15 Sep The Best Plants For Putting On Windowsills

The Best Plants For Putting On Windowsills

What are the best plants for putting on windowsills? Plants are one of the most popular ways to dress a windowsill indoors. Whether they have flowers, fun shaped leaves or are exotic looking, they always are attractive and eye-catching in a window. Apart from just looking pretty on a sill, keeping plants indoors is also positive for mental health and physical wellbeing.

There are so many plants available though, it can get a bit overwhelming. Have you ever looked at the plants in a garden centre and wondered which one would survive, let alone thrive, if you took it home? In this blog we’ll look at the benefits of keeping plants indoors and recommend our five favourite ones. We’ll also go through how to know where to put them in your house!

Tending To Plants Can Reduce Stress

Among other studies, the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that indoor plants can reduce stress just from interacting with them. According to Healthline, this is because caring for plants can suppress your sympathetic nervous system activity. This part of your nervous system is related to your fight or flight response and threats. Supressing it gives your parasympathetic nervous system a chance to do its job and calm you down.

Having Plants In View Increases Productivity

A study by The University of Exeter found that having plants in an office increased productivity by as much as 15%. The study took research out of the lab into real offices. It investigated how staff perceived air quality, workplace satisfaction, concentration and productivity over several months. This led those involved, to conclude that if plants in an office good for staff, they could therefore lead to an overall improvement of the business.

Plants Do Improve Air Quality

Although they cannot be compared to the effectiveness of a mechanical air purifier, plants do contribute a tiny bit to purifying air indoors. NASA conducted a study in the 1980’s that proved plants do purify air, but it was conducted in a laboratory – the conditions of which most of us don’t live in. This means that over the years there have been studies proving and disproving how effective houseplants are at purifying the air in a home.

In March 2022, the University of Birmingham and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) concluded that “ordinary potted house plants can potentially make a significant contribution to reducing air pollution in homes and offices” Their research show that the plants they chose (Peace lily, Corn plant and fern arum) reduced nitrogen oxide by as much as 20%.

Plants Can Help With Healing

Why do we give people flowers when they are ill? A study in 2009 concluded that plants have a therapeutic value in a hospital environment. They found that patients who had views of plants during their recovery in a hospital had more positive outcomes than patients who didn’t. So much so that the authors of the study recommend healthcare professionals should consider indoors plants as a “non-invasive, inexpensive and effective complementary medicine”. This Healthline article suggests instead of buying lavender scented products to help you sleep, simply have a lavender plant next to your bed.

How To Choose The Right Plants For A Windowsill?

Light is one of the most important features indoor plants need, but they don’t all need constant direct sunlight, in fact, most of them don’t. If you want to add plants to your windowsills, first determine how much sunlight the windowsill gets. If it is a south-facing window, it is likely to get the most heat and sun over the day, even in the winter. A north-facing window is likely to get the least. For a south-facing windowsill then, you need a plant that thrives in direct sunshine and won’t burn. Easterly and westerly -facing windows can house plants that need indirect light and northerly-facing windows will be the best place for a plant that thrives in low light.

You should also consider the temperature of the windowsill as some plants prefer more heat than others. Check if your windows have any cold drafts, or if a radiator is going to be on, as this will impact how you care for the plant.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a great plant for a sunny windowsill as it thrives on the sunshine. It is also easy to look after so water only when the topsoil becomes dry. If it grows too big, the leaves are easy to grow into whole new plants.

Echeverias

These gorgeous little succulents enjoy a bright sunny windowsill and are easy to look after too. They don’t require much watering and come in all sorts of different colours including pastel pink!

Pilea Peperomioides

These cuties love indirect light and are perfect in a north-facing window, they don’t even mind if the temperature is low, as long as it’s not below zero. Treat a bit like a succulent so go light on the watering.

Jade Plant

Jade Plants require at least four hours of bright sunshine a day so they are perfect for a sunny windowsill. These are slow growers but the offcuts are really easy to grow into new plants and they can live for decades. Water when the soil surface is dry which should be fairly regularly.

Snake Plants

The bright green and yellow leaves of the Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) can grow high even in shady spots. This makes it a great plant for windowsills with blinds or indirect light.  Water heartily when the soil is dry but don’t drown it.

Our five favourite plants for putting on windowsills enjoy a mixture of bright sunlight and indirect light. They will look gorgeous at any time of year and are easy to care for. Now you can feel confident in the garden centre looking at plants that are suitable for your windows at home, and feel confident you can look after them too.