10 Plants That Make the Most Thoughtful Housewarming Gifts

What could make a better housewarming plan than one that symbolizes new beginnings? There are some 60 calathea species, native to the tropical parts of Latin America. While they don’t usually flower when they’re kept indoors, they often have strikingly variegated leaf patterns with colours you wouldn’t expect in leaves, such as pink, red or purple. Their tendency to soak up moisture to thrive makes them one of the best plants to soak up humidity in the bathroom. They’re also safe to have around pets and little humans.

Native to Southern Africa, Gerbera daisies are great gifts because they’re easy to care for and non-toxic and add a splash of colour. Different colours symbolize different things. For a housewarming gift, you can’t go wrong with the Transvaal or Barberton daisy, since its cheerful orange colour symbolizes friendship, joy and warmth.

Rosemary is one of the easiest herbs you can grow indoors throughout the year. It’s also one of the best housewarming plant gift ideas! Unlike so many other culinary herbs, like oregano, rosemary is perfectly safe to have around pets. It’s a symbol of friendship and loyalty and is perfect for that friend looking forward to cooking and entertaining in their new home.

Contrary to popular belief, tulips aren’t originally from Amsterdam or anywhere else in the Netherlands. They originated in Central Asia and Southern Europe and there are around 75 species. They’re normally planted in the garden for spring blooming but you can also grow them indoors. Just keep them away from pets and tiny humans since they’re toxic. In Iran, they’re often symbols of resistance and martyrdom but in the West, they sometimes symbolize rebirth. Different colours have additional symbolic meanings: For instance, red means deep love, pink means happiness, yellow means cheerful thoughts and white means forgiveness. If you’ve been invited to a palacewarming, you’ll want to gift purple tulips, which symbolize royalty.

Are you going to the housewarming of someone who’s working from home? The money tree is a great addition to a corner in a home office, since it thrives in bright but indirect light and is low maintenance. Anybody who enjoys working with a cat on their lap or a dog at their feet will love the fact that the money tree is non-toxic to pets too. In East Asia you’ll often see these plants in businesses since they’re said to bring good fortune in both the figurative and literal sense.

Because it’s so easy to propagate, the jade plant is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s a succulent native to the east coast of South Africa and produces sweet-smelling pink or white flowers. It’s also known as the lucky plant or the money plant since it’s considered one of the luckiest plants for your home. However, keep it where your pets can’t reach it since it’s toxic.

Native to Central Africa, the lucky bamboo isn’t actually a bamboo but rather a perennial herb. It thrives in scattered light and confined spaces, so it’s perfect for an apartment. It’s associated with good fortune and longevity – as long as you, your kids and your pets don’t eat it.

There are some 1,750 known cactus species, mostly native to the Americas. They make ideal houseplants for beginner growers or people who tend to be a little forgetful about plant care, since they’re very low-maintenance and don’t need frequent watering. They have different symbolic meanings in different cultures but in North American Indigenous cultures, they’re usually associated with protection and maternal love.

Looking for a housewarming gift for that somewhat eccentric person in your life? As long as you’re certain that they can handle one of the most high-maintenance plants, you’ll probably delight them if you gift them a Venus flytrap. These carnivorous plants are native to the Carolinas in the United States and symbolize persistence because if they fail to catch a fly, they’ll stay shut for a few hours, as if they’re sulking, and then open to try all over again. They’re safe for pets – unless your pets are of the six-legged variety.

A plant gift that will be just as at home in a boho as in a Japandi decor theme is a bonsai tree. Just about any kind of tree can be turned into a miniature and because pruning them can be a meditative experience, they symbolize patience, harmony and balance.