The Best Houseplants for the Winter Months

Aloe vera is an all-time great plant. It’s aesthetically pleasing, easy to care for, and has uses beyond being a decorative addition to your home. Aloe vera plants are prone to cold damage, and anyone who has tried to plant them outdoors knows how difficult they can be to keep alive in the winter months.

However, growing aloe as a houseplant ensures that it can easily survive the winter. Plus, aloe vera can require even less maintenance during the colder months, depending on your indoor environment, as its water and nutritional needs decrease.

When the cold days start creeping in, a gorgeous flower can certainly brighten up your day. Moth orchids are tropical plants that grow along tree trunks and branches, so you know they can handle the heater when slipper season arrives.

These flowers are weak to the cold but thrive in typical room temps, so they make perfect indoor houseplants in the winter. Plus, some hybrids bloom all year long, ensuring you have pretty petals decorating your home throughout the dull days of winter.

Philodendron scandens, more commonly known as the sweetheart plant, definitely lives up to its name. You can train this versatile, air-purifying plant to climb or trail. Plus, it can reach truly incredible sizes in a matter of years. Sweetheart plants prefer indirect, medium light, which means they work well in pretty much any room with a few windows.

Though this plant can be a bit needy throughout the rest of the year, it requires significantly less water and nutrients during the winter. Plus, it can tolerate temps up to 80 F, so don’t worry about leaving your heaters running when the temperature dips.

When it comes to fool-proof beginner plants, it’s hard to beat the snake plant; many experts consider them nearly indestructible. This plant is perfect for winter because it can survive in very low light conditions and withstand both drafty windows and heat from heaters.

Homes tend to get pretty dry during the winter, but even low humidity won’t bother this drought-resistant plant.

Snake plants aren’t the only choice if you’re looking for something ridiculously resilient. The pothos comes in brilliant shades of green, white, and gold, complementing any home. Though it doesn’t blossom very often indoors, its beautiful foliage more than makes up for it.

Pothos can tolerate a wide range of moisture levels but does best with evenly moist soil. It can also survive in many different light levels, so feel free to place it pretty much anywhere in your home.

As you might assume from the name, cast-iron plants are about as tough as a plant can be. They're famous not just for this admirable feature but also for their elegant leaf shape and glossy coloration. Some leaves can even reach up to two feet in length.

These plants can survive even in deep shade and are incredibly resistant to dryness. Additionally, many varieties feature white spots or stripes, which add a festive vibe to this winter-defying plant.

As a succulent, the haworthia likes bright lights in the summer but requires less maintenance in the winter. Its fleshy green leaves grow white pearls and bands, which gives them a unique appearance.

Haworthia plants can survive temps ranging from 40 F to 95 F, so they’re in little danger of temperature damage in a typical home. They'er also quite small, so they’re easy to bring into apartments or smaller housing situations.

Another succulent, the crown of thorns is a favorite for houseplant experts. Unlike many other options, this succulent has no issues with blossoming, flowering brilliantly in February to ensure you have something to look forward to during the winter months.

Like other succulents, the crown of thorns requires very little maintenance in the colder parts of the year.

The Christmas cactus, also known as the Schlumbergera or holiday cactus, is another houseplant that you can expect to bloom in the winter. As they grow, the buds resemble small ornaments. As the orbs open, they reveal dainty bell-shaped flowers in a variety of colors.

Unlike other cacti, the holiday cactus prefers a bit of shade, making it perfect for those shorter days. On top of all of this, common winter house temps can actually speed up the blooming process.

At a glance, you might mistake the baby rubber plant for a succulent. Its glossy leaves are subtle but still attractive and it suits a wide variety of decor styles.

The baby rubber plant likes some humidity but is otherwise extremely easy to care for and is mostly immune to pests and diseases. Because this plant likes moisture and dislikes sunlight, many people use it to add some color to the bathroom.