Spread the Love with These 5 Heart-Shape Houseplants

Heart-shaped houseplants

When you want to show your love to a good friend or spouse, you can't go wrong with flowers, but it's always a bit sad to see those beautiful flowers shrivel up and die so soon (usually within a couple of weeks). . Instead of a one-off floral arrangement, express your love with adorable houseplants with heart-shaped leaves that will last forever. With a little care, these houseplants will remind the recipient of your affection year-round as they grow. While these five houseplants may not be as traditional as a dozen roses for Valentine's Day, their heart-shaped leaves (and the flowers of some of them) make each of them romantic.

1 Sweetheart Hoya

Also known as the Valentine plant, the Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerry) is a popular gift on Valentine's Day because of its shape. You'll often find single heart-shaped leaves for sale in cute little pots, but Sweetheart Hoya eventually grows into a vine-covered in tiny green hearts that are especially eye-catching when draped over a hanging basket. This succulent plant doesn't need much water and thrives in low light, but it does best when grown in bright, indirect light.

2 Flowering Cyclamen

As colorful as a bouquet of roses, potted cyclamen makes the perfect alternative to flowers for Valentine's Day. You can find varieties that bloom from deep rose red to blush pink and pure white. To sweeten the deal even more, the plant's beautiful green and silver leaves are shaped like hearts. Cyclamen likes bright, indirect light and some water whenever the top inches of soil are dry. Most are on the small side, but cyclamen can eventually grow over a foot tall.

3 String of Hearts

If one heart isn't enough to express your feelings, give dozens! A string of hearts consists of twining stems with small, heart-shaped leaves that are usually green and silver, but sometimes pink. This beautiful-looking vine likes plenty of sunlight, so place your plant in a south-facing window where it can grow up to three feet tall. It's not a succulent, but a string of hearts is as drought tolerant as these plants, so let the soil dry out completely between waterings.

4 Heart Fern

Warm up the February chill on Valentine's Day with Heart Fern, native to the tropics of Southeast Asia. The plant's dark green, heart-shaped leaves need plenty of moisture to look their best, so mist it a few times a day or place it in a room with a humidifier. Otherwise, keep it in bright, indirect light and keep the soil moist. Heart ferns are usually under a foot, with each frond growing about 2-3 inches long.

5 Anthurium

There's a lot to love about anthuriums, with heart-shaped leaves and bright red flowers. You can also find varieties with pink, white, and purple flowers. Bright, indirect light will produce better flowers, but even without flowers, the leaves will still be beautiful. Otherwise, they need some water whenever the soil feels dry, and they will eventually grow to a height of two feet.