Fast Growing Potted Plants

Ferns are a fast-growing potted plant.

A fast-growing potted plant adds greenery, beauty and sometimes fragrance to your home's interior. Interior plants also help keep air clean. The factors that influence the growth rate of indoor plants include light, water, temperature, humidity and fertilizer.

Ferns

The fern is a fast-growing potted plant according to the University of Vermont Extension website. This low-maintenance plant thrives in low light and adds ornamental interest to the room with its billowy leaves. Ferns like consistent water and humidity. You can use a room humidifier next to the fern, but you can also put the pot in a pebble-lined tray that is filled with water. The evaporation will humidify the ferns. Good choices for ferns include birdsnest fern (Asplenium) that grows 2 feet tall; Boston fern (Nephrolepis) that grows up to 3 feet; and the hanging brake fern (Pteris).

Colorful Plant

The wandering traveler, or wandering Jew, (Zebrina pendula) quickly brings color and ornamental beauty to your home. It cascades over the edge of a pot or hanging basket with leaves that are variegated green on one side and purple on the other. Its runners can grow to two to three feet or more in bright light that is not in direct sun. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings, and fertilize once a month during the growing season.

Ivy

English ivy (Hedera helix) spreads quickly and sends out new growth on a continual basis. The dark green leaves have white veins, bringing ornamental interest to this potted plant. Ivy is low maintenance and thrives with about four hours a day of indirect sunlight with moderate water. Some of the more popular varieties include Baltica, which sports small leaves, drought-tolerant Bulgaria and Hibernica, an ivy with large, glossy leaves.

Philodendron

Bring the interesting-shaped, heart-leaf philodendron (Philodendron scandens oxycardium) into your home. This vigorous-growing house plant can sit in a pot on a table or hang from the ceiling. The dark-green leaves can grow up to 1 foot long. The philodendron isn't fussy about growing conditions, but it does best in bright light in the home but not direct sun. During the growing season, it thrives in moist, well-drained soil that is fertilized monthly. In winter months, do not fertilize, cut back on the water and let the soil dry out slightly between waterings.

References

• University of Vermont Extension; Growing Ferns Successfully Indoors; Dr. Leonard Perry;
• Interior Plants: Wandering Traveler; Wandering Jew
• North Dakota State University Extension Service; Questions on: Ivy; Ron Smith
• The Master Gardeners; Easy Houseplants to Grow; Devra Boesch