grow streamside with wet feet, breaking…
Streptocarpus (Cape Primrose)
Streptocarpus - commonly called Cape Primrose - is one of the most rewarding flowering…
Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus)
Swedish Ivy - Plectranthus verticillatus - is one of the easiest and fastest trailing…
Vanda Orchid
Vandas are orchids grown in empty baskets with roots dangling meters in the air, crowned with…
Prefer to filter yourself? Try the Plant Finder to narrow all houseplants by light and watering.
Choosing a plant for a home with pets? Our table of plants toxic to cats and dogs shows what every profile says - and the reference behind it is the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.