Houseplants for a bedroom

43 of 100 species in this database qualify

43 of our 100 species qualify. Cast iron plant ranks first on dim-tolerant and non-toxic. Typical prices run $4 to $250.

What this list actually means

Ignore the claim that houseplants meaningfully purify indoor air — the NASA study behind it used sealed chambers, and you would need hundreds of plants per room to replicate it. What a bedroom actually needs is a plant that copes with lower light and will not poison a pet that sleeps in there.

Ranked by light min, toxic to cats, difficulty — dim-tolerant and non-toxic, least demanding first. Ordering is derived from database fields and we do not accept payment for placement. Our pre-publish check rejects commission, payout, EPC and CPC as sort fields, so that promise is enforced rather than merely stated.

#	Plant	Light floor	Water	Pet safe	Difficulty	Typical price
1	Cast iron plant Aspidistra elatior	Low	10–14d	Yes	Easy	$25–60
2	Kentia palm Howea forsteriana	Low	8–14d	Yes	Easy	$60–250
3	Lady palm Rhapis excelsa	Low	8–14d	Yes	Easy	$50–200
4	Ripple peperomia Peperomia caperata	Low	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
5	Parlor palm Chamaedorea elegans	Low	7–10d	Yes	Easy	$20–50
6	Bird’s nest fern Asplenium nidus	Low	4–9d	Yes	Easy	$15–45
7	Bamboo palm Chamaedorea seifrizii	Low	7–12d	Yes	Easy	$30–100
8	Blue star fern Phlebodium aureum	Low	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$18–50
9	Strawberry begonia Saxifraga stolonifera	Low	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$8–22
10	Prayer plant Maranta leuconeura	Low	4–8d	Yes	Moderate	$12–35
11	Nerve plant Fittonia albivenis	Low	3–6d	Yes	Moderate	$6–18
12	Rattlesnake plant Goeppertia lancifolia	Low	4–8d	Yes	Moderate	$15–45
13	Rabbit’s foot fern Davallia fejeensis	Low	4–9d	Yes	Moderate	$20–55
14	Table fern Pteris cretica	Low	3–7d	Yes	Moderate	$12–35
15	Baby’s tears Soleirolia soleirolii	Low	2–6d	Yes	Moderate	$6–18
16	Boston fern Nephrolepis exaltata	Low	3–6d	Yes	Demanding	$15–40
17	Calathea orbifolia Goeppertia orbifolia	Low	4–8d	Yes	Demanding	$20–60
18	Triostar stromanthe Stromanthe sanguinea	Low	4–8d	Yes	Demanding	$20–55
19	Maidenhair fern Adiantum raddianum	Low	2–5d	Yes	Difficult	$12–30
20	Spider plant Chlorophytum comosum	Medium	7–10d	Yes	Easy	$10–25
21	Baby rubber plant Peperomia obtusifolia	Medium	9–14d	Yes	Easy	$12–30
22	Zebra haworthia Haworthiopsis attenuata	Medium	14–24d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
23	Ponytail palm Beaucarnea recurvata	Medium	14–30d	Yes	Easy	$25–90
24	Mistletoe cactus Rhipsalis baccifera	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$15–45
25	Ox tongue Gasteria bicolor	Medium	14–24d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
26	Christmas cactus Schlumbergera truncata	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
27	Moth orchid Phalaenopsis amabilis	Medium	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$15–50
28	Chinese money plant Pilea peperomioides	Medium	6–11d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
29	Wax plant Hoya carnosa	Medium	10–18d	Yes	Easy	$15–60
30	Watermelon peperomia Peperomia argyreia	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$10–30
31	Polka dot plant Hypoestes phyllostachya	Medium	4–7d	Yes	Easy	$5–15
32	String of hearts Ceropegia woodii	Medium	10–18d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
33	Scarlet star Guzmania lingulata	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$15–40
34	Fishbone cactus Selenicereus anthonyanus	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$18–50
35	Goldfish plant Nematanthus gregarius	Medium	6–11d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
36	Sweetheart hoya Hoya kerrii	Medium	12–21d	Yes	Easy	$15–50
37	African violet Streptocarpus ionanthus	Medium	5–10d	Yes	Moderate	$6–20
38	Areca palm Dypsis lutescens	Medium	5–10d	Yes	Moderate	$30–90
39	Staghorn fern Platycerium bifurcatum	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Moderate	$25–80
40	Air plant Tillandsia ionantha	Medium	5–10d	Yes	Moderate	$4–15
41	Pygmy date palm Phoenix roebelenii	Medium	6–12d	Yes	Moderate	$35–120
42	Lipstick plant Aeschynanthus radicans	Medium	6–11d	Yes	Moderate	$15–40
43	String of turtles Peperomia prostrata	Medium	9–16d	Yes	Moderate	$12–40

Prices are hand-verified ranges, not live figures, and move with pot size more than anything else. No affiliate links appear on this page because we have no merchant relationships yet; when that changes, disclosure appears before the first one.

Why cast iron plant tops the list

Tolerates deep shade, cold, and neglect, and is non-toxic. The trade-off is that it grows very slowly. It takes low light as a floor and water every 10–14 days, and it is reasonably easy to find at $25–60.

Full entry for cast iron plant — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority we consulted, and propagation.

Commonly recommended for this, and shouldn't be

Every one of these is sold everywhere and appears on other lists for this purpose. Each fails on a field in our own database, stated below.

Snake plant Dracaena trifasciata

needs low light and is toxic to cats and dogs — a bedroom is usually the dimmest room in the house.
Pothos Epipremnum aureum

needs low light and is toxic to cats and dogs — a bedroom is usually the dimmest room in the house.
Heartleaf philodendron Philodendron hederaceum

needs low light and is toxic to cats and dogs — a bedroom is usually the dimmest room in the house.
Aloe vera Aloe vera

needs bright-indirect light and is toxic to cats and dogs — a bedroom is usually the dimmest room in the house.

None of these are bad plants. They are bad plants for this, and the difference is the whole point of the list. Buying one for the wrong spot is the commonest way people conclude they cannot keep houseplants.

Other lists

Every list →

Sources

This database's own care records for the 43 species listed — light floor, watering interval, humidity, difficulty and mature size are the fields the ranking uses. Each species entry cites its own authorities.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification, cited per species on each entry
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — poison severity where published
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder — cultivation and pest records

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Ranking is derived from database fields. We do not accept payment for placement, and the pre-publish check rejects payout as a sort field. How this is sourced.