1. Pothos (epipremnum aureum) hanging plants
We’ll kick things off with a trailing houseplant staple: the traditional pothos, or the epipremnum aureum. Pothos care is simple—and pothos plants are some of the most classic hanging plants you’ll find in big box garden centers or nurseries. There are several different varieties you’ll likely encounter.
Here are some of the most common, including some newer varieties that I’ve loved growing:
- Golden pothos, which is variegated with green and yellow, sometimes hints of off-white
- Marble queen pothos, which is off-white and green
- Emerald/jade pothos, which is solid green
- Neon pothos, which is a solid neon green
- Global green pothos, a variety released within the last few years
- Lemon meringue pothos, a variety that is even newer than global green but looks very similar
- Manjula pothos, which looks a lot like marble queen but has wider, more heart-shaped leaves
- Pearls and jade, a variety with smaller leaves and blotchy variegation
- Snow queen pothos, a type that has even more white variegation than the marble queen
I have quite a few pothos plants hanging around my home. They also look lovely high up on shelves trailing down or pinned up onto a wall to give an “ivy-like” look. Here are a few pics of my pothos plants.
Jade and golden pothos mixed in a basket
Classic golden pothos
Snow queen
Marble queen
2. Pothos (epipremnum pinnatum) hanging plants
I’m splitting up these two different types of pothos plants because, while they are both pothos, pinnatum varieties can be harder to get your hands on than aurem varieties. They are associated less with plants you can get for your home, but they are just as beautiful!
Here are two different types of epipremnum pinnatum pothos plants I love:
- Cebu blue pothos, this one takes my breath away every time I look at it!
- Baltic blue pothos, a variety newer to the hobbyist market, the leaves split (“fenestrations”) as the plant matures
Cebu blue pothos
Cebu blue pothos
Baltic blue pothos
3. Hoya Carnosa plants
Hoya carnosa plants, more commonly known as wax plants, have been a houseplant staple for decades. The thick, waxy leaves and vines climb and vine up and down, creating a full and lovely look.
There are many different hoya varieties, and there are even different types of hoya carnosa. Here are a few I have hanging in my home:
- Jade hoya carnosa, the traditional type
- Hoya carnosa compacta, the “rope” plant variety—one of my personal favorites in my entire collection (I have two!)
- Hoya carnosa krimson queen
- “Chelsea” Hoya carnosa—another of my favorites
- Hoya carnosa krimson princess
- Hoya carnosa “Krinkle 8”—a cross between the “compacta” and “carnosa” varieties
Hoya carnosa, traditional type
Hoya carnosa krimson queen
Hoya carnosa krimson princess
Hoya carnosa “compacta” rope plants
Hoya carnosa “Chelsea”
4. Ric Rac Cactus
The ric rac cactus is a newer member of my hanging plant family, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. A ric rac cactus was on my wish list for quite a while before I bit the bullet and ordered one online.
It is growing really quickly, too. I can’t wait to be able to trim some cuttings for these to give them away to my plant-loving friends and fam. Once they mature, the plants also produce gorgeous flowers at night.
5. String of Pearls Trailing Succulent Plants
The string of pearls succulent has the most amazing pea-looking round pearl-shaped leaves that trail on dainty stems. A healthy plant is full of gorgeous pearls that can grow several feet long. I have one hanging in front of a sunny window. As a bonus, this plant is incredibly easy to propagate.
Here is a link to the Dropbox folder with the guide!
6. Burro’s Tail Succulent Plants
Burro’s tail is another gorgeous trailing succulent. The chunky leaves cascade down thick succulent stems—and the leaves are fragile, so be careful! It is a more compact hanging plant, and it needs a lot of light, so reserve a sunny window for this one.
Like the string of pearls, it’s also easy to propagate from leaves. And the leaves are super fragile, so propagating the ones that fall off is a great idea!
7. Rhipsalis Trailing Cactus Plants
My husband got me my first rhipsalis plant, the rhipsalis campos-portoana, for mother’s day. There are many different rhipsalis varieties, and they all have some sort of branching, leggy stems that look lovely in hanging planters.
You’ll likely find this plant labeled as “mistletoe cactus” at your local nursery, but that typically refers to one type of rhipsalis cactus. There are many lovely varieties.
8. Heart-leaf philodendron (philodendron hederaceum)
Heart-leaf philodendron is often confused with a pothos plant. While they do have similar leaf shapes and sizes, and while the plants themselves trail the same way and often even have similar variegations, they are totally different plants.
They have similar care needs, though, and are both very easy to care for. One of my favorite varieties of this plant is the philodendron Brasil, which has gorgeous bright green and yellow variegations. The leaves are also quite showy and shiny.
Here are a few links to different types of philodendron hederaceum I’ve grown:
- All-green heart-leaf philodendron, a classic and timeless variety you can’t go wrong with
- Brasil philodendron, lovely varietgation
- Philodendron silver stripe, similar to the Brasil but with more cream variegation
- Philodendron micans, aka “velvet leaf philodendron”
- Lemon-lime heart-leaf philodendron, same as the all-green type, but it’s highlighter yellow!
Philodendron hederaceum
Philodendron Brasil
Philodendron hederaceum “lemon lime”
Silver stripe
Micans
9. Maranta “Prayer Plants”
You’ll often find prayer plants sold in hanging baskets. These are great plants for medium light levels—I had one in my daughter’s room for a while because it didn’t get the best light. They come in a variety of different colors and patterns, including my favorite—the lemon lime maranta.
10. Spider Plants
Spider plants are another houseplant staple. Their long curly leaves look great in hanging baskets, but the real show-stopper on these plants is the stems and babies. Spider plants shoot out long stems, at the end of which are baby spider plants!
These create a gorgeous waterfall of plants. Check my mom’s spider plant out. It has tons of spider plants ready to cut off, root, and propagate. But you can also just leave them on the plants and let them continue to cascade.
11. Tradescantia Plants, Including Zebrina and Nanouk
The gorgeous variegation on wandering dude plants—purple, green, and silver—can vary in how vivd it is. Sometimes the green and silver markings show quite vividly, whereas other times the plant is more of a purple color. It’s gorgeous either way! And then there’s the tradescantia nanouk, which has more of a pink and mint variegation.
Here are links to care guides for two of my favorite types, which are also pictured below:
- Tradescantia zebrina, the traditional “wandering” type of plant
- Tradescantia nanouk, a newer variety with mint green and candy pink variegation
Zebrina
Nanouk
12. Fern leaf cactus
The fern leaf cactus, aka selenicereus chrysocardium, is an epiphytic jungle cactus from Mexico. Its “leaves” are actually long, thick stems with chunky teeth. From the moment I saw this plant at a local nursery, I knew I had to have it!
But it was pricey. I ended up getting one from a Facebook buy/sell/trade plant group in my state. I then almost killed it after a year…but then I chopped it up, re-rooted it, and it’s doing great! So it’s definitely a resilient plant.
13. String of Hearts Trailing Plant
String of hearts is another trendy plant that has been in high demand lately. It is dainty and remains fairly compact, but its fine stems can trail up to several feet long. Mine is relatively juvenile now, so I’ve got it on a shelf.
The stems can get super long and produce really cool looking tubular flowers. And there is a variegated string of hearts that is quite lovely, too.
14. Curly Orchid Cactus
My curly orchid cactus looks stunning hanging in my leather plant pot holder. I love how low maintenance this plant is—just a bit of water every once in a while, and its long curly stems grow like weeds. This plant is also closely related to the night-blooming cereus plant, which also has a trailing habit and looks lovely!
15. Hoya linearis
Hoya linearis is another type of plant that I hope is new to you! I remember seeing a mature hoya linearis online for the first time. It looked like a curtain, and I had to have it. It was much smaller, of course. They aren’t cheap plants.
But, years later, the plant has grown like a weed. I have it hanging in a window and acting as a literal curtain in my sunroom. Isn’t it lovely? See more hoya linearis here.
16. Lipstick Plants
Lipstick plants are another cool hanging plant Lipstick plants have a couple of different varieties that you’re likely to find in your local nursery, but my absolute favorite has to be the curly/rasta lipstick plant variety. How stunning is this one hanging in my living room?
17. Scindapsus treubii moonlight
Scindapsus treubii moonlight is a stunning trailing plant with a silver sheen. This one has increased in popularity a ton over the last few years after the big grower Costa Farms began growing it. You’ll see theirs referred to as “sterling silver” scindapsus.
Now it’s pretty easy to find. Years ago, I planted three smaller plants into one pot and let it ride all summer. I still have that same pot in my sunroom. It’s a lush beauty. There is also a “dark form” variety of the plant with very dark green, nearly black leaves.
18. Scindapsus pictus, aka “silver satin pothos”
And while we’re talking scindapsus, a favorite plant genus of mine, I couldn’t overlook including scindapsus pictus exotica! You’ll commonly see varieties of scindapsus pictus referred to as “silver satin pothos.” That’s because the leaves have a sheen to them with lots of silver variegation.
While closely related to pothos plants, they are from the scindapsus genus. See a few varieties below, and then check out my post about 9 Scindapsus Varieties to Collect (they are addicting!).
Scindapsus pictus exotica
Scindapsus pictus exotica
Scindapsus pictus silvery Anne
19. Epiphyllum oxypetalum, aka “queen of the night”
Another tropical cactus—I love them, they’re so easy! My queen of the night epiphyllum oxypetalum has grown quite well over the years. In the last two years, it has thrown out blooms like crazy.
This is another plant that blooms only at night. The white buds form around sundown, and the flowers are usually open by about 10 PM. They begin closing as the sun rises the next day. Very cool.
20. Peperomia hanging plant varieties
Peperomia plants might not be traditionally associated with hanging plants. You might be familiar with the Peperomia Rosso, Peperomia Frost, and Watermelon Peperomia plants, which all make great, compact desk plants.
But there are also a bunch of different types of peperomia plants that look great in hanging planters. Here are just a few I’ve owned and love:
- Peperomia hope, the thick, succulent-like leaves on this make it a really interesting trailer
- String of turtles, aka peperomia prostrata—the leaves each look like tiny turtle shells!
- Peperomia beetle, similar to the string of turtles, the leaves look like little beetles
21. The trailing monstera siltepecana
And I’ll wrap up this post with a type of monstera. You might be familiar with the classic monstera deliciosa, which is a climbing plant that can grow very large leaves. There are tons of different types of monstera, though. Monstera Peru, Monstera Adansonii Care, and Monstera Standleyana can all make lovely climbers or trailers.
However, my favorite trailing monstera has to be the Monstera Siltepecana. The leaves are small and delicate, but they have such cool variegation. If you’re lucky, you’ll find this one in a big box garden store.
