My favorite trend is a focus on having plants for the classroom! Having real plants in any space livens up a whole room in a way that just can’t quite be replicated by wall art or posters. They add a three-dimensional and stimulating aspect to the classroom that helps to make the room feel like an inviting and exciting place to learn! Plants also lend a welcoming, bright, coziness to the room that puts students and teachers alike at ease.
Beyond aesthetics, these plants also have air purification qualities that are extremely valuable with all the germs floating around in school. Not just a pretty face, they can assist in ridding the air of toxins that may be present, though their simple beauty certainly doesn’t hurt!
If you are looking for plants to add as decor, educational purposes, or as a natural air purification you’ve come to the right place! I will help you choose the best plants that will thrive in your classroom. P.S. I want to give a HUGE shout out to Piante (https://www.piantedesign.com/) for helping us learn about the best plants to have in the classroom. Check out these 5 unique plant options that are a great addition for the classroom:
A simple plant that would be great in the classroom is a dracaena plant. There are many variations of dracaenas, so you can easily choose your favorite! The leaves are two toned green and are a beautiful neutral way to brighten up a room. There is also a lemon lime variety that is even more bright and colorful! These plants can also be trimmed so that the stalk shows more prominently, which is a popular choice since it is often mistaken for “lucky bamboo.” Not to mention that this plant is one of the best choices for air purification!
The care for these plants is incredibly easy, as they need minimal watering, and do well in low light. The soil should be moist but never soggy, and droopy or yellowing leaves often indicate too much water. Low maintenance is a great quality in any plant for the classroom!
Another option for a classroom plant is a starfish snake plant. These tubular plants are a cool, funky addition to the room, and are a rare take on the classic succulent. Often recommended for its air purifying abilities, they grow in a fan-like shape and are light green with dark green circles around each of the round leaves. Starfish plants can be propagated, so as your plant grows, you can even use the leaves to start new plants!
Use them as a gift for other teachers, or spread them out around your room, or let them grow tall! Since these are a type of succulent, the care for them is simple. They do best in bright light, but they will do fine with lower levels also. You only need to water them once the soil is completely dry, since the leaves store water. Easy!
One of my favorite options for a classroom plant is the spider plant. These plants help remove toxins from the air, they are so much fun to look at, and they add so much character to any space they occupy! Spider plants produce long, web-like leaves and, when mature, produce little spider-like plants called spiderettes. These spiderettes can be planted near the mother plant until they root, and then separated to form new spider plants.
The process of this replanting can be an exciting, ongoing classroom project that you and your students can enjoy! This is a great plant project to get students into because these plants are very resilient. These tough guys can handle plenty of “love” from students and do not require a green thumb to thrive. Spider plants do well if they are allowed to dry out a bit in between water. Keep them in bright, indirect light and forget to water them, and they will be happy!
A newer trend in greenery is air plants, and xerographica air plants are perfect! These plants are so fun to have around, they would be a wonderful addition to the classroom! Air plants are especially fun because they can be displayed hanging from ceiling hangers all around the room, which is an innovative way to include some plants in the classroom.
There is a bit of extra fuss with these pretty hanging plants. They need to be dried upside-down for 10 minutes after they are watered before they are put back. But do not let that keep you from including them in your classroom; they only need to be watered once every one to two weeks, or up to three weeks in the winter. So you will only have to take the extra step once every couple weeks! Plus, they need minimal sunlight, so they can easily do well in a classroom setting. The extra drying step is worth it for how fun these are to hang up around the room!
If you are looking for another different way to display plants, consider a pothos plant wall. A pothos plant wall makes a perfect ongoing class project, as you can use a wall pocket planter to create individualized plant pockets for student care! This plant is another one that can handle students’ “love” as well. The trick for a pothos wall is to make sure there is something behind and below it to catch water.
These do not need to be watered frequently and they actually prefer to be dried out in between waterings. So it should never get too wet for the classroom! It would be a fun project for the classroom, and can easily be done on a bulletin board or other empty wall space in the pocket planters for a cool accent wall in the classroom. Pothos plants also help in removing toxins from the air, especially recently painted rooms, so it’s a great addition if your classroom gets a summer sprucing up!
Are you a huge succulent/cactus fan like me? Here is a funky option to have in the classroom that will leave your students speechless! Display this beauty high on a bookshelf or behind your teacher desk. This plant is beautiful but you don’t want your students touching it. The white sap can sometimes irritate skin. Your students will love to watch this beautiful plant grow in the classroom!
I love having plants in the classroom because students end up adopting the plants like they’re a class pet. As a teacher, I love watching the students grow throughout the year just as the plants do.
I want to hear from you! Comment below – what were some of your favorite plants for the classroom?
P.S. If you love plants as much as I do, be sure to check out my plant classroom decor that will fill your walls with life, and messages of growth.
This bundle covers the entire green palette of colors and too many variations of plants to count. This is your one stop shop for everything you need to make your classroom come alive! It also includes plenty of editable options to personalize your classroom to be your home away from home.
