Gardening is much more than a common hobby. Plants have always been known to relieve stress and be great companions that you can take care of. Feeling homesick and lonely in a bare dorm room? Start your indoor garden, and its greenery will definitely make you happier!
We’ve prepared a list of compact and undemanding plants suitable even for busy high achievers.
Chlorophytum
Want to try your hand at propagation? Chlorophytum easily forms baby plants that you can pot and by doing so, grow a lush garden from one species. The spider plant prefers diffused light, regular watering, and humidity that’s slightly above average.
Spathiphyllum
The only weak spot of the peace lily is dry air. Put the pot on a windowsill with bright, diffused light, daily mist its foliage or place a humidifier nearby, and the plant will please you with lush flowering.
Ficus and Dracaena
If you like trees but your dorm room is too small for an indoor jungle, why not grow a mini version of it? Although very tall in the wild, Ficus elastica and Ficus benjamina can be grown in small containers. To keep them even more compact, prune the crown to give it a neat shape. It’s quite a challenging task, but once you give it a try, it might become a great meditative practice, putting your mind at ease. If you want to explore this side of plant care, the slow-growing Ficus microcarpa might suit you even better. All Ficus and Dracaena plants aren’t demanding, but they do need regular watering, high humidity, and bright, diffused light.
Cacti and Leaf Succulents
These plants will suit those lucky students who live in sunny rooms. It’s quite hard to kill most cacti and succulents unless you constantly overwater your green pets or expose them to direct sunlight. Even if you forget about your succulents during a busy exam season, they will patiently wait for your attention. The easiest cacti are Mammillaria, Cereus, and Astrophytum. If you don’t like green pets with needles, try Sansevieria, Sedum, or Echeveria.
Ferns
Nephrolepis and Asplenium are great options for darker yet bigger rooms. Direct sunlight will make fern fronds dry, so they thrive in partial shade or diffused light. Make sure to keep the soil moist and maintain high humidity for these plants.
Tillandsia
If you experience a critical shortage of free horizontal space, opt for the air plant! Its name speaks for itself—Tillandsia doesn’t require soil. Easily add a green touch of nature to your dorm room by hanging one on a bookshelf in a place with partial shade or diffused light. Mind you, the plant needs regular misting. Apart from this, weekly soak Tillandsia in water for 30 minutes, and it’ll brighten up your study life.
Peperomia
Looking for something unusual? This small plant is your perfect match. Peperomia comes in a variety of foliage shapes and colors. The exact care requirements depend on the species, but all of them need bright, diffused light and regular watering.
Schlumbergera
Who says you can only be in the Christmas mood in December? Add some festive accents to the gray routine of everyday life with the Christmas cactus! It’s a tropical plant, so it differs from regular cacti. The plant needs abundant watering, high humidity, and filtered light or partial shade. Moreover, it doesn’t tolerate water high in lime, so make sure to use warm, settled or filtered water. Mind you, if you want to make the Christmas cactus flower, you’ll need to create special conditions for the plant. To learn more about them, check out the plant’s profile in the app.
When choosing plants for your dorm room, the rule of thumb is to consider the available growing conditions and time you can spend on plant care, so make sure to learn the care requirements of the exact species before buying a new green pet. And if you’re looking for something beginner-friendly, go for something from our list!