You need to three factors—low light, high humidity, and temperature swings—when choosing plants for a bathroom. Here are suggestions for plants that will do well in average bathroom conditions.
Color Varieties: Pale green foliageSun Exposure: Bright artificial light or window sunlightSoil Needs: Well-drained potting soil
Color Varieties: Pale to dark green foliage; variegated forms availableSun Exposure: Full sun to partial shadeSoil Needs: Prefers sandy potting mixes but tolerates most potting soil mixes
Color Varieties: Light-green, dark-green, bronze, or variegated foliage. Some varieties are grown for beautiful blooms while others are grown for their distinctive and unusual foliage.Sun Exposure: To encourage flowering, provide some direct sunlight; for varieties grown for their foliage, provide bright filtered light.Soil Needs: Begonias do best in general-purpose, soilless potting mix.
Color Varieties: Dark green foliage and pink or red flowersSun Exposure: Bright, indirect light is best. They will tolerate a few hours of direct sunlight each day, but don’t place them in hot afternoon sun because it can burn the leaves.Soil Needs: Soil depends on genus and species; those requiring soil do well in a succulent potting mix.
Color Varieties: Medium-green foliage; rarely flowers when grown as a houseplantSun Exposure: Low, indirect light; tolerates full shadeSoil Needs: Well-drained, peaty potting mix
Color Varieties: Dark green; some varieties are variegatedSun Exposure: Low, indirect light; no direct sunSoil Needs: Rich, well-drained potting mix
Color Varieties: Green, or combinations of yellow, pink, orange, red, bronze, purple, and greenSun Exposure: Bright, indirect lightSoil Needs: Well-drained, humusy potting mix
Color Varieties: Combinations of green and yellow/white foliageSun Exposure: Bright, indirect lightSoil Needs: Loose, fast-draining potting mix
Color Varieties: Light to dark green, depending on speciesSun Exposure: Depends on the speciesSoil Needs: Depends on species; most thrive in moist, well-drained potting mix
Color Varieties: Dark green leaves; white flowersSun Exposure: Needs six to eight hours of sunlight for floweringSoil Needs: Well-drained, acidic potting mix rich with peat moss
Color Varieties: Pink, red, purple, white, depending on the varietySun Exposure: Depends on variety but needs light for bloomsSoil Needs: Depends on type, but generally requires a bark mix designed for orchids
Color Varieties: Glossy green foliage; white flowersSun Exposure: Bright, filtered lightSoil Needs: Well-drained potting mix
Color Varieties: Dark-green foliage; some cultivars have variegated leavesSun Exposure: Bright, indirect lightSoil Needs: Soil-based potting mix
Color Varieties: Green to marbled yellow foliageSun Exposure: Bright light to near-full shadeSoil Needs: General potting mix rich in peat moss
Color Varieties: Deep green leaves with gray-green or golden yellow stripesSun Exposure: Bright, warm light; avoid direct sunlightSoil Needs: Soil-based potting mix
Color Varieties: Green foliage, sometimes striped with whiteSun Exposure: Bright, indirect sunlightSoil Needs: Loose, fast-draining potting mix
Color Varieties: Glossy green leaves; some varieties are variegatedSun Exposure: Bright light; likes some sunlight when grown indoorsSoil Needs: Rich, fast-draining potting mix
Although a bathroom provides plenty of warm, humid air during shower time, the room becomes cooler and less humid when not in use, especially at night. These wide temperature fluctuations are not ideal for many plants. Not all plants enjoy high humidity: succulents prefer drier conditions and will rot if kept constantly moist; some houseplants might develop powdery mildew in high humidity. Many bathrooms receive very low levels of sunlight, if they have windows at all. Do not give up if that is the case with your bathroom. Fluorescent bulbs provide plenty of light in wavelengths that plants can use.
Consider the Type of Bathroom
Plants for a bathroom are often chosen with the assumption that they need to tolerate humid conditions. Yet constant humidity is really present only in primary bathrooms or family bathrooms, where the shower or bathtub is used frequently. In a guest bathroom or powder room, the conditions may actually be relatively dry most of the time, as well as being darker than in a family bathroom. Make sure to consider the nature of the bathroom and pick plants that are suited to those conditions. Plants for a guest bath need to have a good tolerance for drier, darker conditions.
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