15 Beautiful Indoor Flowering Plants (With Pictures)

Whether it’s for the beauty or their fragrant smell, you may be wondering what kind of plants you can get to flower in your home. Flowering plants can add a pop of color when in bloom, and many can bloom nearly year-round. Whether it is a classic orchid or an exotic lipstick vine, many plants are wonderful candidates for your next indoor flowering plant.

As plants flower, they use a lot of energy. For this reason, it is imperative to make sure your indoor flowering plants are fertilized well. It is important to follow the directions on the specific fertilizer you have, as too much fertilizer can burn the roots and leaves of the plants and cause damage which could prevent blooming or even kill the plant! Although time-release fertilizer is the easiest to use, sometimes blooms can be encouraged with healthy waterings of nutrient-rich water from liquid fertilizer.

Our Favorite Indoor Flowering Plants

Here are 15 beautiful indoor flowering plants that you consider adding to your home:

Christmas Cactus

Schlumbergera truncata

A wonderfully hardy plant, the Christmas Cactus is a wonderful bridge between succulents and flowers. These plants, also known as Zygocactus, have segmented vines with fantastic blooms at the end. To care for these plants, place them in full sunlight and make sure not to overwater them. These plants are also a fun idea for a hanging basket since they have trailing foliage that might be different than your typical vine. Ideally, if in the right conditions, they will bloom in early winter, just in time for the holidays.

Peace Lily

Peace Lily

Peace lilies, in the genus Spathiphyllum are one of the easiest indoor flowering plants. They take low to medium light and don’t need huge amounts of water, it is better to underwater than to overwater. Your peace lily might be especially dramatic if it gets underwatered, but it will perk right back up when given water. One caveat of peace lilies is that because they are such hardy and slow growers, their leaves can often become dust magnets. To counter this, you can give your dusty plant a shower or simply wipe the leaves with paper towels. If you want an extra special peace lily, look no farther than the ’Domino’ variety with specks of white laced throughout its leaves.

Anthuriums

Anthuriums

Another classic indoor flowering plant, Anthuriums have a similar flower to peace lilies, but anthuriums have red blooms that also come in pink and lavender. To grow these shiny fellows, make sure to place them in medium to bright light and don’t let them drop below 65 degrees or so. In the winter, don’t water this plant much, but rather just barely moist. In the summer they can handle more water as they are growing more. A fun aspect of anthuriums is that if you can bring yourself to cut a bloom, the flower will last for an exceptionally long time in a vase.

Crown of Thorns

Euphorbia milii (crown of thorns)

Although they sound scary, crown of thorn plants are not anything to be afraid of. This member of the Euphorbia genus has lovely rounded pink flowers. This plants love to stay on the dry side and have lots of light, treat it like a cactus or succulent. When trimming, be careful of the white sap inside, it is poisonous. This is typically not a problem but can be irritating to the skin and can cause an upset stomach if ingested. It is best to keep these plants out of reach of pets and children to best protect them.

African Violet

African violet

Found on many windowsills everywhere, African violets are a classic for a reason. They don’t require much light and are tolerant of underwatering. The fuzzy leaves on these plants are almost as cute as the flowers. The flowers come in a variety of colors and there are variegated leaf varieties as well. If you want an easy flowering plant look no further than the African violet, just make sure it’s in a well-draining potting mix.

Lipstick Plant

Lipstick Plant

A relative of African violets, lipstick plants are a wonderful plant for hanging baskets where you want foliage and flowers. The flowers are a deep bright red tubular shape and tends to bloom in fall. That being said, the flowers sometimes even bloom year-round! Although these can be kept indoors at all times of the year, if you wish to move them outside during the summer you can attract hummingbirds with their sweet-smelling flowers. To keep this plant, make sure to place it in medium light in room temperatures not dropping below 60 degrees. These plants also appreciate moist soil, unlike their cousin the African violet.

Guppy Plant

Nematanthus gregarius

Another African violet relative, guppy plants are easier than guppy fish, and they need less water too. These plants bloom in the summer but with enough light you can have blooms all year. To have year-round blooms place your guppy plant in full sun. You can keep them in medium light, but year-long blooms are less likely. Guppy plants get their name from the shape of their orange flowers. The leaves are thick, waxy, and dark green. The leaves trail down and so a guppy plant is another prime candidate for a hanging basket.

Gloxinia

Gloxinia flowering

Yet another cousin of the African violet, gloxinia plants create large bunches of blooms for about 2 months when they are happy. Gloxinia do best in bright filtered light in ambient temperatures. A moist soil is best, and it is beast not to allow the leaves to get wet when watering as this can brown the leaves. Although they are tolerant of underwatering, gloxinia tend to go dormant if kept too dry, but fear not! These hardy plants can bounce back with a little extra love and water

Bromeliad

Bromelia

A member of the pineapple family, bromeliads are often thought of for their unique and varied leaves, but they are also beautiful bloomers! These blooms also last for up to half a year, and so you can sit back and enjoy them for weeks and months to come. Encouraging your bromeliad to bloom can sometimes be a pain, but the colorful flowers make it worth it. To encourage your bromeliad to bloom, place your bromeliad in bright light and keep the soil a little dry. Make sure not to over water in the winter when these plants are most prone to root rot.

Ixora

Ixora

The warm colored flowers of Ixora plants come in large clusters of many flowers with leathery foliage underneath. Ixora can get quite large when given the right conditions, up to 5 feet tall! These plants can act as a wonderful specimen plant and will grow to large sizes when given bright light and warm temperatures. The soil should be kept dry, but not as dry as a succulent or cactus. There are many flower color varieties of Ixora, and most are warm colored, and some look light bright balls of cotton candy!

Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe

Also known as the mother of thousands or devil’s backbone, Kalanchoe is a succulent-adjacent plant and doesn’t need much water but has absolutely gorgeous foliage and flowers. The flowers come out when on bright full sun in a window, and the flowers can be found in a plethora of colors. These plants are also super easy to propagate: little propagules grow right on the leaves!

Orchids

Purple Vanda Orchid

Orchids are a well-known plant, and odds are you can show one to someone who doesn’t know plants and they’ll still know what an orchid is! You can find orchids in anything from the most specialized plant shops and the most basic of grocery stores. There are many genera and kinds of orchids, but Phalaenopsis is by and far the most popular genus. Also known as a moth orchid, these love good drainage in orchid specific substrate, and they appreciate bright indirect light, no direct sunlight! Getting moth orchids to flower can sometimes be hard, and sometimes its easy. To try and get these classic plants to flower you can try forcing a bloom with a fertilized water soak. Orchids come in all kinds of colors and patterns on their petals, and you are sure to find one you love.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen

These easy growing and easy blooming plants have an interesting silver hue and pattern on their leaves, as well as extra cute pink flowers. To encourage these long-lasting blooms to emerge, you can keep the soil moist, but make sure there is no standing water in the pot as this may rot the roots.

Hibiscus

Red hibiscus flower

Although usually thought of as a tropical outdoor plant, hibiscus can also be kept as a flowering plant indoors! These giant blooms are absolutely iconic and will add a tropical feel to your house when given the right conditions. These plants bloom in spring and the flowers last until fall, but it is not unheard of to have a bloom in the winter! Hibiscus plants will take as much light as you can throw at them, and they appreciate humidity as well. To encourage healthy growth, make sure to keep them moist in the summer and a little dry in the winter when the plant is not actively growing.

Hoya carnosa

Hoya carnosa

Also known as a wax plant, Hoyas are a popular genus of plants right now and for good reason! Every species has unique foliage and flowers too! Although some species of Hoya are difficult to grow, H. carnosa is very easy to grow. These plants shouldn’t be exposed to direct light as this can scorch the leaves and injure your plant! Like many other tropicals, it is best to water these more in the summer and less in the winter. Hoyas do best with moist soil in the growing season and slightly drier while they rest in the winter.

About The Author

Teri Tracy

Hi, I'm Teri! I am a plant collector and former botanist who's spent years learning about and caring for plants from all over the world. I'm passionate about biodiversity and rainforest preservation, and I love to study newly discovered plants in my free time. 

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