While we all know the positive effect a houseplant can add to your living space, you can bring more than a little green and life to your environment. Brighten up your indoor jungle with a couple of colorful indoor plants. There’s a perfect pretty plant for any situation-- use your plant as natural home decor, a thoughtful gift, to freshen your air, or a self-care gift to brighten up those winter blues.

Best Flowering

Hoya compacta (Hindu rope plant)

The hoya compacta, commonly known as the Hindu rope plant requires patience and will be easier to care for if you are a more experienced gardener. It may take several years for them to bloom, but when they do, it is worth the wait. They bloom in clusters of pink waxy star-shaped flowers. It is a succulent but grows as a thick, long, draping plant (resembling a rope).

Quirkiest Plant

Pink polka dot plant

Polka dot plants can come in many different colors, but commonly you can find them green covered in pink or white. This plant will often start fairly small, and you can keep them that way with careful pruning. If not they might grow rather spidery and eventually bloom small purple flowers. The polka dot plant is easy to grow, it does require a fair amount of water, but it will let you know with droopy leaves.

Most whimsical

Begonias

Some begonia varieties grow better in the garden and some are happier inside on your window sill, luckily there are so many different types, you can easily find one to fit any room. The rex begonia can come in different variations of purple, pink, red, green, and metallic leaves. This type of begonia grows smaller, perfect for a bedside table, a terrarium, or a window sill. Faux angel wing begonias have droopy leaves (that mimic angel wings) the front of their leaves are green and speckled with white polka-dots, their undersides are a beautiful bright purple. They are medium-sized plants that make for a quirky accent to a desk.

Best plant to boost your mood

Chinese evergreens

Chinese evergreens or aglaonemas have beautiful patterns, some with white chevrons or splatters of bright colors. While some colorful plants might require sun or stress, the Chinese evergreen does not! If you want to brighten up a low-lit room in your house or add a pretty accent to a bookshelf or desktop, this is the perfect plant for your shady space. It is also a strong air purifying plant. It will help filter out toxins including, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. This plant will help you get out of that winter funk.

Best Beginner’s Plant

Tri-color oyster

The tri-color oyster plant can easily grow indoors and outdoors. It has thin long leaves that shoot up like a fountain. The tops of their leaves are striped with a faded green and white, the undersides of their leaves are purple. It doesn’t need much special attention, especially if left outdoors. A little bit of Clean Water Grow Plant Food and occasional watering will do the trick.

Most colorful

Croton

If you want to make sure you have rainbows in your room all year long, this is the plant we recommend. Crotons can grow as large as a tree in your yard, or indoors in a pot. This tropical plant has thick leathery leaves that are striped with color. You can find them with shades of yellow, red, pink, purple, orange, and green. Make sure to find a sunny spot for your croton to keep its color vibrant.

Most festive

Holiday cactus

You may not recognize this desert plant as a cactus at first glance, with its smooth floppy leaves. There are a few different varieties of holiday cacti; one blooms around Christmas and another around Easter, hence its name. This plant can be slightly difficult to keep alive and get flowering, but with a little effort, you can keep one alive year after year-- making it an exciting holiday treat. It also will make a thoughtful gift around the holiday season.

Best hanging plant

Tradescantia (Wandering Jew)

The tradescantia, commonly known as the inch plant comes in many colorful varieties. The zebrina has green, purple, and white striped leaves. Fluminensis can be found striped with green and light pink. The pallida has dark purple leaves and will bloom light pink flowers. This plant has leaves that grow in all different directions and often it will trail over and out of your pot, making it a lovely hanging plant.

Creepiest Plant

Nerve plant

The nerve plant definitely leans cuter than creepy, but it does have an appearance that mimics veins. This plant has green leaves but its veins pop in colors, including pink, red, and white. It is a low grower and does better in high humidity. Keep this plant in a terrarium or be sure to frequently mist it with water.

Best Cactus

Moon Cactus

The moon cactus is a small plant with a dark green stalk and a brightly colored bulge that sits on top like a hat. This “moon” can be hot pink, red, orange, or yellow. The colorful part of the moon cactus does not produce chlorophyll which is why it has such bright coloring. Many people do not know that the moon cactus is a grafted cactus made by two different plants. And while they require little care, they have a short life span because of their mixed make-up.

Best Succulent

Echeveria

Succulents are known to be shades of blue and green, but you might also stumble upon purple, pink, or red succulents. You might even notice your once green succulent is now a different color! This could be due to sun exposure or stress to the succulent, but there are many succulents that have a natural colored shade to them. The echeveria is a common succulent that has varieties that come in many colors including black (black knight), purple (afterglow), red (lipstick), and many more.

Add some color to your life with one or all of these beautiful plants. To keep them vibrant, healthy and strong year-round, add a tablespoon of Clean Water Grow All-Purpose Plant Food to the soil when potting. The slow-release formula will feed the plant only when necessary, and keep your plant as happy as you are with your new addition.

11 Colorful Houseplants that will Brighten up your Living Space and Mood