7 Best Houseplants to Make Your Porch Pop: These Beauties Work Outdoors and Will Transition Indoors When the Weather Cools

If you love houseplants, why not grow some that can do double duty? Many houseplants are tropical natives, which means they thrive outdoors once the weather is warm and steamy. Give these houseplants a summer vacation by using them to stage a front porch with excellent curb appeal and bring them back indoors for winter.

I don’t know about you, but I think houseplant care feels easier when it’s done outdoors! A quick spritz with the hose to water them and they thrive in the warm, breezy air through the summer. My plants always look fuller and healthier after their annual summer vacation to the porch. Then bring them indoors to brighten your home as the weather cools.

Let's dig in and explore which houseplants will make your porch pop this summer!

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1. Pothos

When it comes to houseplant care, few are easier than pothos (Epipremnum aureum), a forgiving plant that even beginners will find hard to kill. Pothos is a tropical vine that you can train to climb a vertical surface or allow to spill from a hanging pot. It grows fast and comes in several varieties, with foliage in all shades of green, yellow, white, and variegation.

Outside on your porch, pothos is an ideal choice for a hanging basket. The vines will grow vigorously in the summer heat and humidity, and with bright, indirect light. Pothos is also easy to transition back inside. Just be sure to trim it back a little if it grows too large over the summer. We love the Modern Sprout pruning snips, available from Amazon, for houseplant pruning jobs.

2. Snake Plant

Snake plant is another example of an easy, popular houseplant that tolerates neglect, poor light conditions, and even dry, poor soil. Dracaena trifasciata is a tropical native with spiky leaves that grow up to five feet (1.5 m) tall when container-grown.

Snake plants make striking porch plants with their tall, lance-shaped leaves. They are also ideal for the porch because they grow best in indirect light. Pair them with some trailing plants or bright flowers for contrast. Like pothos, snake plant tolerates change well and will transition easily back inside for winter.

3. Spider Plant

Spider plant is a classic, popular houseplant known for its graceful, arching leaves and “babies” that make propagating so easy. Spider plant is Chlorophytum comosum, a tropical native that prefers warmth, humidity, and indirect light but that will tolerate poor conditions and even some neglect.

While very popular indoors, spider plants thrive and brighten up porches in summer. They can be placed on tables or used in hanging pots. They’ll appreciate the fresh air and summer weather and reward you with quick growth and plenty of baby plantlets that you can snip off and repot. They’ll readily transition back inside once temperatures drop again.

4. Anthurium

Many porch plants are flowering annuals that don’t transition well indoors. Anthurium is an example of a flowering houseplant that can be put outside for summer and successfully brought back in for winter. Anthurium spp. are also known as flamingo flowers for their unique, large, and bright spathes that surround the flower spikes.

Anthurium can be coaxed into blooming year-round, so you can enjoy its colorful blooms inside and out. In summer, it will thrive in a shady spot when the air is warm and humid. Place a striking anthurium on a side table or patio dining table, either alone or with smaller foliage plants. You can even make them into kokedama so you can hang them for a unique look! You can find sheets of moss on Amazon if you're looking to get into the art of kokedama.

5. Peace Lily

Another flowering houseplant you can put outside in summer is the popular peace lily. Like so many houseplants on this list, peace lily (Spathiphyllum spp.) is a tropical plant that thrives with indirect light, warmth, and moist soil, but will bounce right back if you neglect it for a while.

Peace lilies can grow very large, so they make striking porch plants. The summer weather conditions will stimulate more growth and additional flowers. Place them under a shaded porch or covered patio and pair with ferns or smaller flowering plants.

6. New Guinea Impatiens

Often grown as summer annuals outside, you can transition these impatiens indoors and ensure they keep blooming with the right care. Impatiens hawkeri blooms reliably outside in humid, warm conditions from spring all the way through fall’s first frost. Indoors, you can keep the blooms going if you’re able to give the plants adequate bright light from a window or grow light. I like the Barrina T5 grow lights from Amazon for their ease of use and longevity.

Outdoors in summer, the bright and abundant flowers of New Guinea impatiens bring cheer and color to porches and front doors. They also work well in hanging pots and mixed containers with other flowers or foliage plants.

7. Boston Fern

Finally, Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) is a classic and well-loved porch plant. Its dense growth of feathery fronds makes the Boston fern an attractive hanging or table plant for a porch or patio. It thrives in the heat and humidity of summer and will grow rapidly.

Many people grow Boston ferns as summer annuals because they require a little extra care to be transitioned successfully indoors. Dry air inside in winter is the primary issue. Bring your Boston fern inside to a spot with bright but indirect light and use a pebble tray or mist it regularly to keep humidity levels up. Keep an eye on the humidity levels in your home with a combination hygrometer and thermometer from Amazon. I use them throughout my house to maintain proper humidity levels.

Get more mileage out of your potted plants with these versatile options that can grow indoors and out. Spruce up your summer porch with these unique, striking, and gorgeous houseplants.

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