Windowsills receiving full light exposure provide an optimum environment for sun-loving houseplants. With just a bit of effort, your healthy houseplants will add a pop of color that can be viewed and enjoyed from both sides of the window.
Sun-Loving Houseplants | Geraniums Photo Credit : Dreamstime
Turn the plants’ pots every week or so to adequately expose all sides of the houseplants to the outside sun for even growing patterns. And to protect the sill and floor below from water damage, be sure to use pots with a saucer to collect water at the base. To increase use of the window space, try hanging sun-loving houseplants in windows from a hook as well.
5 Sun-Loving Houseplants
Succulents
Succulent plants require lots of light and very little water. A misting once a week is usually enough for these drought-tolerant plants to flourish. Succulents are unique because of their unusual shapes, sizes and colors. They grow well grouped together in container gardens, but a single succulent in its own pot can make a statement as well. For best results, plant succulents in semi-sandy soil and in a pot that matches the size of the plant—they should fill the pot but not look crowded.
See More: Succulent Care and Display TipsSucculents | Sun-Loving Houseplants Photo Credit : Pixabay
Cactus
All varieties of cactus thrive in windows that receive full sun during the day. In the right conditions, some, such as the Christmas cactus, can flower more than once a year. There are many varieties of cactus to choose from, coming in all shapes and sizes. A grouping of cactutes will feel right at home when showcased on a sunny windowsill. Cactus need very little watering and sandy soil.
Geraniums
Virtually all varieties of geraniums are sun lovers. When it comes to houseplants, there are a variety of indoor geraniums available. The Martha Washington variety is more delicate in appearance and has several flower color choices to choose from. But don’t overlook bringing traditional porch geraniums inside at the end of the season, as they should do just as well indoors.
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See More: Flowering Houseplants | 5 Favorite Varieties
Umbrella Plants
A leafy deep green plant with stems that are capped by slender petals that hang in the shape of an umbrella, this plant is a sunny window favorite. Keep the soil moist by watering weekly, but don’t allow the roots to sit in water.
Crotons
With its colorful foliage, crotons are a good pick for a sunny winter at the front of the house. This plant has large, heavy leaves, usually with lines and patterns on the top. The leaves start out green with yellow and can show hues of pink, orange and reds, but will change color as it matures and is exposed to the direct sun. Soil should be kept moist, but never wet.
Which sun-loving houseplants are your favorites?
This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated.
Shelley (Fleming) Wigglesworth is an award-winning freelance journalist from Maine and a certified Maine Master Gardener who writes gardening articles on a regular basis for NewEngland.com. Her work can be found in the following publications: The Village Magazine, York County Coast Star, Yankee Magazine (online), National Fisherman Magazine, Commercial Fisheries News, Points East Magazine, Coastal Angler Magazine and The Maine Lobstermen's Association's "Landings."
Hi. You have a picture of a bumblebee on a flower for your Guide to N.E.’s natural solutions to nature’s nuisances. If you want flowers, you have to have bumblebees. So, bees aren’t a nuisance. They are a gift, and a blessing! Thanks for all the other information about sun loving plants!
Geraniums will survive a very hard pruning. I have about a dozen that stay inside, happily blooming all winter long. I move them outside about Memorial Day and just brought them inside. If they get leggy I prune them severely and repot in a washed clay pot and fresh soil. It doesn’t take long for them to begin growing. Water when the top 1/2″ or so of soil is dry. Mine seem to enjoy being pot-bound so don’t use too big of a pot – about double the size of the roots.
Agreed Kathy. I was appalled by the cover and the sentiment behind such thinking. We should be celebrating bees and other pollinators. We need to stop feeding the mindset that bees are bad.
Around 2005 my wife received a pointsetia from the Knights Templar Christmas Observnce. The next spring she wanted it put on her parent’s gravesite. Come fall I was not going to loose the pointsetia due to cold. I dug it up and brought it home and rplanted it in a large plant bown for the upstairs window. Inadveertently I dug up a geranium that was also by the headstone. The geranium like it there and is still alive. everyonce in a whie it grows sone red blossoms which can be seen from the sidewalk. Unfortunately the plant stems bent towards the sun. One large stalk broke off. It wasn’t going to let the stalk die. I loosend up the dirt and stuck it. The stalk is very happy and continues to grow. The pointsetia dies five or so years after bringing it home. I hope the death was due to ole age rather than poor treatment. My wife’s niece gave us a miniature rose bush. I tried to follow the instructions. The temperature should have been araound 75 degrees, and the plant have a lot of sun. Unfortunately the window sill area was colder than recommended, especially at night. Also had a shortage of sun. The sun reached the plant sometime between 12 and one. The sun went behind a tall pine tree a little after three, Unfortunatly the plant died. Maybe in my intent to care for the plant I overwatered it. My sister in law gave us an aloe plant, It gits a little water every week after giving the geranium a lot of water. Whenever I burn my finger(s) when cooking. When that happens I go upstairs and break off a leaf. I squeeze the aloe liquid onto the burn. I hope that helps th burn to heal faster. By now the plant is about 18 inches long, very happy laying on the windosill.Bye, John Clark, Dover, NH.
Hi. You have a picture of a bumblebee on a flower for your Guide to N.E.’s natural solutions to nature’s nuisances. If you want flowers, you have to have bumblebees. So, bees aren’t a nuisance. They are a gift, and a blessing! Thanks for all the other information about sun loving plants!
My geranium has gotten quite leggy. Should I prune it and how much or should I just let it be?
Geraniums will survive a very hard pruning. I have about a dozen that stay inside, happily blooming all winter long. I move them outside about Memorial Day and just brought them inside. If they get leggy I prune them severely and repot in a washed clay pot and fresh soil. It doesn’t take long for them to begin growing. Water when the top 1/2″ or so of soil is dry. Mine seem to enjoy being pot-bound so don’t use too big of a pot – about double the size of the roots.
I have bee balms and lavender. Have my bee friends all summer???
Agreed Kathy. I was appalled by the cover and the sentiment behind such thinking. We should be celebrating bees and other pollinators. We need to stop feeding the mindset that bees are bad.
Around 2005 my wife received a pointsetia from the Knights Templar Christmas Observnce. The next spring she wanted it put on her parent’s gravesite. Come fall I was not going to loose the pointsetia due to cold. I dug it up and brought it home and rplanted it in a large plant bown for the upstairs window. Inadveertently I dug up a geranium that was also by the headstone. The geranium like it there and is still alive. everyonce in a whie it grows sone red blossoms which can be seen from the sidewalk. Unfortunately the plant stems bent towards the sun. One large stalk broke off. It wasn’t going to let the stalk die. I loosend up the dirt and stuck it. The stalk is very happy and continues to grow. The pointsetia dies five or so years after bringing it home. I hope the death was due to ole age rather than poor treatment. My wife’s niece gave us a miniature rose bush. I tried to follow the instructions. The temperature should have been araound 75 degrees, and the plant have a lot of sun. Unfortunately the window sill area was colder than recommended, especially at night. Also had a shortage of sun. The sun reached the plant sometime between 12 and one. The sun went behind a tall pine tree a little after three, Unfortunatly the plant died. Maybe in my intent to care for the plant I overwatered it. My sister in law gave us an aloe plant, It gits a little water every week after giving the geranium a lot of water. Whenever I burn my finger(s) when cooking. When that happens I go upstairs and break off a leaf. I squeeze the aloe liquid onto the burn. I hope that helps th burn to heal faster. By now the plant is about 18 inches long, very happy laying on the windosill.Bye, John Clark, Dover, NH.