Hanging plants and vertical gardens are an excellent way to conserve precious square footage while still getting the environmental and aesthetic benefits of houseplants. You can achieve this by attaching hooks or other fixtures to ceilings and walls and hanging baskets, pots and planters. If you live somewhere where making holes in surfaces isn’t an option, you can also set up a free-standing vertical garden against a wall. There are plenty of ways to do it, but how do you know which plants to use? Here we’ve identified some of the best choices of plants for hanging from walls or ceilings.
Also known as Devil’s Ivy or Money Plants, pothos are the ubiquitous choice for hanging and vertical gardens. These plants are extremely hardy, require little maintenance and can thrive in low light. They produce long, delicate vines with heart-shaped leaves that spill over the sides of pots and containers. The vines don’t cling to surfaces like ivy, but you can easily hold them up and train them onto door jambs and window frames.
Boston ferns are also called Sword Ferns and are the easiest to grow of the fern family. Boston ferns create lots of bushy green volume, making them a great aesthetic choice for hanging pots and wall planters. The long, pointed fronds fan out from the center and can become extremely large if allowed the room. They are drought resistant but still require lots of humidity, so you’ll need to mist them regularly to keep them happy.
Spider plants are famously easy to care for and a popular choice for hanging in windows because they love sunlight. Once they grow and mature, some spider plants can produce small offshoot “plantlets” (also referred to as “spiders”) from the main plant. This in combination with their long slender leaves makes them look great hanging in pots or on the wall. Just make sure they get enough sunshine and can drain properly in between waterings.
Unlike pothos, English ivy is a climbing vine. It produces rich dark green leaves from vines ranging from delicate to thick depending on the age and size of the plant. English ivy makes a visually striking and beautiful choice for hanging indoors, but depending on where you live, it might be hard to get. This is because it’s listed as an invasive species in some areas and even outright banned for sale and import in the state of Oregon. That said, this outlaw plant is safe to grow indoors where it can’t get out of control. Just keep it away from pets, as it is toxic when ingested.
Morning glory is very common in outdoor hanging fixtures but also grows very well indoors with enough sunlight. These plants are fast-growing climbing vines with small heart-shaped leaves and bright flowers. There are multiple varieties of morning glory, but blue and purple are the most common colors of blooms. This plant is an easy option if you want some flowers to hang up indoors without a lot of maintenance.
Always consider the needs of the specific plants individually before you plan to put anything together. Vertical wall-gardens with many varieties of plant look great but can be more difficult to manage, as not all hanging options will have the same sunlight or humidity requirements. Many indoor plants are hardy, but they still need to be cared for. This means frequently taking down plants to water, drain or prune. Careful planning will help you avoid frustration and achieve indoor plants that flourish.
