The Fastest Growing Houseplants
You’re thinking of buying or growing some houseplants, but you only want plants that will grow or sprout up quickly. Maybe patience isn’t exactly your strong suit. No matter the reason, most people will agree that there’s something extremely rewarding about seeing their plants grow for their efforts. While there are many factors and countless variables when trying to come up with a definitive list of the fastest growing indoor plants, I’ve come up with a list that is both relatively easy to care for while also being some of the fastest growing houseplants.
What are the fastest growing houseplants? The following houseplants grow the fastest:
- Velvet plant
- Snake plant
- Dieffenbachia
- Philodendrons
- Jade plant
- Golden pothos
- Spider plant
- Boston ivy
- Starburst Clerodendrum
- Asparagus plant
- Wandering Jew
- Desert candle cactus
- Rosary vine
In this article, we will talk more about each of the houseplants on this list, as these are all great options for impatient & beginner gardeners. From care conditions to how long you should have to wait to see growth, you’ll learn everything you need to know.
Houseplants That Grow the Fastest
Velvet Plant
The velvet plant goes by many a name. There’s its official moniker, the Gynura aurantiaca. Some people also refer to it as the purple passion plant. That’s due to its unmistakably stunning purple leaves. An Asteraceae family member, the velvet plant hails from Southeast Asia. It’s a common houseplant that will brighten up any indoor garden in a jiffy.
While the velvet plant does prefer its soil soggy sometimes and then dry other times, otherwise, growing it won’t prove too hard. Even if you’re a beginner, you can enjoy those purple leaves with the fuzzy texture. Make sure you pinch the stem tips and give this houseplant direct sunlight from a window. Then, in a matter of weeks, your velvet plant will grow, grow, grow!
Snake Plant
The snake plant or viper’s bowstring hemp has so many slithery names associated with it due to its impressive profile. This Asparagaceae family member can often extend as high as three feet, making it quite lengthy. Obviously, this does depend on the growing conditions, as the Sansevieria trifasciata needs plenty of space in which to sprout.
In some cases, this African plant can get up to five feet tall, but this doesn’t happen every day. If your snake plant reaches two or three feet in height, then you should be very proud of yourself. The more sunlight the snake plant gets, the more you accelerate its growth. If yours isn’t progressing as expected, then consider the lighting conditions you’re providing. Once this indoor plant has more light, it should shoot right up.
Dieffenbachia
Also referred to as dumb canes, dieffenbachia is a type of flowering plant. It comes from parts of the world like Argentina, the south West Indies, Mexico, and the New World Tropics. Most species of this Araceae plant are favored as houseplants, with the dieffenbachia no exception.
Now, we hope you have the room in your home or apartment, because this indoor plant can grow big. We’re talking upwards of six feet, so it’s even more sizable than the spider plant. Dieffenbachia prefers soil that doesn’t get too moist. It also needs light, but make sure it’s an indirect source. Like the spider plant, the more light the dumb cane gets, the faster it grows.
Philodendrons
We’ve talked about the philodendron plant a handful of times on this blog, but here it is once again. Those heart-shaped leaves people love so much can get quite large, sometimes three feet if you care for this houseplant well enough. If you want to see yours grow just as big, then make sure you provide soil that’s loose but rich. It should also have good draining abilities.
Your philodendron should get some sun, but not all day. Some gardeners opt to give this beautiful houseplant lots of light in the morning and then more shade in the afternoon into the evening. You can also encourage speedy growth through fertilization on a four-to-six-week basis. This will also improve the philodendron’s color.
Jade Plant
The dainty jade plant or Crassula ovata is a type of succulent. It can develop white or pink flowers, and although these don’t get big, they’re still nice to look at. These plants come from Mozambique, South Africa’s Eastern Cape, and its KwaZulu-Natal province. As their original growing locations would tell you, the jade plant prefers a humid environment. That makes planting them indoors somewhat tough but far from impossible.
During the day, make sure you keep the jade plant in an environment between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. You can drop the thermostat to 10 degrees cooler when nighttime arrives. By providing the right humidity as well as adequate watering (weekly and thoroughly), fertilization (on a two-week basis), and sunlight (lots of it), you could have a jade plant that grows up to five feet!
Golden Pothos
Another indoor plant that will probably look familiar to you if you’ve read other articles on this blog is the golden pothos. Also called Epipremnum aureum or—much easier to pronounce—devil’s ivy, this plant grows long very quickly. Hailing from French Polynesia, specifically the Society Island’s Mo’orea, golden pothos can stretch up to 40 feet in the right growing conditions.
You will have to provide humidity, keeping the temperatures where the golden pothos grows between 70 and 90 degrees. Place this houseplant away from direct light and ensure the soil in its pot can drain well. Then, water infrequently, maybe once a week, perhaps twice depending on how dry the soil gets. Keep your eyes peeled for cutting soft rot and bacterial leaf spots. The former affects the roots and stems, making them mushy. The latter leads to leaf lesions that look wet.
Spider Plant
Like the insect it’s named after, the Chlorophytum comosum or spider plant has many vines or “legs.” A member of the Asparagaceae family, the spider plant comes from western Australia, southern Africa, and other tropical climates. If you keep your spider plant healthy and happy, it could grow 12 inches tall with three-foot leaves.
To see your spider plant grow, you’re going to want to water it weekly. That may seem insufficient to you, but it’s what the spider plant needs to not only survive, but thrive. Give this houseplant adequate light as well, but don’t put it directly in the sun on your windowsill.
Boston Ivy
The Boston ivy or Parthenocissus tricuspidata will be a speedy grower. It’s not a type of true ivy, but it does go by monikers like the woodbine, Japanese creeper, Japanese ivy, or grape ivy. Most of those names are due to where it grows; those places include eastern and northern China, Japan, and Korea.
If you maintain your Boston ivy for upwards of a year, you should notice it’s grown about 10 feet. That’s quite a lot of progress to make in that timeframe! Of course, you’ll have other growth long before the one-year mark. After all, not only does this houseplant sprout up fast, but it can become quite thick as it grows. You certainly want to make sure you have the space for this plant, then. At its biggest, Boston ivy can grow to 10 feet wide and 50 feet tall.
Starburst Clerodendrum
No, we’re not talking about the candy here. The starburst clerodendrum or Clerodendrum quadriloculare comes from the Philippines and New Guinea. Like the velvet plant, it has pretty purple among the green, although for this plant, it’s in the form of flowers. The starburst clerodendrum is a member of the Verbenaceae family, making it a relative of the verbena.
This small tree could grow 15 feet tall when it reaches full maturity. That won’t likely happen indoors, but it’s good to know this plant’s growth potential anyway. Make sure your starburst clerodendrum gets plenty of sunlight if you want to see its lovely flowers. It also needs soil that can drain well and retains its moisture. That said, if you forget to water it for a few days, or you’ve gone away for a last-minute weekend excursion, this plant should hold up just fine.
Asparagus Plant
With an asparagus plant, you can grow your very own asparagus! This tasty vegetable belongs to the Asparagus genus and is a type of perennial plant. Per spear, most asparagus have three calories, 32 milligrams of potassium, two percent of vitamin A, and one percent of iron.
On the shorter end of the spectrum, you could have your own asparagus to harvest within two or three weeks. Sometimes it does take longer, up to eight weeks. Once you grow your asparagus, you can keep eating from the same plant for decades. For each foot you plant, you’ll harvest half a pound of asparagus spears.
Wandering Jew
Yet a third purply plant to consider for indoor growth is Tradescantia. As herbaceous perennial wildflowers belonging to the Commelinaceae family, there are more than 70 species. Found in the West Indies, northern Argentina, southern Canada, and the New World, one fast species of Tradescantia is the Wandering Jew. This plant, the Tradescantia zebrina, also goes by the name inch plant.
The Wandering Jew grows almost of its own accord, and quite quickly at that. Since it doesn’t need a lot of care, it can go long times between watering, although we don’t necessarily recommend it. You will have to provide sufficient light to keep your Wandering Jew growing well. Do know that you can scorch the leaves if it gets too much sun and warmth, so keep that in mind during the summer. That happens much more often outdoors than indoors, but I did want to mention it.
Desert Candle Cactus
If you want a cactus to grow quickly in your home, make sure you choose the Euphorbia abyssinica. This Euphorbiaceae family member grows in such parts of the world as Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia. It also goes by the name the desert candle cactus.
Outdoors, the desert candle cactus can get to 30 feet in height. When you grow yours inside, it should reach up to eight feet max. Smaller cacti may be only five feet. Either way, it’s quite an accomplishment on your part as a gardener. You can keep your desert candle cactus growing steadily by providing monthly cacti fertilizer, maintaining an indoor temperature of 77 degrees, and offering indirect sunlight. This plant needs water at different quantities depending on the heating or air conditioning, the season, and your home’s humidity.
Rosary Vine
Yet another vine-like houseplant at your disposal, the Ceropegia has long leaves and unique shoots. These look like a kidney and are colored green, white, and red. The ends of the growths have little protrusions that resemble soft spikes. This plant comes from Australia, southern Asia, and Africa and belongs in the Apocynaceae family.
The Ceropegia woodii, also referred to as the rosary vine, is a variety of this houseplant you can grow ASAP indoors. It goes by other names like the rosary plant, the chain of hearts, the string of hearts, hearts entangled, and sweetheart vine. All those nicknames are derived from the shape of this plant’s shoots.
Related Questions
Can you make an indoor plant grow even faster?
What if you took one of these fast-growing plants and wanted to speed up the growth process even more? Is that at all possible?
Yes, it is. By taking care of your plant, you can keep it growing at a speedy & healthy rate. Similar to people, a plant’s needs don’t remain static forever. When your plant is young, it will have different needs than when it reaches full maturity.
Bearing that in mind, here are some tips to keep your houseplant growing well:
- Every now and again, take the plant out of the pot it’s in to address the root ball. You want to trim this down. You’re not upgrading the size of the pot here unless the plant has outgrown it.
- Make sure you prune your plant. Old growths can hinder new ones, so get rid of them.
- Provide humidity for those plants that require it. You don’t always have to push up the thermostat at home for this, either. Using a humidifier near the plant can work really well.
- Remove dust, dirt, and other debris from the plant’s leaves. This is one way to ward off unwanted insects.
- Fertilize and water only when necessary, not when you think the plant needs it.
What factors can impact or stop a plant’s growth?
Many factors can affect how quickly or large your houseplants may grow. We talked about a lot of these throughout this article, but here’s a quick overview:
- Underwatering, in which the plant doesn’t get enough moisture
- Overwatering or soaking the roots, which can lead to diseases like root rot
- Providing the wrong soil; most of the above indoor plants need loose, easy draining soil
- Temperatures that are too cold or even too hot (for some houseplants)
- Too little light, as this hinders growth for most plants
- Too much light, which, in some cases can severely harm the plant
What should you do if your plant grows too big?
Let’s say you had the opposite problem. Your plants accidentally grew far more than intended, and now they’re too big. What can you do?
For starters, you want to repot your plant. If your houseplant continues growing and outsizes even the new pot, then you can either repot it again or consider moving it outside. Then choose a smaller plant that grows less quickly for your home.
