14 Best Plants for Boosting Your Home’s Feng Shui, According to Experts

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Plant parents and researchers agree: Houseplants make us happy. They’re also one of the easiest ways to boost a room’s sense of balance and good energy, according to experts on the ancient Chinese practice known as feng shui. “Any plant brings in what we call wood chi, or living, vital energy to a space,” says Toronto-based feng shui consultant Laura Morris. That said, different plants create different vibes. Here’s a room-by-room guide to pairing the right plants with the right space to create just the mood you’re seeking.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are where we go to sleep and spend time with a partner, so you want to choose plants that encourage relationships, wellness, and rest.

Orchids have a natural romance that’s well suited to bedrooms. They also symbolize the importance of cultivating a strong partnership, Morris says. “Most people buy orchids when they are in bloom, and tend to want to get rid of the plant when the blooms fall off,” Morris says. Keeping that orchid and caring for it until it blooms again is a lesson in the benefits of supporting your partner when they are less than their best.

“The act of being patient with your orchid, of feeding it, watering it, and maybe moving it to a sunnier area until it blooms again is a powerful metaphor for how you nurture your relationships.” It’s also a reminder to take care of yourself, even in tough times.

Bathrooms

A place of restorative energy, bathrooms revolve around water, which represents wealth and abundance in feng shui, Morris says. Feng shui experts believe that adding plants to a bathroom restores the water element that’s lost every time you flush a toilet or send water down a drain.

“Any plant will do in a bathroom, but I recommend hanging plants because they take up less space, and succulents because they hold water and put a bathroom back into balance,” Morris says.

Spider Plants make great hanging plants, Morris says. Not only do they hold water in their roots, but spider plants are super easy to care for.

String of Hearts is a succulent with trailing vines of dainty, heart-shaped leaves that hold water and symbolize nurturing and caring, Morris says. It works well as a hanging plant.

Pothos is “great because it’s super easy to grow,” Morris says. Pothos has soft, rounded leaves that spread calming, harmonious energy. Their hardiness is a lesson in second chances. Even when you neglect them, forgiving pothos will give you a chance to begin again, Morris says.

Kitchens

A kitchen is home to the feng shui elements fire and water, courtesy of the stove, oven, and sink. While these opposites can lead to bad energy, Morris says, the right plants can help bring harmony to your kitchen design.

Rosemary, basil, and other potted herbs bring harmonious wood chi to a sunny kitchen windowsill. And of course, they’re also good for chopping up and adding to meals.

ZZ plant is easy to grow and can be tucked into a dark corner that might otherwise become a sink of bad energy, Morris says.  ZZ plants inject good energy into a busy kitchen without much effort from you.

Dining Rooms

Natural gathering spots, dining rooms symbolize abundance. “When you have a big family gathering for a meal, it can be a little bit chaotic, especially at holidays,” Morris says. “So having a plant there is a way to bring in compassion and kindness.”

Areca palms are a good pick for their energy-boosting properties, Morris says.  She recommends putting a large palm in a corner.  “We don’t like dark, sad corners because that’s where stagnant energy gathers,” Morris says. Palms add formality and drama to a dining room, too. “These big palms look stately and really dramatic, so they go with the formal setting of a dining room,” Morris says.

Family Rooms

Family rooms are places to relax and connect with your loved ones. Plants make them even more harmonious. “Plants speak to that idea of harmony, of kindness, of compassion for you that you bring into that area for your family.”

Rubber plants symbolize abundance and bring a sense of compassion to a family room. “They have large, rounded leaves that are almost purple and look a little like coins, and they are very lush and abundant,” Morris says. Rubber plants are also tolerant of low light.

Peace lilies represent serenity and renewal, with their graceful white flowers and elegant foliage. Peace lilies also thrive in low light conditions.

Home Offices

You tangle with a lot of emotions and energy in your home office, so you want to surround yourself with plants that wrap you in powerful feng shui.

Snake plants, also called sword plants, cut through negative energy and uplift the chi in a home office, Morris says. “Like a sword, snake plants’ leaves cut through negative energy and embody precision and strength,” Morris says.

Jade Plants symbolize wisdom, evoking wise old trees in miniature, and are connected to wealth since they have coin-shaped leaves. As succulents that store water in their leaves, they symbolize abundance and well-being, too.

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides) is associated with luck and prosperity, so it’s an obvious pick for a home office where you’re toiling for the legal tender. “Its leaves are round, like coins, and it symbolizes growth and resilience,” Santiago says. She takes it a step further and clips five-dollar bills to money plants in her clients’ offices, just in case the feng shui powers need a hint. “It’s a fun, kitschy thing to do in your office,” Santiago says.

False Shamrock (Oxalis triangularis) has deep, purple-red leaves that bring inspiring, warm energy to a room—a much-needed quality when you’re sitting through hours of Zoom calls or paying bills.