Create a Plant-Filled Bathroom Retreat

When creating a plant-filled bathroom retreat, it's important to choose plants that like the particular environment found in a bathroom. Luckily, many indoor plants have come from tropical rainforests and so prefer growing in a protected and humid location like a bathroom. Most bathrooms have frosted glass windows or a sheer curtain for privacy, providing perfect muted indirect light. Rainforest plants also love the humidity that is usually found in our bathrooms, helping replicate their natural habitat. Plants that like an airy room with bright sunlight, including many cacti and succulents, will not do well in a bathroom.

When planting your bathroom plants, start with a premium potting mix like Yates Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns, which has been specially designed to be the perfect foundation for leafy indoor plants.

Feeding your bathroom beauties is important to help keep them healthy and growing lots of fresh foliage. It doesn't need to be complicated or time consuming. It's as easy as inserting a Yates Thrive Indoor Plants & Ferns Spike into the potting mix. The spikes contain concentrated nutrients, specially designed to feed your plants for up to 2 months. No mixing, no measuring and out of sight. Feeding made easy!

Fungus Gnats are the annoying tiny black flying insects that often plague indoor plants. They also lay eggs that hatch into root-damaging larvae. Banish Fungus Gnats by applying Yates Gnat Barrier granules over the surface of the potting mix. These abrasive granules deter the female Fungus Gnat from laying her eggs, helping to break the Fungus Gnat life cycle.

For bathroom florals, Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum wallisii) have beautiful crisp white flowers and together with their lush green foliage match any bathroom colour and design. Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.), Hoyas (Hoya spp.) and Flamingo Flowers (Anthurium scherzerianum) come in a wide variety of gorgeous flower colours, including pretty pastel pink and deep burgundy, as well as multi-toned flowers, and will both enjoy living in your bathroom. 

For foliage colour, Waffle Plants (Strobilanthes alternata), Prayer Plants (Maranta leucoeura), Peacock Plants (Calathea spp.), Arrowhead Plants (Syngonium podophyllum) and Caladiums (Caladium spp.) all bring interesting leaf colour highlights into the bathroom. Many of these foliage plants are also sensitive to harsh light and dry air, making them perfect for your steamy bathroom.

Another benefit from growing plants in your bathroom is that periodically you can put them in the shower and give them a tepid rinse. This will wash dust off the leaves and help give the potting mix a good soaking.

If space is at a premium on your bathroom vanity, then compact plants or plants that grow vertically are ideal. Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) produce beautiful and long lasting flower spikes and are a gorgeous addition to a bathroom. Hare's Foot Ferns (Davallia solida var. pyxidata) have lush foliage and fascinating hairy stems that creep over the pot edge. There are also decorative glass terrariums, filled with moisture-loving moss and ferns, that are wonderful bathroom companions.

When you think you've run out of room, look for vertical blank places around the bathroom. Shower caddies that hang over the shower screen are traditionally used for storing soaps and shampoo bottles. However they make the perfect spots for small potted plants if you flip the caddy around so it's on the outside of the shower. You can also grow cascading plants in hanging baskets, installed above the bath or in the corner of the room. And there's also bath racks, which can be used for a small potted plant, and you'll still have room for your toiletries.

If there's a spare corner in the bathroom, then look for upright plants that won't encroach too much on the floor space. Kentia and Parlour Palms are tropical-looking options, together with the ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia). You can also grow climbing plants, such as Devil's Ivy and Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron scandens) up a support or moss pole. For smaller plants, you can still use them as corner fillers by positioning them on a decorative plant stand.