Plants with heart-shaped leaves can not only help spread love, but they can also look beautiful in your garden or as houseplants in pots.
If you want heart-shaped leaves, this guide is for you. It lists twenty-five plants with different leaves that will all add a romantic touch to your home or garden.
A heart shape is universally beloved as a symbol of love and romance. Bring some of that charm to your outdoor spaces by planting gorgeous ornamentals with heart-shaped leaves. From tropical vines to hardy perennials, these delightful plants are perfect for gardens, patios and porches.
Eye-Catching Heart Leaf Hoya
The aptly named heart leaf hoya is a popular houseplant that also thrives outside in warm climates This vining plant is native to Asia and Australia. It produces clusters of waxy, star-shaped flowers in shades of pink, red, and creamy white. The leaves are a deep green with distinctive lighter veining Their oval shape tapers to a point, creating an endearing heart silhouette. Grow heart leaf hoya in filtered sunlight and well-draining soil.
Delicate String of Hearts
With its cascading vines and profusion of heart-shaped leaves, string of hearts is ideal for hanging baskets and containers. This tender perennial is native to Africa and features slender, vining stems lined with glossy green, heart-shaped leaves. Cup-shaped white flowers with purple centers bloom in summer. Grow it in bright, indirect light indoors and dappled outdoor shade. Avoid overwatering this succulent vine.
Stunning Heart-Leaf Philodendron
The heart-leaf philodendron is a popular indoor plant that also grows well outside in mild climates. It has shiny, deeply lobed leaves that emerge bronze before darkening to green. With its vining habit, it’s lovely in hanging baskets or climbing up a trellis or pole. Heart-leaf philodendron does best in bright, indirect light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Charming Pothos
With its easy care and trailing habit, pothos is a favorite houseplant that also transitions nicely to outdoor spaces. The heart-shaped leaves vary from solid jade green to a mix of green and yellow or white. For outdoors, plant pothos in partial sun to shade and water when the soil is partly dry. Use this versatile vine to add a pop of green to patio containers or let it trail from hanging baskets.
Tropical Anthurium
Anthurium features shiny, heart-shaped leaves in contrasting shades of green, red, pink, and white with ruffled edges. They add a tropical touch to outdoor garden beds and container plantings. The heart-shaped leaves rise from a central stalk topped with a fleshy spike that bears a colorful modified leaf known as a spathe. Provide bright, indirect light indoors and dappled shade outside. Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Vibrant Cyclamen
Cyclamen offer richly patterned, heart-shaped leaves that look painted. The dainty tubers produce delicate nodding blooms in white, red, pink, and purple from late winter into spring. After flowering, the foliage remains attractive all season long. Grow cyclamen outdoors in partial shade and well-draining soil. Move potted plants indoors for the winter in cooler climates. Water sparingly to prevent tuber rot.
Dramatic Split-Leaf Philodendron
The split-leaf philodendron has deeply lobed, elongated leaves that emerge bronze before maturing to a dark green. New leaves unfurl in an upright orientation before splitting open to reveal their signature heart shape. Grow this statuesque tropical in bright, indirect light. It looks stunning paired with container plantings or positioned in the back of garden beds. Protect it from frost in cooler climates.
Ornamental Foxglove Tree
The foxglove tree gets its name from the resemblance its blossoms bear to foxglove flowers. Starting in spring, drooping clusters of tubular white and purple-pink flowers adorn this small ornamental tree. Heart-shaped leaves emerge copper before darkening to green. After the flowers fade, clusters of inedible yellow fruits develop. Grow foxglove tree in full sun to partial shade and well-draining soil. Protect it from strong winds.
Delightful Bleeding Heart Vine
Also called glory bower, the bleeding heart vine bears delicate flowers reminiscent of its namesake. Dangling sprays of crimson flowers with contrasting white centers bloom all summer atop lush, heart-shaped foliage. This semi-evergreen vine does best in zones 9-11 but can be grown as an annual in cooler areas. Grow it in partial sun and fertile, well-draining soil. Give it a trellis or arbor for support.
Sweetheart Hoya
The sweetheart hoya wins fans with its trailing vines lined with glossy, heart-shaped foliage. Clusters of starry, waxy white flowers with a pink center emerge in summer. Grow this tropical vine outside year-round in zones 10-11. In cooler zones, enjoy it as a houseplant or seasonally outside after danger of frost passes. Provide bright, indirect light indoors and partial sun outside along with average room temperature and humidity.
With their charming heart-shaped leaves, these plants are sure to capture your affection. Add a potted heart leaf hoya to a porch or patio for an extra pop of green. Train a heart-leaf philodendron up a obelisk in a garden bed for vertical interest. Or highlight the delicate trailing vines of string of hearts in a hanging container. Let a few of these romantic plants infuse your outdoor space with beauty and grace.
2 Hedge Bindweed
- BOTANICAL NAME: Calystegia sepium
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- PLANT TYPE: climber / shrub
- FOLIAGE: deciduous
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
Perhaps one plant with heart-shaped leaves that you don’t want to see is bindweed.
This shrub produces white, trumpet-shaped flowers that can spread prolifically and suffocate other plants with its twisting vines.
If you really want to grow this plant, you can put it in its own pot or even hang it from the ceiling near your house. Just don’t plant it in your garden because the roots are very deep and brittle, making them very hard to pull out.
Heart-Shaped Hoya
- BOTANICAL NAME: Hoya kerrii
- HARDINESS RATING: H1C
- PLANT TYPE: houseplant
- FOLIAGE: evergreen
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
The heart-shaped hoya is a great plant to give as a Valentine’s Day gift because its waxy green leaves are shaped like hearts.
This easy-care plant is grown as a houseplant in the UK. Its leaves stay green all year, making your home feel warm and cozy.
So why not grow one of these plants at home? Then you can make more plants from it and give them to all your friends and family.