You Don’t Need Soil for These 5 Houseplants – And They’re Almost Impossible to Kill

There's no doubt that having a home full of houseplants is joyful, but it can also be off-putting to have containers full of soil attracting the likes of fungus gnats and spilling on the floor when you repot plants. But, there's actually a whole range of houseplants that you can grow without any soil: epiphytic houseplants.

In their natural habitat, epiphytic houseplants (including orchids, bromeliads, and some ferns) grow on surfaces like tree bark. They have aerial roots to climb these surfaces and obtain nutrients and moisture from the debris around them. In the home, you can grow these houseplants without soil by using things like bark, mounting boards, and air plant glass vessels (like this from Amazon).

They're a lot easier to care for than you might assume, too. You just have to get a better understanding of their natural growing habit to provide optimal conditions. Here, houseplant experts share their top epiphytic picks and how to grow them without any soil in the home.

What Are Epiphytic Houseplants?

Epiphytes are tropical indoor plants that don't need soil to grow. Instead, they rely on gaining nutrients and moisture through their aerial roots (i.e., roots exposed to the air).

They are most commonly found clinging to tree trunks in their natural habitat, but they don't harm the host plant. They simply climb them for support, gaining better access to moisture and humidity in the air and surrounding debris.

In the home, it's possible to grow the following epiphytic houseplants through special growing mediums and set-ups:

1. Moth Orchid

Moth orchids (like this white one from The Sill) are the most popular type of orchid to grow as houseplants.

They're found in tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia, growing on tree branches with their iconic aerial roots.

In the home, you can grow orchids either in orchid bark (like this from Walmart) or mounted (using this orchid mounting board on Amazon).

'Orchids do best in filtered bright light, on a windowsill is typically fine. The best way to trigger a bloom is when the days start to get longer in late February or March, crack the window to let in some cool air. Or a drafty location works well too,' explains plant expert and interior plant designer Shane Pliska

'A small drop in temperature at night combined with the longer days will trigger blooms,' he adds.

It can be a good practice to regularly mist your orchid (with this plant mister from Wayfair) to boost its humidity levels and keep its foliage clean. I have mine as bathroom plant and find the extra moisture from the shower steam keeps it happy.

Shane Pliska

Shane Pliska is the president and CEO of Planterra - a national leader in interior landscaping. Shane's team include Feng Shui specialists who use ancient principles to enhance interiors with living plants.

2. Staghorn Fern

Staghorn fern is one of the most eye-catching indoor ferns to grow. It has forked fronds that are reminiscent of antlers, as well as sterile brown basal fronds, which form a protective layer over its aerial roots.

You can find a staghorn fern plant at Walmart.

This is one of the best houseplants to mount, using a mounting board (from Amazon) or a piece of tree bark. You can use sphagnum moss (available on Amazon) to create a base when doing this, which will also lock in moisture for the plant.

To water it, soak its moss base for 20 minutes every week from spring-summer, and every three weeks in fall and winter.

'Unlike most ferns, the staghorn fern doesn’t do well in dark spots. This plant thrives in bright indirect or filtered sunlight. Direct sun rays may damage this fern’s foliage, so it’s better to shelter it,' advises Plantum plant expert Marina Prokaten.

'To make your plant thrive, provide it with high humidity of 60-80%. You can increase humidity for these indoor plants by using a humidifier, pebble trays (like this from Walmart), or misting the plant regularly,' she adds.

Marina Prokaten

Marina Prokaten is a resident plant expert for the Plantum app, which helps users identify plant species, diagnose their conditions, and get specific care advice. She has three years of experience consulting on botany-related topics for Plantum.

3. Air Plant

Air plants are some of the most fascinating epiphytic houseplants, not needing any growing medium to thrive.

This is a group of plants known as Tillandsia, and they're native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, growing in forests, mountains, and deserts.

They come in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes. This pack of air plants from Walmart has 12 assorted varieties.

It's super low-maintenance to grow air plants. Simply set them up in an air plant vessel, whether it's something like these glass hanging terrariums from Amazon or these air plant urchin shell holders from Amazon.

They can benefit from sand and pebbles for stability (and decoration), but this is not necessary for their growth.

The main thing to do with air plants is to keep them hydrated by soaking them thoroughly weekly during spring and summer.

It would also be an air plant mistake not to provide good airflow, as they are susceptible to rot. For this reason, avoid placing them in a closed terrarium.

4. Christmas Cactus

You may not realize your Christmas cactus is an epiphyte because it's often sold in soil. But, in their natural habitat on coastal mountains in Brazil, they grow on tree branches and rocky surfaces.

To grow it as an epiphyte, the best soil for Christmas cactus is orchid bark, or you can grow it in houseplant potting mix with perlite (available on Amazon) to improve drainage.

It is also possible to style them as indoor hanging plants or mounted.

'The number one Christmas Cactus mistake is treating it like a desert cactus, instead it is tropical succulent that loves humidity,' says Shane.

'Cooler temperatures at night will trigger blooms,' he adds.

Don't forget to also keep your Christmas cactus in a dark spot in the fall to trigger blooming for the holiday season.

You can order a Christmas cactus plant from Amazon.

5. Bromeliad

While not all bromeliads are epiphytes, there are quite a few types that do grow without any soil. They have aerial roots, anchoring themselves to trees in rainforests and deserts in tropical and subtropical Americas.

One of the easiest epiphytic bromeliads to grow at home is Guzmania (which you can find on Amazon).

You can grow bromeliads without soil by mounting them. Sphagnum moss is a good addition to help lock in moisture.

'You will need a good bright light, and to keep water in the cup of the plant,' says Shane.

Bromeliads store water in a central cup (created by overlapping leaves) to stay hydrated. As Shane notes, this is what you'll need to top up with water, rather than soaking the roots.

Keep in mind that bromeliads only flower once. After your bromeliad flowers, you should keep caring for it to encourage 'pups' to form. You can remove these from the parent plant to propagate your bromeliad.

What to Shop

FAQs

Can You Plant Epiphytes in Houseplant Potting Mix?

Houseplant potting mix tends to hold too much moisture for epiphytes, which may cause root rot. Having said that, there are semi-epiphytic plants (like monsteras) that can thrive in a well-draining houseplant potting mix. You can add things like orchid bark and perlite to improve drainage further.

You can also grow houseplants in water using hydroponic gardening methods. Taking cuttings and using something like this propagation station from Amazon is a good place to start – and it'll soon give you double the plants.

Love inspiring garden ideas, outdoor advice, and the latest news? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.