Hanging plants are great for small rooms because they cover the walls with lush leaves and bright flowers without taking up valuable floor space.
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Choosing the best indoor hanging plants for your interior will give your houseplant displays a new dimension. Vines with leaves and flower stems that trail off add a touch of the tropics to interior designs by adding color and texture.
Don’t forget to check how much light each plant needs. Put plants that need sun closest to the window and plants that like shade farther back or near a north-facing window. Putting trailing plants at different heights can be done with different plant stands. For a different trailing look, try kokedama.
Many of the best indoor plants can get pretty big. If you hang trailing plants in the middle of a room or hallway, they will make it hard to move around, so put them around the edges of the room or hallway.
You can hang smaller trailing plants like fishbone cactuses or spider plants over a dining table or sideboard to make it look like a candelabra. At night, you can make a beautiful shadow play by stringing small LED lights through the plant stems or shining a spotlight up into the foliage. ( credit: Getty s/Brendan Maher).
Hanging plants are a great way to decorate any indoor space. Their cascading leaves and trailing vines can add visual interest and greenery to areas like windows, porches and ceilings. When choosing hanging plants, it’s important to pick varieties that can thrive in your specific lighting conditions. Plants that like direct sunlight have special adaptations that allow them to flourish with ample bright light.
Direct sun can be challenging for houseplants since it is often more intense than diluted outdoor light. But certain hanging plant varieties actually prefer and even require several hours of direct sun daily. Positioning these sun-loving plants in bright southern or western windows or adjacent to skylights will lead to faster growth and more prolific flowering.
Here are some excellent indoor hanging plant choices that not only tolerate but actively thrive in direct sunlight
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is not only a versatile plant to have in your indoor garden but also offers numerous health benefits. The succulent leaves of aloe contain a clear gel that can be applied topically to soothe minor burns, cuts insect bites scrapes, and skin irritation. Aloe vera is very low maintenance and can survive with infrequent watering. Hang aloe in a spot with direct sun to encourage growth and gel production. The trailing stems will become long and leggy over time.
String of Pearls
String of pearls is a unique succulent vine with spherical, pea-shaped leaves. It makes an excellent hanging plant with its dense trailing stems that can reach up to three feet long. Native to South Africa, string of pearls thrives in bright, dry conditions. Hang its pot in a sunny window and allow the soil to completely dry out between waterings. The tiny ball-shaped foliage looks beautiful spilling over the edges of a hanging basket or container.
Echeveria
Echeveria is a diverse genus of flowering succulents that includes hundreds of species and cultivars. Ranging from low-growing rosettes to trailing varieties, these plants thrive with direct sun exposure. Their colorful compact leaves come in various hues like blue, purple, pink, orange, and red. Echeveria makes a wonderful addition to mixed succulent hangers. Group a few varieties together for a stunning display. Just be sure to use a lightweight, fast-draining soil and water only when the potting mix has dried out.
Burro’s Tail
Also called donkey’s tail, burro’s tail is another trailing succulent that flourishes in bright light. Its stems can dangle up to three or four feet long and are densely packed with blue-teardrop shaped leaves. For the fullest, most vibrant growth, give burro’s tail as much direct sunlight as possible. Hang its container in a south or west-facing window. Allow the soil to dry completely between waterings to prevent rot. Burro’s tail propagates easily from cuttings.
Air Plants
Air plants, also known as tillandsia, make fantastic hanging plants since they don’t require soil and absorb moisture and nutrients from the air. There are over 650 tillandsia species. Many of them grow natively attached to trees and rocks in Central and South America. For indoor culture, air plants do very well with consistent humidity and several hours of direct sunlight daily. Mist your air plants a few times per week and soak them in water about once a week.
Wandering Jew
Wandering jew is the common name for several trailing plants in the Commelinaceae family. Varieties like inch plant (Tradescantia zebrina) and spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis) have colorful leaves that look especially vibrant in direct light. Although wandering jew will tolerate partial shade, brighter light encourages faster growth and leaf coloration. Give it plenty of sun by a window or porch. Water whenever the soil is partly dry. Pinch back long stems to encourage bushiness.
Pothos
An incredibly popular houseplant, pothos thrives in most indoor conditions including direct sun. Its waxy heart-shaped leaves have yellow or white variegation that brightens in strong light. Pothos is also known for its fast, vining growth that looks lush cascading from a hanging basket. Avoid overwatering, allowing the soil to partially dry out between waterings. The vines can be trimmed back anytime to control size. Propagate new plants from cuttings.
Philodendron
There are hundreds of philodendron species adapted to various light conditions. Heartleaf philodendron and velvet-leaved philodendron are two varieties that do particularly well in direct sunlight. Philodendrons have glossy, oval-shaped leaves and gracefully arching stems. They make lovely, low maintenance hangers that can tolerate some neglect. Water young and actively growing philodendrons whenever the top inch of soil becomes dry. Mature plants can tolerate even longer periods between irrigation.
Spider Plant
One of the easiest indoor plants to grow, spider plant is named for its slender, wiry offshoots that resemble spiders on a web. Its long straplike leaves also have attractive variegation. Spider plants will thrive in just about any indoor location, but they especially appreciate bright light. Give them a spot with ample sun to encourage quicker growth. Spider plants propagate easily when the spiderettes form tiny plantlets that can be clipped off and replanted.
Lipstick Plant
The lipstick plant gets its name from the bright red tubular flowers it produces in spring and summer. But it’s just as coveted for its glossy oval leaves that range in color from deep burgundy to green with white stripes. This Brazilian native thrives in humidity and hot conditions. Hang your lipstick plant in a spot with at least 4 hours of direct sun. Water frequently enough to keep the soil consistently moist. Mist the leaves regularly to boost humidity.
While all plants need some light to survive, these hanging varieties genuinely thrive with several hours of direct sunlight per day. Pay attention to your specific lighting conditions and match these sun-loving plants accordingly for the healthiest growth indoors. With the right care, these direct sun hangers will reward you with vigorous trailing vines, colorful leaves, prolific blooms, and cascading stems perfect for brightening up your indoor decor.
Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum) (Image credit: Getty Images/Christian Sturzenegger)
People love devil’s ivy for its long stems with big heart-shaped leaves. It’s also one of the easiest plants to care for indoors. Also called pothos, these plants come in different types with green leaves that are speckled with gold or white leaves that are marbled with green, like “Marble Queen.”
It can grow in a lot of different conditions, even deep shade, so it’s a good choice if you want the best indoor hanging plants that can handle low light. Just water the compost when the top feels dry. In the winter, only water it about once a month.
From spring to early fall, use a balanced liquid fertilizer every four weeks and cut off any long stems that grow too long. You can also train this plant on horizontal wires to cover a wall.
Holly Crossley, a houseplant expert and garden writer, says there are three main things to look for if your pothos plant starts to wilt.
Check how often you water your pothos, how hot or cold the room is, and finally, look for any pests on the plant. Pothos prefer a humid and warm environment of 70-90°F, as they are naturally topical plants. If they get too cold, they can quickly droop, she says.
Holly is a former allotment keeper and professional gardener. Her new job is taking care of her many houseplants and writing for Homes about gardens and living outside.
Donkey’s tail (Sedum burrito; Sedum morganianum) (Image credit: Getty Images/Iryna Imago)
If you’re learning how to grow succulents and want to add a type that trails, this is a good one to try. It features chunky, textured stems, which reach about 12in (30cm) in length and comprise small, grey-green overlapping leaves.
You can buy donkey’s tail as either Sedum burrito or Sedum morganianum. Sedum burrito has oval leaves, while Sedum morganianum has slightly longer, teardrop-shaped leaves. In strong sun, both types of leaves turn a purple-pink color. Small pink flowers also appear at the tips of the stems in summer.
Overwatering is one of the biggest houseplant mistakes. So hang it somewhere sunny and only water it a little at a time from spring to fall, or when the top of the compost feels dry. In the winter, it doesn’t need any water at all. Feed with a half-strength cactus fertilizer every six weeks from spring to fall.
9 GORGEOUS INDOOR HANGING PLANTS PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS
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