Best Plants to Grow on Windowsill (Herbs and Ornamental Plants)
Unless your house is an underground cave your home has windows and those windowsills are the perfect place to grow plants. And today, we are taking a look at some of the best plants for windowsill.
Green plants in your home help to clean the air, provide natural color and even add some lovely scents to any room in your home.
In addition, most windowsill plants are fairly easy to grow and don’t tend to get jostled as much as plants sitting on stands do.
Whether you prefer edible windowsill plants such as various herbs or plants that simply add beauty to your home there are a wide variety of plants to choose from.
Here are just a few plants that grow successfully on window sills.
14 Best Herbs to Grow on Windowsill
Herbs are great plants to grow on the windowsills of your kitchen or sunroom. Here are just a few common herbs that thrive when grown indoors on a windowsill.
#1. Rosemary
Rosemary is an herb with pine like needles that are gray/green in color that grows off of stems. It is a great herb for seasoning fish and other seafood as well as potatoes and other dishes.
Rosemary does need to be grown in a bright window that gets plenty of sunshine. This herb enjoys being misted several times a week, but the soil should be allowed to dry between watering.
This herb can grow to be between 2 and 4 feet tall and bears blue or white flowers in the late spring or early summer. Native to the Mediterranean, this herb thrives best in hardiness zones 8 through 10.
#2. Mint
One of my favorite herbs to grow indoors, mint also makes a great addition to your kitchen window herb garden. Native to North America and Africa mint is another herb that thrives well when grown on a windowsill since it can take fluctuations in temperature between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mint can be used in the preparation of deserts, teas and other foods and prefers full or partial sunlight and moist well-drained soil. The plant blooms in summer in zones 3 through 11 and is toxic to animals.
#3. Oregano
Oregano is a staple herb used in Italian, Mediterranean, and Latin American dishes. It adds a wonderful taste to tomato based sauces and even in your turkey dressing. It is easy to grow and care for and makes for a lovely addition to your home and food.
Various oregano plants have different shaped leaves that can range in color from light to bright green.
Oregano grows best in zones 5 through 10 and thrives in full sunlight and well-drained soil. It can withstand temperatures from 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
#4. Chives
Chives are good windowsill herbs. They are mildly onion tasting and grow well in a pot. This herb looks like grass when growing and is a great addition to eggs, potato salad, baked potatoes, macaroni salad and even soups and sauces.
Chives are perfect to grow on windowsills or in window boxes since they can easily thrive in temperature fluctuations from 60 to 90 degrees.
They like moist soil and full sunlight and provide an abundant crop that can be cut and enjoyed often. They grow best in zones 3 through 9 and can be frozen in order to preserve their fresh taste.
#5. Parsley
Parsley is a mild tasting herb that can be enjoyed raw in salads and used to add seasonings to any number of cooked dishes. This is a great cool window plant that can thrive in temperatures from 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
This plant enjoys full morning sunlight with some afternoon shade and should only be watered when the topsoil is dry to the touch.
Parsley has clump of lacy foliage that is highly attractive and grows best in zones 3 through 9. It is a plant native to the Eastern Mediterranean.
#6. Sage
Sage with its 4-inch long oval shaped gray/green leaves is a great herb to grow in a pot on your kitchen windowsill.
This herb is wonderful in stuffing, homemade sausages and a number of other dishes.
It grows best in zones 4 through 10 and can adjust to temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It does need full sun and well-drained loamy soil. This tasty herb is native to the Mediterranean.
#7. Basil
Basil is a wonderful herb with a light sweet smell and peppery taste. The plant can grow 18 to 24 inches tall. The leaves are green in color and blooms from June to the first frost.
It does need temperatures from 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, preferring full sun (some shade in hotter climates).
Basil grows best in zones 10 and 11 and is native to Central Africa and Southeast Asia.
Best Ornamental Plants for Windowsill to Beautify Your Home
There are also a number of different plants that their main purpose is to add beauty and fragrance to your home. Here is a look at some of the more common ornamental plants that grow easily on a windowsill.
#8. Philodendron Birkin
Although this plant will eventually grow too large to keep on a windowsill, younger plants make great additions to any window garden. These plants have green glossy leaves with whitish veins (and sometimes reddish tinted veins.)
Native to South America this plant prefers indirect sunlight and well-drained soil. It grows well in zones 9-11 and is toxic to pets and humans.
#9. Echeverias
Native to North, Central and South America this succulent plant does well in hot dry conditions. It is easy to care for needing bright sunlight and minimum water.
The plump rosette shaped leaves can vary in color with the plant growing anywhere from 2 to 24 inches tall and 2 to 12 inches wide.
This plant may bloom in the spring or summer and the flowers may be pink, orange, white, yellow and red. This plant does well in zones 9 through 12.
#10. Venus Flytrap
If you are looking for an unusual and interesting looking plant to display on a windowsill then a Venus flytrap may be right up your alley. This plant has leaves that are moth shaped with a series of trigger hairs along the outside of the leaves.
When an insect touches the trigger hairs the two “wings” of leaves snap shut and the plant releases digestive juices to “eat” its meal.
If live insects are in short supply you can feed this plant dead flies, dried mealy worms, or fish food flakes.
This plant grows to be 6-12 inches tall and prefers full or partial sun. The plant blooms in spring or summer bearing white flowers. Native to North America this plant prefers indirect sunlight and grows best in zones 5 through 8.
#11. African Violet
Native to Africa the African violet is a delicate and old fashioned looking flower that makes a lovely addition to your home. These plants are easy to grow and the leaves may have different forms. Flowers may come in white, pink, purple, red and blue and may bloom year round.
This plant enjoys bright indirect sunlight and should be watered in the bottom. It grows 6 to 9 inches tall and thrives in zones 11 through 12.
#12. Snake Plant
Native to West Africa the Snake plant has stiff lance like leaves that grow straight out of the soil.
It makes a great potted plant that can handle fluctuating temperatures from between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Snake plant does well in indirect sunlight or partial shade and well-drained soil.
The plant grows 6 to 8 inches tall and rarely blooms although when it does bloom the flowers are either blue or white and appear in the spring. It is also a good plant for bathrooms without windows.
This plant grows best in zones 9 through 11 and is toxic to cats and dogs.
#13. Aloe Vera
The Aloe Vera plant is a lovely dark green plant with medicinal properties. The jell from this plant is used to treat minor wounds and burns and can tolerate temperatures as low as 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
It thrives in indirect sunlight and needs to be water frequently. The plant grows 12 to 36 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide. The aloe Vera plant blooms in summer with flowers being red, orange or yellow.
Native to Africa this plant grows best in zones 10 through 12 and is toxic to animals and humans if ingested.
#14. String of Pearls
The string of pearl plant is a succulent trailing plant that have pea shaped leaves growing on a trailing vine. This plant is a quick grower and can reach a height of 1 to 2 feet tall and 1-2 feet long.
It enjoys direct sunlight and well-drained soil. This plant blooms in spring showing off small white flowers.
Native to Africa this plant grows best in zones 9 through 12 and can be toxic to humans and pets.
Final Thoughts on the Best Windowsill Plants
Whether you enjoy growing edible herbs or decorative plants there are a huge number of plants perfect for your windowsill. These few plants should help get you started on your own windowsill garden!
