22 of the Most Beautiful Blooming Houseplants You Can Grow

Among the easiest flowering houseplants you can grow, African violets bloom several times a year with little effort from you.  They come in hundreds of varieties, some with variegated foliage or ruffled or white-edged blooms. African violet likes warm conditions and filtered sunlight, but avoid getting water on the fuzzy leaves; it causes ugly brown spots.

Why We Love It: In a bright window, this plant will bloom almost constantly. It's fun to collect several different varieties with all sorts of flower colors and shapes.

Botanical Name: Saintpaulia ionantha

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 8 inches tall and 16 inches wide

Buy It: African Violet, $5.66, Walmart

Crepe-paper-like blooms in shades of red, pink, orange, or yellow dangle among flowering maple's leaves like festive lanterns. Many varieties have splotched or variegated foliage for extra interest. Grow the plant upright as a tree, prune it back to keep it shrubby, or even grow it in a hanging basket. Its common name comes from the leaves, which resemble those of a maple tree though it isn't actually in the maple family.

Why We Love It: This fast-growing plant is almost constantly in bloom.

Botanical Name: Abutilon x hybridum

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 65-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Buy It: Flowering Maple Varieties, $17.00, Plant Delights Nursery

This cute little plant has triangular, clover-like purple leaves that fold down at night or in dim light conditions. An almost constant show of pale pink or white blooms goes on above the foliage. You can also find oxalis varieties that have plain green foliage with and without silvery accents.

Why We Love It: The shamrock-shape leaves are beautiful and charming. Plus, it makes a fun gift on St. Patrick's Day.

Botanical Name: Oxalis triangularis

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 60-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 12 inches tall and wide

Buy It: Oxalis triangularis bulbs, $14.82, The Home Depot

Perhaps peace lily's white flowers aren't the flashiest, but they have a stately elegance to them as they appear above the glossy foliage on long, slender stems. This easy-care plant can bloom throughout the year, but produces the most flowers during summer.

Why We Love It: Its large, deep green leaves add an instant tropical touch to any room, and it's one of the easiest flowering houseplants you can grow.

Botanical Name: Spathiphyllum wallisii

Growing Conditions: Low to bright light; 60-85°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide

Note: This plant is poisonous if eaten or chewed on.

Buy It: Costa Farms Peace Lily, $28.23, The Home Depot

When grown in bright light, anthuriums will reward you with its long-lasting flowers in festive shades of pink, red, lavender, or white. They also make a long-lasting cut flower if you can bear to snip them off the plant. Even when not in bloom, its glossy green leaves are attractive all on their own.

Why We Love It: Its cute factor: The flowers and foliage are both heart-shape.

Botanical Name: Anthurium andraeanum

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-80°F; keep soil evenly moist, barely moist in fall and winter

Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Note: This plant is poisonous and can cause illness if eaten or chewed.

Buy It: Easy Care Red Anthurium, $28.57, Walmart

There are many types of jasmine. Flowered jasmine (J. polyanthum) and Arabian jasmine (J. sambac) are two of the easiest to grow; just give them plenty of light and moisture. They'll bear fragrant pink to white blooms on vining plants.

Why We Love It: The beautiful pink or white blooms are some of the most fragrant you'll find on any houseplant.

Botanical Name: Jasminum spp.

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 60-75°F, 40-60°F in winter; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Buy It: Costa Farms White Jasmine, $20.99, The Home Depot

You may also see clivia called kaffir lily. As a houseplant, it usually blooms in winter with clusters of up to 20 reddish orange or yellow tubular flowers. Clivia blooms only when it has been exposed to cool, dry conditions, so give it lower temperatures in winter and keep it on the dry side.

Why We Love It: It's extra easy to grow and the flowers brighten up January days when there's not a lot else in bloom.

Botanical Name: Clivia miniata

Growing Conditions: Medium light; 60-75°F, 50-55°F in winter; keep soil barely moist

Size: To 2 feet tall and wide

Note: This plant is poisonous and can cause illness if eaten or chewed on.

Buy It: Mature Orange Clivia Plant, $29.99, Walmart

This hybrid between mandarin orange and kumquat bears fragrant white blossoms in late winter or spring. The wonderfully fragrant flowers develop into showy 1-inch-diameter orange fruits on a shrubby plant with glossy green foliage. Fruits can remain on the plant for many weeks.

Why We Love It: You can harvest the fruits after they ripen and use them like lemons or kumquats or make them into marmalade.

Botanical Name: x Citrofortunella microcarpa

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 65-80°F, 55-65°F in winter; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 4 feet tall and wide

Buy It: Calamondin Orange Tree, $89.50, The Tree Center

Many of the plants sold as Christmas cactus are actually closely related species sometimes called Thanksgiving cactus, which usually blooms a few weeks earlier. Both these plants flower in response to cool temperatures and short days in fall and winter.

Why We Love It: It's an old-fashioned favorite with exotic-looking flowers.

Botanical Name: Schlumbergera x buckleyi

Growing Conditions: Bright light; 70-80°F, 55°F in fall; keep soil moderately dry

Size: To 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Buy It: Red Christmas Cactus, $9.95, Etsy

Wondering where this plant received its moniker? The fireworks part of its name comes from two sources: In late spring and summer, it sends up deep red flower bracts that develop lavender flowers, creating an explosion of color. And as the flowers fade, it shoots out small black seeds that you can grow into even more plants. Like many houseplants, it's also a great choice for growing outdoors in a shade garden.

Why We Love It: It's always attractive. You never have to worry about what it looks like when it's done blooming because the green leaves have eye-catching silver markings.

Botanical Name: Porphyrocoma pohliana 'Maracas'

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-80°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide

Buy It: Porphyrocoma pohliana, $12.95, Logee's

This poinsettia relative tolerates neglect, as long as you give it bright to intense light and keep it on the dry side. It has thick, spiny, gray-brown stems that are sparsely branched.

Why We Love It: It's an easy-care, low-water plant whose colorful bract-like flowers last for weeks.

Botanical Name: Euphorbia milii

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 65-75°F; keep soil moderately dry

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Note: This plant is poisonous and the milky sap can cause illness or skin irritation if eaten or chewed by children or pets. It's also very thorny.

Buy It: Pink Crown of Thorns Plant, $19.95, Etsy

Usually blooming in late winter or early spring, gloxinia bears 3-inch-wide, bell-shape blooms in rich colors, often marked with contrasting bands or speckles of white. After blooms fade, allow the plant to go dormant by withholding water. When new growth begins again, resume watering.

Why We Love It: The huge, bell-shaped flowers are so eye-catching.

Botanical Name: Sinningia speciosa

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-80°F, 55-75°F when dormant; keep soil evenly moist except when dormant

Size: To 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide

Buy It: Bag of 5 Gloxinia Bulbs, $19.99, American Meadows

This African violet relative blooms most in summer, but if it has enough light, it'll flower all year long. Some other species bear their blooms on long stalks that dangle like a fishing line with a goldfish at the end of the line. The arching stems and dangling blooms of guppy plant make it a good choice for hanging baskets.

Why We Love It: How can you not love a plant whose flowers look like goldfish! It's a fun plant for getting children excited about houseplants.

Botanical Name: Nematanthus spp.

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-80°F, 50-55°F in winter; keep soil moderately dry

Size: To 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Buy It: Black Goldfish Plant, $8.98, Lowe's

Another African violet relative, lipstick plant looks especially charming in hanging baskets because it produces arching stems with showy flowers that dangle from branch tips. The tubular paired flowers have dark purple cups encircling scarlet flowers. The plant blooms heaviest in fall, but can flower sporadically year-round. If you take it outdoors in summer, the red flowers may attract hummingbirds.

Why We Love It: It's an easy-to-grow plant with flashy red flowers that really do look like little tubes of lipstick.

Botanical Name: Aeschynanthus radicans

Growing Conditions: Medium light; 60-80°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 20 inches tall and 36 inches wide

Buy It: Lipstick Plant Hanging Pot, $11.99, Walmart

This fast-growing shrubby plant can be kept compact with regular pruning. Shrimp plant is a prolific bloomer, producing flower spikes all year. Most varieties bear spikes of pink bracts with white tubular flowers. Others form long-lasting yellow or chartreuse bracts.

Why We Love It: Its flowers are so unique, and do look a bit like shrimps. Your friends will definitely notice it.

Botanical Name: Justicia brandegeeana

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 60-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Buy It: Shrimp Plant, $12.95, Logee's

Sometimes called flame of the woods, ixora has orange, red, and yellow flower clusters that almost seem to glow. Its leathery foliage emerges bronze but turns glossy green. A little pruning will help keep the plant compact if the stems become too leggy.

Why We Love It: Its big clusters of orange, pink, red, or yellow flowers are wonderful treats on winter days.

Botanical Name: Ixora coccinea

Growing Conditions: Bright light; 65-80°F; keep soil moderately dry

Size: To 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide

Buy It: Live Ixora Plant, $37.99, The Home Depot

Several types of geraniums are grown as houseplants. Regal or Martha Washington geranium, pictured, has the largest, showiest blooms, but requires cool growing conditions. The common garden geranium (P. x hortorum) and ivy geranium (P. peltatum) also offer showy flowers but on easier-to-grow plants.

Why We Love It: It's so easy to grow that it's practically no-fail.

Botanical Name: Pelargonium spp.

Growing Conditions: Bright to intense light; 60-75°F; keep soil moderately dry

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Buy It: Proven Winners Hot Pink Geranium, $28.89, The Home Depot

Several species are commonly called angel-wing begonia. All are upright growing, sometimes reaching 6 feet tall. But by pinching back tall stems you can keep plants bushy and in the 2- to 3-foot range. In addition to having attractive green, silver, and maroon foliage, angel-wing begonias freely bloom with clusters of red, pink, or white blossoms.

Why We Love It: Its beautiful wing-shaped leaves are just as attractive as the blooms so it's pretty all year long.

Botanical Name: Begonia spp.

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Note: The roots and stems can cause painful irritation of the mouth, lips, or throat if eaten or chewed on.

Buy It: Proven Winners Angelwing Begonia, $29.74, The Home Depot

Growing from a swollen tuber-like base, Rieger begonia is a winter-blooming species. Its clusters of colorful blossoms appear above a tidy mound of glossy green foliage. You can find varieties with flowers in warm hues ranging from yellow to orange and red.

Why We Love It: It's an easy-to-grow plant with gorgeous, rose-like blooms.

Botanical Name: Begonia x hiemalis

Growing Conditions: Medium to bright light; 65-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 18 inches tall and wide

Note: The roots and stems can cause painful irritation of the mouth, lips, or throat if eaten or chewed on.

Popular as an outdoor bedding plant, wax begonia also does well indoors where it will bloom all year if it has enough light. Simply take cuttings of your plants in the garden for your indoor garden. The cuttings root quickly in water or moist potting soil.

Why We Love It: It's an easy bloomer with waxy foliage and colorful red, white, or pink flowers.

Botanical Name: Begonia semperflorens

Growing Conditions: Bright light; 65-75°F; keep soil evenly moist

Size: To 18 inches tall or wide

Note: The roots and stems can cause painful irritation of the mouth, lips, or throat if eaten or chewed on.

Buy It: Wax Begonia Seeds, $4.99, Outsidepride.com

This member of the pineapple family has stiff, glossy green, toothed foliage arranged in an upright vase shape. A flowering shoot with colorful bracts arises from the center of the leaves. The blooms can last for up to six months.

Why We Love It: Its colorful red, orange, yellow, or purple flower bracts look very tropical and exotic.

Botanical Name: Guzmania lingulata

Growing Conditions: Bright light; 65-80°F, 60-65°F in winter; keep soil moderately dry, but water in the vase

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Buy It: Guzmania Bromeliad, $13.48, The Home Depot

The stiff, gray-green leaves of this pineapple relative are edged with tiny spines and form an upright vase shape. Silver vase plant sends up a large cluster of long-lasting pink bracts that bear short-lived purple flowers. After the bracts fade, new offshoots (often called pups) develop at the base of the mother plant.

Why We Love It: It's one of the most dramatic, easy indoor plants you can grow.

Botanical Name: Aechmea fasciata

Growing Conditions: Bright light; 65-75°F; pour water into the vase formed by the foliage rather than onto the soil

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Buy It: Aechmea Silver Vase, $30.00, Jordan's Jungle