The Complete Guide to Houseplants UK
I became a proper plant person by accident. I bought one pothos because I read it was impossible to kill, managed to kill it anyway, panicked, did a lot of research, and ended up with a house full of plants and a much better understanding of what I’d been doing wrong.
That’s the thing about houseplants — there’s a learning curve, but once you understand the basics (light, water, don’t panic), most of them are surprisingly forgiving. And having green things growing around you is genuinely hard to overstate. Better air, calmer rooms, something to actually look after.
This is the hub for everything houseplant-related on this site. Whether you’re choosing your very first plant, dealing with a pest problem, trying to propagate your collection, or just wondering why your Fittonia has gone completely flat again — find the right guide below.
New to Houseplants? Start Here
If you’re just getting started, these are the posts to read first before anything else.
15 Best Beginner Houseplants UK: Easy-Care Plants That Actually Survive The most forgiving plants you can buy — specifically chosen because they cope with some neglect, imperfect light, and the occasional missed watering. The right starting point if you’re not sure what to get.
The First Things I Learnt About Plant Care as a Beginner (Mistakes and All) An honest look at what I got wrong when I started — and what I’d do differently. More useful than any polished care guide, because it’s the real stuff.
Health Benefits of Having Plants in Your Home If you need convincing that houseplants are worth the effort — or want ammunition to justify buying more — this covers the actual evidence behind how plants affect air quality, mood and focus.
Choosing the Right Plant for Your Space
The most common beginner mistake is buying a plant you love the look of, putting it somewhere that doesn’t suit it, and then blaming yourself when it dies. Light and space come first. Aesthetics second.
Low Light Spaces
Not everyone has a south-facing window with all-day sun. These posts are for north-facing rooms, shaded flats, and generally dim British light conditions.
13 Best Houseplants for Dark Rooms (That Actually Thrive) The most-read plant post on this site. If you’ve been googling “what plants survive with no light,” start here. Covers 13 plants that genuinely cope in low-light conditions — not just survive but actually look good.
Best Low-Light Houseplants for Apartments Specifically for smaller spaces and flat living, where you’re often dealing with limited light and limited floor space at the same time.
Hanging and Trailing Plants
Best Hanging Plants and Trailing Houseplants UK Homes Need Trailing plants are one of the easiest ways to add greenery without taking up floor or shelf space. Covers the best trailing and hanging varieties suited to UK homes.
Plants for Pet Owners
If you have cats or dogs, this matters more than most people realise — some common houseplants are genuinely toxic if chewed or ingested.
Best Pet-Safe Houseplants UK: 12 Non-Toxic Options A full guide to plants that are safe around pets — what to look for and what to avoid.
Cat-Friendly Houseplants UK Specifically for cat owners — which plants are safe, which aren’t, and which ones cats tend to leave alone anyway.
Non-Toxic Succulents for Cats If you want succulents specifically (low-maintenance, hard to kill), this covers which varieties are safe and which are not.
Seasonal
A Guide to Christmas Houseplants UK Poinsettias, Christmas cactus, amaryllis — what to buy, how to keep them alive past January, and which ones you can keep going year-round.
Individual Plant Care Guides
Once you’ve got a plant home, here’s where to go for species-specific advice. Each guide covers light requirements, watering, common problems, and propagation.
Monstera Plant Care The Swiss cheese plant. One of the most popular houseplants in the UK for good reason — dramatic, fast-growing, and more forgiving than it looks. Everything you need to keep yours healthy and encourage those leaf splits.
Fittonia Plant Care Also called the nerve plant. Beautiful patterned leaves, but it will dramatically collapse when it needs water — and then fully recover within an hour of getting some. It’s theatrical. Read this before you panic.
Spider Plant Care: Tips for Healthy Growth One of the easiest plants to own and propagate. Spider plants produce babies (spiderettes) prolifically once they’re happy, making them a good option if you want to fill a space without spending much.
Chinese Money Plant Care The Pilea peperomioides — round, coin-shaped leaves make it one of the most recognisable houseplants around. Care guide covering light, water, and why yours might not be producing offset babies.
Prayer Plant Care: Essential Tips for Thriving Marantas Marantas fold their leaves upward at night (hence “prayer plant”) and are more particular about humidity than most houseplants. Worth knowing what you’re taking on before you buy one.
Tradescantia Albiflora Nanouk Care Guide One of the prettiest trailing plants you can buy — pink, white and green variegated leaves. Care guide for keeping the colour vivid and stopping it getting leggy.
Turtle Vine Care: Planting, Growing and Maintenance A fast-growing trailing plant that’s often overlooked. Good for hanging baskets and high shelves where you want something that fills out quickly.
How to Care for a Venus Fly Trap Not your typical houseplant, but endlessly fascinating — especially if you have kids. More specific care requirements than most, but worth it.
Caring for Your Plants
Watering
Overwatering kills more houseplants than underwatering. The right watering routine depends on the plant, the pot, the season, and your home — not a fixed weekly schedule.
Houseplant Watering Guide: How to Water Indoor Plants Correctly Covers the finger test, bottom watering, how to tell if you’ve overdone it, and why “water once a week” is almost never the right advice.
Feeding
Plants need nutrients to grow, but most people either never fertilise or overdo it. Timing matters as much as product.
Houseplant Fertiliser Guide: When and How to Feed Indoor Plants What type of fertiliser to use, when to start feeding (spring), when to stop (autumn), and what yellowing leaves actually mean.
Repotting
How to Repot Houseplants: Step-by-Step UK Guide When to repot, how to choose the right pot size, what compost to use, and how not to shock your plant in the process. The most common repotting mistakes, too.
Propagating
Propagation is how you turn one plant into many — for free. Most houseplants can be propagated easily once you know the method for that species.
How to Propagate Houseplants: Complete UK Guide Covers all the main propagation methods — stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, division, and water propagation — with guidance on which works for which plants.
Seasonal Care
Plant needs change throughout the year. UK winters are particularly tough — shorter days, central heating, and colder windowsills all affect your plants in ways people don’t always expect.
Indoor Plant Care Calendar: Month-by-Month UK Guide A month-by-month guide to what your plants need across the year — when to start feeding, when to repot, when to cut back on watering, and what to watch for each season.
Winter Plant Care Tips: Keeping Your Indoor Plants Thriving The cold months are when most houseplants struggle. Covers the specific adjustments to make from October through February — positioning, humidity, watering frequency, and heating.
When Things Go Wrong
Even experienced plant parents lose plants. The important thing is being able to diagnose what’s happening and fix it before it’s too late — and knowing when to accept defeat and start again.
Houseplant Pests: Identification and Treatment Guide UK Pests spread quickly between plants if you don’t catch them early. How to identify the most common ones — fungus gnats, spider mites, mealybugs, scale — and what to do about each.
Common Houseplant Problems and Solutions Yellow leaves, brown tips, dropping leaves, no new growth — what each problem usually means and what to do about it. A good first port of call when something looks off and you’re not sure where to start.
How to Revive a Plant That Dried Out Successfully If your plant has gone completely dry and looks beyond hope, read this before you give up on it. Most plants with any green left in the stems can be brought back.
A Few Things I’ve Learned
The biggest lesson from a few years of keeping houseplants: don’t panic, and don’t overwater. Most plant problems come from one of those two things, and most of them are fixable if you catch them early enough.
The second lesson: cheap plants from supermarkets are often just as good as expensive ones from garden centres. A spider plant from Lidl will do exactly the same job as one from a specialist nursery. Start cheap while you’re learning.
And the third: you will kill some plants. It happens to everyone. Learn what went wrong, try again with something more forgiving, and eventually you’ll have more plants than shelf space.
If there’s a plant or topic you’d like me to cover that isn’t here, drop a comment below — I’m always adding to this section.
Last Updated: May 2026
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