Indoor Plants That Grow In Water
I used to hate houseplants. The dirt, the bugs, the mess – – – no, just no. But then I discovered indoor plants that grow in water, and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Indoor plants can actually grow in water. They can live in water. They can thrive in water. It’s awesome! You don’t need dirt, you won’t have bugs, and there isn’t any mess (assuming no one knocks over the vessel of water).
If you’re new to houseplants, or if you’re new to indoor plants that can grow in water, I’m going to share three of the easiest indoor plants for you to grow in water.
3 Easy Indoor Plants that Grow and Thrive in Water
1) Pothos
Meet pothos. She thrives on neglect and grows like a weed. My kind of houseplant! She is also one of the easiest indoor plants to propagate (fancy word for grow new plants from the parent plant) in water. And she looks pretty awesome all wild and crazy in these little yogurt jars.
2) Wandering Dude
Next up is Wandering Dude. The botanical name is Tradescantia. If you’re looking for this plant in a nursery/Lowes/Home Depot, there is a good chance it will be labeled under the horrid name of Wandering Jew.
Its name aside, she’s gorgeous! The stems and back side of this plant are purple. Purple! She also grows like a weed and has wild dangling arms. She looks great in a hanging basket. I have mine on a shelf to let the branches naturally cascade down. When a stem is too wild in the wrong direction, I clip it off and pop it in water! New plant!
Because she grows so fast and so long, I love using vintage inspired bud vases and vintage inspired glass bottles for my cuttings. They look so pretty whether just cut, or with roots.
3) Arrowhead
Last on our list is arrowhead plant. This towering beauty was my first cutting given to me by my best friend. I was supposed to let it form roots and then plant it in dirt. Well, I fell in love with her just as she was in this jar and that is where she sits.
The smaller, pink arrowhead is a new purchase. She’s still too small to cut. But her time will come!
How to Grow Indoor Plants in Water
The coolest part about indoor plants grown in water is the simplicity. Yes, you can technically take the whole plant out of soil and grow it in water. But what a mess!
All you actually need is a cutting! What’s a cutting, you ask? It’s a piece of the plant. One stem will do. My favorite houseplants are single stems growing in water. They make my heart happy:)
Ready for this? It’s crazy simple.
Using a pair of scissors (technically sterilized, but I grab whatever scissors are close by) cut out a stem of your chosen plant. Above is pothos. You’ll want the stem to have a node…a piece with a leaf or another stem growing. Then, remove that leaf or stem, and submerge your stem/cutting in water. And that’s it!
New roots will grow in about 1 or 2 weeks. Change out the water about every 2 weeks. You now have yourself a gorgeous indoor plant that will grow for a long time in water! How cool is that?!
How about a little time line for root development? In the picture above, the top stem was just cut. The bottom stem was cut about 2-3 weeks earlier and has 2 roots already formed. That’s how quick and easy pothos is to grow in water!
In the photo above, I have 3 jars of pothos plants at various stages of growth. The first stem (from the left) was just cut and placed in water. The middle jar has 2 stems (aka cuttings). I cut these about 2 or 3 weeks ago and they have small roots growing. The final jar on the right was cut about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Look at all of those roots!
Cuttings from Wandering Dude
I love to take cuttings from wandering dude and place them all over the house. That purple color can’t be beat!
Find a branch about 6-8″ and cut it off, leaving at least a leaf or two on the plant stem intact (it will continue to grow on the plant). Then remove the lower leaves. Fill a bottle, like this “vintage” oil dispenser, with water and pop in your new cutting. You’re done! The roots will start to grow within a few weeks!
Can Indoor Plants that Grow in Water Also Grow in Soil?
Yes! If at some point you decide to move your cutting into soil, you can.
I find the best way to avoid fungus gnats (those little bugs that fly around houseplants) is to pour boiling water into a bowl of potting soil. Once it’s cooled down (overnight) go ahead and fill a pot with your clean soil, then carefully place your cutting with its roots into the soil.
Press down firmly to secure the cuttings in place. These pothos were all grown in water, each formed roots, and then I transferred them into little pots where they’ll keep growing.
You’ll need to keep the soil moist, not soggy, until the new plant gets established. They should be fine!
As an added layer of fungus gnat protection, I like to add a 1/2″ layer of play sand and a 1/2″ layer of pea gravel on top of the soil. This keeps the gnats from laying eggs and reproducing. Can you tell I hate bugs?
Find a friend that already has a pothos, wandering dude, or arrowhead plant and ask for a cutting (or six) to get you started! It’s a great way to grow your houseplant stock, and they just look really cool!
I’m working on a couple of new indoor plants to grow in water and I’ll update you on those in a few weeks.
Are you ready to grow indoor plants in water? You can tag me on Instagram…I’d love to see your progress!
