5 Houseplants That Actually Grow Better in Water Than Soil – Less Mess and Thriving Plants Await You When You Make the Switch

If you have ever rooted a cutting in water, you may have wondered about just leaving it growing there. If a plant roots in water, why not grow it without soil? It’s easier and less messy than potting soil. Well, in some cases, your houseplants will love that idea.

Growing houseplants in water means that you can eliminate the spills of potting soil and the anxiety of how often to water. Your foliage or kitchen herbs can live in sparkling glasses or vases of H2O: no fuss, no muss, just happy plants.

Simple Hydroponic Growing

Yes, it’s called hydroponic growing, but that sounds more complicated than it has to be. Hydroponic plants are plants grown without soil. They live in water, their roots supported by substances like clay pebbles or coco coir that do not provide any nutrients.

Water doesn’t provide nutrients either, yet both edible and non-edible hydroponic plants require nutrients. Where do their nutrients come from? To provide those nutrients, you need to add a product to the water, a balanced, water-soluble hydroponic nutrient for plants, also called hydroponic fertilizer. The fertilizer trio from General Hydroponics, available on Amazon, allows you to custom mix your nutrients depending on what stage your plant is in.

Benefits of Hydroponic Growing

There are many advantages to growing hydroponic plants. First, it’s so clean! You don’t have to deal with bags of potting soil, fungus gnats that live in moist soil and circle the houseplants, or mold. They also look cool, giving your room a clean, modern vibe. Exposed roots in see-through vases are perfect for fit into minimalistic, contemporary living spaces.

In addition, while these “naked” plants are striking, they are low-care. Maintenance is minimal, making this type of plant easy for those who travel regularly or have busy work lives.

Making the Move

It’s not hard to transfer a plant from a soil planting to hydroponics, but it’s best to go slow and be patient. If you’ve just brought home a potted plant, let it acclimate for several weeks before starting the process. Only transfer healthy, vibrant plants. If a plant is ailing, nurse it back to health first.

When the plant is ready, tip the plant on its side and remove the roots and surrounding soil from the container. Then gently take off the soil with your hands, then carefully wash off whatever remains. Use a vase or glass full of clear water, and add a balanced nutrient solution as needed.

5 Houseplants That Prefer Life Without Soil

You can grow any of a number of plants hydroponically, including herbs and even vegetables. But there are popular houseplants included in the group. Here are our favorites.

1. Peace Lilies

If you’re looking for an easy-care houseplant with elegance and charm, you can’t do better than the peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.). Its large shiny leaves alone are pleasing, and when the white spathe “flowers” appear, the plants really light up a room.

These classic houseplants grow very well in water, as long as you make sure the base of the foliage is above the water line while the roots are below it. A narrow vase works well. Place the vase in a spot that gets bright, indirect sun to help those “blooms” to keep coming.

Change out the water twice a month and keep an eye on it in the meantime. If the water line dips, add more so that the roots are always in water.

2. Pothos

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is one of my favorite houseplants - and I am sure I am not the only one thrilled by its easy-care ways and gorgeous cascading, heart-shaped green or variegated leaves. I’ve rooted many a pothos stem in water (I have five large hanging baskets of pothos in my apartment) and am totally won over by its ability to grow fast and thrive in low-light conditions.

To grow pothos in water, just make as if you were rooting a cutting. Cut a pothos vine with three or four nodes, strip off the bottom leaves, then place it in a pretty vase. Add water to cover the vine below the lowest leaf. Swap out the water every week or two.

3. Lucky Bamboo

Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is so happy in water that it’s often sold without soil. Of course, it’s not a real bamboo plant, but a member of the Dracaena clan like the corn plant, but grows in stalks like bamboo, with a tuft of leaves on top.

To grow this houseplant without soil, just pop it in a clear glass container with water up to the lower leaves, and add some colored pebbles to keep the stalk upright. It will probably be happy for years if you change out the water regularly, even if you don’t add any hydroponic fertilizer to the vase.

4. Spider Plants

Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is another great favorite of mine, and who can resist the long, green and white leaves forming an arching mound or the tiny baby plants that appear on long stems.

To grow one of these in water, simply remove one of the babies from its stem and situate it in water, keeping its foliage dry but its roots wet. Change out the water twice a week and add occasional hydroponic fertilizer. Warning: every spider plant will grow fast and effortlessly, quickly producing babies of its own.

5. Chinese Evergreen

There must be an unwritten exception to the rule to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: it doesn’t seem to apply to houseplant names. Just like the lucky bamboo is not bamboo, the Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum) is not an evergreen tree. It’s a tropical beauty with large green leaves that grow on stalks that fit perfectly into a thin vase of water.

Snip off stem sections about as long as your hand, then remove the lower leaves. Place the stems in water, and change it out twice a week. Add a little hydroponic fertilizer once a month and keep the plant in indirect sunlight.

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