As a busy person who spent most of their day at the office and an avid plant lover, I had to get my hands on slow-growing plants.
So, I had to ask around a group of people about plants that did not require much looking after.
After intensive research, I put together a list of plants that were suitable for me.
If you have the same problem as me, you would want to go through the list below and get one of these plants.
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15 Slow-Growing Plants for Indoor and Outdoor
Having slow-growing plants in your home may seem like something you would want to avoid while choosing houseplants, but trust me, these are the ones you want.
These plants grow slowly, and you will not have to work around the clock to get good yields.
Plants from the Cacti family grow slower than other families, with a growth rate of about 1 cm per year.
Their slow growth can be credited to a lack of leaves and hence the lack of chlorophyll that comes with it.
One of the desert delights, Puya Raimondi, is the slowest-growing plant in the world. This plant takes between 100 to 150 years to bloom, after which it dies.
Look below for some plants you can grow indoors and outdoors, and choose the best-suited one for your garden.
1. Lucky Bamboo
Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) is a popular houseplant native to Southeast Asia.
Dracaena plant has a moderate to slow growth rate and can grow up to 3 inches monthly. It takes about a year to mature completely.
That said, Lucky bamboo grows to about 40 inches when fully mature. This plant has long, glossy leaves that are trimmed down before being sold commercially.
It produces small pinkish leaves that grow in clusters, but people grow it for its striking foliage and not the flowers.
In addition, Lucky Bamboo requires minimal care and thrives in bright indirect sunlight.
Keeping lucky bamboo in your home also provides you few benefits. Read on to learn more about amazing benefits of Lucky Bamboo
2. Cactus Plants
I probably do not need to write an article to tell you about the slow-growing nature of the Cactus plant.
As mentioned earlier, the Cactus plant grows about 1 centimeter every year. Most Cactuses grow to massive sizes, so they are not suitable indoors.
With a huge arsenal of about 1800 species, Cactus dominate the drier and desert regions of the world.
Most of the plants in the Cacti family lack leaves and compensate for the loss by producing spines.
These spines help to use water efficiently, thus protecting the plants in even the harshest conditions.
You might confuse Cactus plants’ large, flat, and ovate stems for their leaves.
Cactus grow slowly and do not need intensive care, but their beautiful, colorful flowers are something you would love to witness.
Read more to learn about Cactus varieties.
3. English Ivy
Being an invading plant, people have a hard time believing that the English Ivy (Hedera helix) is a slow-grower.
But, during the first year of its plantation, this plant grows slowly. After the first year, the English Ivy grows about 10 feet yearly.
English Ivy can reach up to 9 inches, but being a trailing vine, it can spread up to 15 feet.
Provide your English Ivy with a moderate room temperature of 50 to 70°F, good air circulation, and balanced houseplant fertilizer for optimal growth.
Its leaves are dull green with light-colored veins, and the not-so-pleasing flowers grow in clusters.
True to its name, English Ivy originated from Europe but is currently popular worldwide.
English Ivy provides amazing benefits that you might want to know about.
4. Fiddle Leaf Fig
The Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata) is a popular plant that has taken the gardening world by storm thanks to its profound growth habit.
It grows slowly and can grow up to a maximum of two feet yearly. The plant can grow up to 10 feet tall indoors and as high as 60 feet outdoors.
This plant grows slowly, needs little care, and prefers bright, filtered light to thrive.
Fiddle Leaf Fig boasts large, glossy violin-shaped leaves that showcase long veins.
The occurrence of flowers in Fiddle Leaf Figs is rare, but in perfect conditions, these plants produce flowers and fruits afterward.
Read more to learn about the amazing benefits of Fiddle Leaf Fig.
5. Aloe Vera
Aloe Veras are the ‘doctors’ of the plant kingdom, thanks to their medicinal properties and benefits.
Also, due to their growth habits, they will stay in your household for longer.
Starting from a pup, an average Aloe Vera takes about 3 to 4 years to attain maturity.
Being a plant with short stature, the Aloe Vera plant will not grow more than three feet in height.
The beneficial, linear leaves are long and covered with prickly spines.
This plant blooms once every 2 to 3 years and produces a long inflorescence that is brightly colored.
Read on to learn about Aloe Vera flower characteristics
Additionally, Aloe vera thrives at temperatures about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and bright indirect sunlight. Succulents prefer extremely dry soil, so you won’t need to water them frequently.
6. Money Tree
The Money tree (Pachira aquatica) is a plant that is popular for its Feng Shui and trailing growth habit.
You must own or have at least witnessed this plant in your or someone’s House because it is popular and easily available.
Even though these plants have a significant growth rate in their natural habitat, they grow slowly indoors.
They can grow up to a massive size of 60 feet outdoors which is limited to 6 feet when grown indoors.
These plants have 5 to 7 bright leaves on each stem, producing beautiful bright-colored flowers.
Additionally, Money Trees prefer well-draining soil, bright, filtered sunlight, temperatures between 65°F and 75°F, and watering every three weeks.
Read more: Why is my Money Tree Dying and how to save it?
7. Snake Plant
The Snake Plant got its strange name because of its long leaves and patterns, which resemble actual snakes.
This plant with upright leaves has slow growth and can grow up to about 12 inches yearly.
However, the growth rate of this plant is highly dependent on the care and the conditions you have grown it in.
Snake Plants prefer indirect bright sunlight, minimal watering, well-draining soil, and balanced 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer for optimal growth.
Additionally, they have thick, stiff, and long leaves that act like a succulent and store water for the plant’s use. The Snake plant grows up to eight feet tall.
Moreover, Snake plants produce uncommon flowers that are small and usually white.
Beware! The Snake plant leaves are toxic, and we do not recommend chewing on them or letting anyone chew them.
Related Article: How to Make Snake Plants Grow Faster?
8. Spider Plant
The Spider plant may sound creepy for someone who hates bugs, but the beautiful leaves may change your mind.
This plant’s leaves clump together to form a rosette and are attached to give it a beautiful appearance collectively.
The Spider plant typically grows faster, but any anomaly in the growing environment can cause it to grow slowly.
Spider plants do not require much care. They can grow easily in low-light environments and any growing medium (soil or water).
This plant’s long, slender leaves are light green, and most have white variegations right in the middle.
Spider plants can grow up to 15 inches tall if the conditions suit them. They also produce small whitish flowers at the end of their stem.
Read on to learn more about the characteristics of Spider Plant flowers.
9. Peace Lily
If you want to elevate your home and office’s aesthetics and purify the air around you, Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) could be the right plant.
Thanks to their slow-growing habits, these plants can live up to a decade if you properly care for them.
Peace lily can attain a maximum growth rate of about 6 inches yearly, depending on the environmental conditions and species.
It can reach up to about 4 feet tall and wide in nearly three years if proper care.
If you want your Peace Lilies to grow quickly, provide them with bright, filtered sunlight, weekly watering, and bimonthly fertilization.
They have long, oval-shaped, dark green leaves that appear directly from the ground. Their white flowers are also a treat to the eyes.
Peace lily plant does not only boast beautiful looks, but it also has some amazing benefits you may be unaware of.
10. Pothos
The Pothos plant, also known as Devil’s Ivy, is a popular trailing houseplant.
These beautiful plants are a perfect indoor decoration if you grow them in a controlled manner.
It can grow up to 12 inches monthly during the plant’s growing season. However, the growth speed is dependent upon the variety you have.
In their tropical habitat, they can climb trees of about 60 feet in height, reducing to about 20 feet indoors.
Most Pothos varieties have green-colored, heart-shaped leaves with variegations.
Pothos may look like your everyday plant but be very careful while handling them, as they are toxic to you and your pets.
Pothos produce flowers when they have matured completely, and still witnessing flowers may be a rare occurrence.
11. Jade Plant
If anyone asks you to show what a textbook succulent looks like, you could directly show them a Jade plant.
These plants have thick, dark green leaves that are juicy and full of moisture.
As an extremely slow-growing plant, the Jade plant grows up to about two inches yearly. They can live about 100 years if you properly care for them.
A mature Jade plant will reach about five to eight feet tall. These plants sport woody stems, which gives them the appearance of mini trees.
Read on to learn more about Jade plant benefits.
12. Chinese Evergreen
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) is a famous houseplant that is not so fussy about the light it gets.
Coming this far, you must have the gist that low lights = slow growth; this plant follows this principle.
Chinese evergreen is one of the slowest-growing plants, with a growth speed of about 8 to 12 inches yearly.
When the plant matures and gets perfect conditions, it can reach up to a size of 35 to 40 inches.
Its leaves are beautiful and have a glossy green color with a shade of different colors like white, red, green, or pink.
Chinese Evergreen also produces flowers, but they are not something that will please your eyes.
Moreover, Chinese Evergreen thrives in bright filtered sunlight, weekly watering, bimonthly fertilization, and high humidity.
Read more: How often to Water Chinese Evergreen?
13. Staghorn Fern
True to its name, the houseplant Staghorn Fern (Platycerium) looks like the antlers of deer hanging on your living room wall.
This natural beauty focuses most of its energy on maintaining its unique appearance, so naturally, its growth rate is slow.
As a mounting plant, Staghorn Fern does not grow too big, with the growth rate being only about 5 inches yearly.
People usually measure the growth of this plant based on its width. This plant can spread up to 3 feet wide.
The leaves of the Staghorn fern are called ‘fronds’ and are divided into basal fronds and foliar fronds.
People usually do not root this plant in soil, and also this plant does not produce any flowers or seeds.
14. Air Plants
Air plants are the perfect examples of epiphytes; In their natural habitat, they grow on the trunk of big trees.
These are one of the most intriguing plants famous among plant enthusiasts by the name ‘Tillandsia.’
The Air Plants are also famous for their slow-growing nature, taking about two months to germinate and a minimum of 4 years to mature.
In the starting two years, this plant can grow painfully slowly. In maturity, this plant can reach up to a staggering seven feet.
They have thin, long leaves that form a rosette in their growth. Their small flowers come in different colors, like pink, coral, or purple.
Air plants bloom once in their lifetime and die after they bloom.
They need bright, filtered sunlight and good air circulation to grow. Furthermore, you can put them on walls however you like since they don’t need any growing medium.
15. Weeping Fig
The Weeping Fig is a famous indoor plant that looks like a mini tree when you grow them inside your home.
Don’t worry; the plant is not as depressing as its name suggests. It just grows slowly.
The Weeping Fig can grow surprisingly fast in its natural habitat, but they grow painfully slow when grown indoors.
This plant can grow up to the size of 60 feet in its natural habitat, while that is toned down to 6 feet when grown indoors.
Weeping Fig has glossy, green leaves and sometimes produces flowers that are not so good to look at.
Weeping Fig thrives in well-draining soil, weekly watering, bright filtered sunlight, and warm temperature.
Let us look at a few other slow-growing plants perfect for indoors and outdoors.
| Plants | Growth Rate |
|---|---|
| Bromeliads | Takes 1-3 years to mature |
| Wandering Jew | 1 inch every week in perfect conditions |
| Pilea | Matures in about 2 years |
| Dumb Cane | 2 feet in a year |
| Wisteria | 10 feet every year in perfect conditions |
| Magnolia | 2 feet every year |
Conclusion
Slow-growing plants may demand care for longer, but they sure keep your houses happy for a longer time.
Also, they do not need much looking after, given their slow-growing nature.
If you are too busy with office or education, maybe these plants are something you could invest in.
Happy Gardening!
