10 Indoor Flowering Plants to Make Your Home More Colorful

Part of the more than 2,000-member Begoniaceae family of plants, wax begonia is a low-maintenance indoor flowering plant that can do well in a variety of indoor lighting conditions. It’s a cute, compact plant that flowers from spring to early winter, though you may be able to coax a longer blooming season indoors. Begonias do well with a peat-based potting soil mix, and they like consistency—bright light but not intense sunlight, warm temperatures and watering about once a week. You’ll find these hybrid varieties in a range of white, pink, peach and flashy red colors. Also, check these houseplant hacks to keep houseplants healthy, growing, and blooming for years.

Pros:

• Low-maintenance
• Easily cultivated with clippings
• Colorful foliage even when not in bloom

Cons:

• Potted begonias are susceptible to root rot
• Watch for powdery mildew

Often given as housewarming or host/hostess gifts, colorful African violets will reward their thoughtful caretaker with soft, lush, velvety leaves and year-round blooms in a range of purple, pink, white and bluish colors. These somewhat finicky plants like lots of bright, indirect light and periodic fertilizing. Because they’re subject to root rot, they’re better off being watered from below. Since they’re nontoxic to pets, African violets are a great choice for houses with cats and dogs.

Pros:

• Year-round blooms
• Thrives in indoor temperatures

Cons:

• Prone to fungal disease
• Highly sensitive to overwatering

One of a family of about a thousand tropical flowering plants, showy flamingo flowers are loved for their bright red blooms—which are actually just leaves, or spathes, that have changed color. The real flower on this indoor flowering plant is the spadix, the elongated spike that’s cradled by the red leaf. In keeping with their tropical origins, easy-to-care-for flamingo flowers like humid environments, bright, indirect light and temperatures consistently above 60 degrees.

Pros:

• Showy plant with glossy red flowers
• Thrives indoors
• Looks great clustered with other plants

Con:

• Poisonous to dogs, cats and other domestic animals

Best known for their white variety but also available in pink and red cultivars, calla lilies are elegant indoor flowering plants that are easy to care for and can thrive in most environments. They like indirect light and once-a-week watering, plus the occasional turning of their pot or vase to make sure all sides get equal light exposure. Calla lilies will bloom continuously from the spring through the summer, with a dense plant sending up several tulip-shaped spathes with spadix poking out.

Pros:

• Long blooming period
• An air-purifying plant
• Easy to care for

Con:

• Mildly toxic to domestic animals

Christmas cactus plants are the gifts that keep on giving. Originally from humid, balmy Brazil, these popular flowering plants are beloved for their longevity and ease of care. Plus, they can be easily propagated. And of course, everyone loves their abundant blooms, which may or may not get the memo to bloom right around Christmas. Ranging in shades from white to orange to bright pink, Christmas cacti will flower when they receive 12 to 14 hours of complete darkness every night, which in many places makes them better suited for indoors. With steady, indirect light and sparse watering, your plant will deliver a bounty of delightful blooms.

Pros:

• Easy to care for
• Can live for decades
• Great table decoration or hanging plant

Cons:

• May need to be coaxed into blooming
• Cannot tolerate hot, dry conditions

Often confused with calla lilies for their similar blooms, peace lilies are actually much different from Zantedeschia aethiopica. An evergreen with long, wide, glossy green leaves, peace lilies will thrive in a warm setting with indirect light. Like calla lilies, their “blooms” are actually white spaths that cradle a yellow spadix inside. With frequent watering and the right conditions, they can bloom year-round and grow quite tall.

Pros:

• Healthy, easy to grow
• Evergreen plants that “tell you” when they need watering

Cons:

• Need just the right light conditions to thrive and bloom
• Toxic to humans and pets

If you love the satisfaction of nurturing a plant from bulb to bloom, then look no further than amaryllis. Available in pretty red, white, pink, salmon and bi-color varieties and in single- or double-bloom forms, amaryllis are a showy, trumpet-shaped flower. Amaryllis is a hearty indoor flowering plant that can also be moved outdoors in warm weather. But they can also be finicky—consult this amaryllis care guide for the particulars of growing healthy plants.

Pros:

• Quickly grow from bulb to bloom
• Will bloom nearly year-round in the right conditions

Cons:

• Requires steady care; not a hands-off plant
• Commercial blooms are subject to diseases, including red blotch

As indoor flowering plants go, they don’t get much more low-maintenance than crown of thorns. A relative of the poinsettia, crown of thorns are a drought-tolerant succulent, meaning they’ll survive if you occasionally forget to water them, and they’ll do well in dry indoor air, including in the winter when the heat is turned on. They come in a wide variety of colorful blooms and like a little bit of liquid fertilizer every now and then.

Pros:

• Easy to care for
• Thrives in a variety of indoor conditions

Cons:

• Sap from leaves is poisonous to humans and pets
• Stems are very thorny

Among the most popular indoor fruit trees, lemon trees are pleasing plants that bear a lot of fruit—literally and metaphorically. They have attractive, dark green glossy leaves, give off a fragrant perfume when their delicate white flowers bloom and can produce an annual harvest of tasty, useful lemons. They’re not carefree, though, and need regular fertilizing and plenty of bright light. They also prefer to spend their summers outdoors.

Pros:

• Hardy plants that do well indoors
• Fragrant flowers and edible fruit

Cons:

• Highly sensitive to overwatering
• Susceptible to several plant pests, especially when outdoors

To impart a tropical vibe into your house or apartment, consider adding an exotic bird of paradise plant. We consider this a true plant lover’s plant, especially since it’s slow to bloom and may not bloom consistently every year. But even without their showy, interesting flowers, these are pretty plants with broad, glossy leaves and a nice overall shape. Water them only when the soil is dry, and make sure they get plenty of natural light.

Pros:

• Easy to care for, attractive indoor plant
• Don’t require frequent repotting

Cons:

• Bloom infrequently and may not bloom at all when indoors
• Toxic to pets