10 Best House Plants for Window Sills

Window sills are a great place to display small house plants. The right plants can add pops of color, interesting textures, and even purify the air in your home. However, not all house plants thrive in the conditions provided by window sills. Choosing the right plants is key to creating an attractive and easy-to-care-for windowsill garden.

Here are 10 of the best house plants to grow on your window sills:

1. Succulents

Succulents are ideal for sunny window sills. Their thick, waxy leaves allow them to tolerate direct light and heat. Popular succulents like jade plants echeveria, aloe vera and haworthia do well in bright southern or western exposures. Choose succulents with compact growth habits that won’t overtake the windowsill.

2. Cacti

Like succulents, cacti are made for full sun exposures. Their spines and waxy coatings help them thrive where other plants would shrivel. Good cacti picks include prickly pear, golden barrel, and Christmas cactus. Use terracotta pots with drainage holes and a gritty potting mix.

3. Snake Plant

With sword-like upright foliage snake plants make excellent accent plants for window sills. They tolerate low light and inconsistent watering quite well. Though they do best in bright, indirect light snake plants can manage in shadier northern and eastern windows.

4. Pilea Peperomioides

Known as the Chinese money plant, pilea peperomioides has charming round leaves on trailing stems. It stays compact and does well in medium to bright indirect light. Pileas also help purify indoor air. A small planter looks lovely on many windowsills.

5. Polka Dot Plant

A freckled beauty, the polka dot plant thrives in humid conditions with ample diffused light. Its vivid pink, white, and green foliage looks gorgeous on kitchen and bathroom windows. Keep soil moist and provide high humidity for best growth.

6. Orchids

Many orchid varieties like phalaenopsis and moth orchids enjoy the bright, indirect light of an east or west-facing window. Orchids need a cycling of wet and dry periods. Water when the potting mix is nearly dry. Add pebbles to the planter tray for humidity.

7. Herbs

Culinary herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary often relish a spot in a sunny, south-facing window. The light and heat help them grow faster and more flavorfully. Choose dwarf cultivars suited to containers. Let the soil dry between waterings.

8. Ferns

For shady windows, ferns are an excellent choice. Boston fern, maidenhair fern, rabbit’s foot fern and other small varieties grow well in northern or eastern exposures. Keep their soil moist but not soggy. Add pebbles below the pots to increase humidity around the delicate fronds.

9. Peperomia

With over 1000 varieties, you can find a peperomia for any conditions. Watermelon peperomia and other small bushy types work well for medium to low light windowsills. Their waxy leaves come in a rainbow of colors. Allow the top inch of soil to dry before watering.

10. Nerve Plant

A houseplant superstar, nerve plant has striking, vividly-veined leaves. It stays compact with anywhere from medium to low indirect light. Nerve plants also help cleanse indoor air. For best results, provide average room temperatures and high humidity.

When choosing plants, make sure to consider the direction, exposure, and conditions of your window. With the right houseplants, your windowsills can become a lively indoor garden display! Prioritize plants with thick leaves or wax coatings if your windows get very hot or very bright light. And don’t forget to use proper pots with drainage. A well-cared for windowsill garden will bring natural beauty into your home.