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When you need more greenery in your life, fast-growing houseplants are a great option. They can transform your home’s interior landscape, adding a splash of living color, especially in the winter. Placing just one or two plants in the rooms where you spend the most time can brighten your space and your mood. I love visiting a garden center in the winter and bringing home a new indoor plant (or two!) to jazz up a bookshelf or to admire on my mantel.
This article will feature some suggestions for easy-to-grow plants, as well as some choices for more advanced houseplant owners. There are options for hanging and for tabletops, stunning specimen plants, and those that will produce flowers.
What determines “fast growing”?
The idea of a fast-growing plant is somewhat subjective, as the phrase “fast growing” isn’t standardized in horticultural terms. I consider a fast-growing houseplant to be one that regularly puts on new leaves and sprouts noticeable growth over a season. This is dependent, of course, on a plant being in its ideal growing conditions.
The benefits of having fast-growing indoor plants in your home
Fast-growing indoor plants bring a pop of life to every room in the home, and they have other benefits, as well, including:
- Research studies have shown stress-reduction and mood-boosting benefits of caring for plants.
- There are also studies that show plants help increase our concentration, memory, and productivity, allowing us to create better quality and higher accuracy work.
- As plants transpire, they add moisture to the room, which is especially helpful as your heating system saps the humidity from the air.
- Indoor plants help to enhance indoor air quality, removing pollutants.
- A fun feature of plants that grow quickly is that they continue to transform themselves. You’ll notice the difference in their growth over time.
I love using upcycled containers as flower pots. Here, an easy-care oxalis is nestled in a tomato tin.
Why we selected these fast-growing indoor plants
Some of the plants featured here have a spot in the homes of myself or Niki and Jessica, and others are plants we wish we had. I wanted to include a mix of houseplants that require some thoughtful care and placement as well as those that can be all but forgotten about (I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving cactus). There’s something for every kind of plant keeper here.
Quick-growing indoor plants for hanging
Hanging plants can soften corners, hide blemishes on a wall, and bring texture to a room. There’s something about cascading foliage, too, that transports us into nature. Here are a few favorites.
String of pearls (Curio rowleyanus): Imagine a green string of pearls, and you’ve imagined this fast-growing indoor plant. A succulent, its tiny pea-shaped leaves grow on cascading vines. I think it’s one of the best hanging succulent plants, but use caution if you have children and pets, as the plant’s leaves and sap are toxic.
String of pearls, and its cousins string of dolphins, string of tears, etc., are fast-growing trailing succulents. I had one in my kitchen window that I had to move because the “pearls” grew all the way to the windowsill.
Pothos (Epipremnum auream): Pothos is a fast-growing houseplant that’s great for beginners. These plants can grow a foot or more in a month! The vines feature waxy leaves that may be solid or variegated, depending on the species. For a different twist on a potted plant, try growing your pothos in water.
Not only do pothos plants grow quickly, they are great low-maintenance options for beginner indoor green thumbs.
Speedy specimen plants
If you’re looking to make a statement with your fast-growing indoor plants, there are many specimen plants that have lots to say. Here are some conversation pieces.
Philodendron (Philodendron spp.): In tropical forests, philodendrons wind their way up trees. In your home, these beginner-friendly plants can grow up a moss pole to mimic this same situation, like Jessica’s Golden Goddess philodendron has done. Philodendrons start out growing upright and then quickly begin trailing as time passes.
No matter the variety, the heart shaped leaves of philodendrons bring warmth into your living space.
ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamifolia): The ZZ plant is an easy-going houseplant that originated in South Africa. Its upright stems, lined with oval-shaped leaves, can grow up to three feet tall. With few disease and insect worries, a ZZ plant’s most significant need is regular repotting, as its strong stems can actually crack the sides of the pot as they grow and expand.
The “ZZ” of ZZ Plant is simply an acronym of its Latin name, Zamioculcas zamifolia.
The Swiss cheese plants (Monstera adansonii and Monstera deliciosa): The large holes in these plants’ heart-shaped leaves are how the plants got their shared common name, Swiss cheese. Monstera deliciosa’s leaves feature clefts more than holes, and they develop over time given proper light. Both of these plants are happiest when they can climb or be supported by a stake or moss pole.
Monstera adansonii is the smaller, faster growing cousin of Monstera deliciosa, with oval holes in its dark green leaves.
- Dieffenbachia (Dieffenbachia seguine): Standing three to eight feet tall and two to three feet around, a dieffenbachia (pictured in this article) is a fast-growing accent to any space. Its leaves are large and shiny and may be green or variegated in cream, white, or yellow patterns, depending on the variety. This plant is extremely toxic to people and pets, and its sap has paralyzing effects on our vocal cords if ingested.
Small tabletop houseplants that grow fast
These diminutive houseplants are perfect for any small space that needs greening. Here are just a few:
Snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata): The swordlike leaves of the snake plant provide an accent piece for whatever room it’s in. Tall (four feet) or short (six inches), green or gold, cylindrical leaved or flat, there is a variety of snake plant for every houseplant desire.
Not only are they easy to care for, I like that snake plants are easy to divide, meaning you can grow your own houseplant collection or share it with friends.
Emerald Ripple peperomia (Peperomia caperata): This little plant’s wrinkled, heart shaped leaves are variegated, making them a beautiful accent for tables, desks, and bookshelves. It’s unfussy in its light needs—you can grow it under fluorescent lights or in a window with filtered light.
The variegated, heart-shaped leaves of peperomia stand out in a pot.
- Watermelon pilea (Pilea cadierei): Thriving in warm, humid spaces and indirect light, watermelon pilea is a great choice for a bathroom or laundry room. Its name comes from the silver or white watermelon rind-like striping on the dark green leaves. The key to keeping this plant compact enough for your tabletop or shelf is to pinch back its stem tips.
A few other quick-to-grow choices
I wanted to include some fast growing indoor plants that flower, too, to add a little bit more pop to your space. You might consider:
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum spp.): Showy peace lily flowers are long lasting, changing from white to green and delighting us for a month or more. (Though if you run into problems, check out this article.) These shade lovers need consistently warm temperatures free from drafts for their fast growth and for flowering. While they can grow three to six feet tall, dwarf varieties are better suited for small spaces.
Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera spp.): Among the flowering indoor plants, Christmas cactus is an easy one to manage. In indirect, bright light, such as near but not right in a sunny windowsill, these plants need little watering. They actually prefer to be snug in their pots, meaning you don’t have to repot them often.
The buds of a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus start to grow as the daylight gets shorter, needing 12 or more hours of darkness to set their blooms.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum): Even people who don’t know plants know the spider plant because it’s easy to grow in most light conditions and with varying degrees of neglect. It’s related to asparagus, but this family member is toxic, not edible. In hanging baskets, its green or variegated leaves, stems, delicate white flowers, and plantlets cascade over the side. Each plantlet is a new plant that can be removed and potted up.
This is a spider plant plantlet a friend gifted me, that was perfect for this small pot.
Quick care tips for fast growing houseplants
Each plant species requires its own set of care instructions, but there are a few things you can do to keep your fast growing indoor plants happy.
- Choose a container with drainage holes and well-draining potting soil, unless otherwise instructed. Some plants have their own specialized potting soil, such as Christmas cactus grow mix and Dieffenbachia grow mix.
- Keep watch for pest pressure, which might include spider mites, scale, or aphids. Take care of these issues right away.
- Know your plant’s typical growing season. Its watering, fertilization, repotting, and other care requirements may vary based on the time of year.
Now that you know the benefits of keeping fast-growing plants and you have a few basic care tips, which will you choose? Here you read about cascading hanging plants, petite tabletop plants, stunning specimen plants, and flowering plants in all colors. The houseplant examples in this article may be top picks of the Savvy Gardening team, but they don’t even scratch the surface of all that are available for your indoor landscape.
