Breaking News: These are 9 Plants that DON’T NEED Soil—Prepare to Be Amazed!

Don’t you be amazed after knowing the fact that there are some indoor plants that don’t need soil? Also they just grow in water or other growing mediums than soil. To some plant lovers, one of the most frustrating aspects of being a new plant parent is dealing with soil. Not only it is super messy, but also it brings with it a host of problems, including bugs and insects.

So some people who have less time to give in houseplants or some who are curious to see the plants are growing with no soil, I have gathered some of those plants and have also discussed the growing methods of those plants. 

Today I want to share with you some houseplants that don’t need soil and grow happily in the water. Even after the propagation stage, you don’t have to worry about transplanting them into the soil.

Let’s dive into the topic of plants that don’t need soil. But first, I want to discuss some frequently asked questions for you.

List of Plants That Don’t Need Soil

Let’s discuss our selected 9 indoor plants that can grow without soil.

1. Aglaonema Red Siam

First, I want to talk about the Aglaonema Red Siam. It is native to Thailand. You can grow it by taking some cuttings from the mother plant. 

This plant can easily grow in a water pot. So growing this all you have to do the following jobs-

• Cut the stem about 2 cm from the soil line. 
• Then take off some bottom leaves.
• Place it into water.

Hopefully 1-2 weeks you will be amazed at the result. They will grow really nice. And you will see that the new roots are forming. If you noticed, they are like a green-colored root with a little bit of white.

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2. Philodendron Wend Imbe

Lastly the Philodendron Wend Imbe. It is a really great house plant as well to grow without soil. This one is really a prolific grower. If you observe them you can see that they have so many aerial routes all over the place.

To grow them in water all you have to do-

• Just take a stem cutting. 
• Place it into a net pot.
• Then place the net pot into a wider opening bottle.

Here I want to mention one thing that instead of using a transparent jar you can use a black jar with a transparent window in which you can see the water level.

I know this one will grow very well and also the roots of this guy. This one grows as fast as the pothos. So if you are somebody who really wants to see your plants grow very quickly this is definitely a plant that I would recommend very easy to grow in water. And it grows extremely fast.

3. Aglaonema Silver Bay

The Chinese Evergreen is also another aglaonema that is very pretty. Like them we are now going to learn about Aglaonema Silver Bay. I think they’re all just called like chinese evergreen when they’re green in color. But this one specifically you can look for silver bay. And this one has larger leaves.

So this one also grows in water. Just cut the stem about 2 cm above the soil and place it in the water pot. Make sure the opening of the pot is wider. Wait almost 1-2 weeks.

Hope you will see the green roots of your loving silver bay come out. 

Here you have observed a very interesting thing. In this plant, the soil roots and water roots are completely different. The soil roots are dark red where the color of the water roots are very light green almost white.

When some roots come out after placing your plants in water more roots will eventually form. Also new leaves shooting out from the plants. So you can keep growing the plant forever in water.

4. Basil

Next up on the list is Basil. This is another good houseplant that doesn’t need soil. I know that basil is more of a culinary herb as compared to a decorative house plant. But I actually like to use it as a house plant simply because of some reasons like-

• They are so pretty.
• They smell really good.
• Also keeps away the mosquitoes.

So these ones you can actually grow in hydroponic or a semi-hydroponic system. But basically, you can just get store-bought basil. Then to grow in the water you can follow the steps- 

1. Cut a stem that is around four or five inches in length. 
2. Take off the bottom leaves just pinch those off. 
3. Place it into water.

Then in about a week or so you should start to see water roots. Basil has a very delicate root system. It’s really pretty and almost white in color.

You can have this one growing in a net pot system. But if you don’t manage the net pot, no problem. It is just fine in the direct water in the water pot. 

You can also grow the basil in perlite. Try it yourself and I want to know the result in the comment box.

5. Peace Lily

Our next one is Peace Lily, which is another really great and easy to grow houseplants that don’t need soil to grow. You can actually take a cutting and then just place it into a net pot. Though you don’t really need the net pot.

You can actually just place it directly into the water.

But some people prefer to have a net pot because it makes it so much easier to just grab the plant and then throw out the water, change it out. Then put the plant back in.

But I think it’s not making any mess for not using a net pot.

So don’t put your peace lily in a lower light area. If so, you may see that the growth is slow. After 5-10 days you will notice that the roots are growing quite nicely.

One important thing I want to discuss when growing houseplants in water is that you have to make sure the water doesn’t go all the way to the top of the bottle. Give the root a chance to get the natural oxygen.

6. Pothos Devil’s Ivy

Our next one is the Pothos Devil’s Ivy. I won’t go into too much detail about this guy. Because it is a very common and popular houseplant. And also this is one of those indestructible house plants that you cannot go wrong with.

You can get either the variegated version or you can have something that is all green. This guy grows in any sort of water. It’s not even picky whether you use tap water or you use rain water.

That’s why I really love the pothos. It’s a great beginner plant that grows in almost anything. You can try it in leca. To grow it in water just do the following-

• Cut a stem that is around four or five inches in length. 
• Take off the bottom leaves just pinch those off. 
• Place it into water.
• Then place the water pot into a suitable place.

I believe this is an impossible plant to kill. So I would definitely recommend it if you are a new plant parent.

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7. Monstera Deliciosa

Next on our list is the Monstera Deliciosa. This is actually a very easy house plant to grow and maintain. You can have your monstera deliciosa grown in leca. 

But actually you can just grow it in water. It’s super easy. Just follow some steps below-

• Cut a stem below the node area. 
• Place it into water.
• Just keep the leaves growing in water.
• Place the water pot into a suitable place.

After 5-10 days you will see the beautiful roots in the water. Then you can just leave it in the water. Or you can plant it in another medium. I think keeping this in water is a good idea. It looks so lovely. That’s all about monstera growing without soil.

8. Snake Plant

Another really great houseplant to grow without soil is the sanseveria or the Snake Plant. This is a very common and beginner-friendly houseplant.

So you can grow them both in water or in sphagnum moss. I would like to tell you both methods. Actually growing them in water or sphagnum moss is almost the same. The process you can use-

• Just basically take the leaves of an older plant.
• Put it into water.
• Or put it into sphagnum moss.
• After a little while you will start to see new pups growing.

Which is basically some sort of offshoots from the plant itself. I have found that in sphagnum moss, it actually grows faster than if you put it into water. But the water one also actually does very well. You can observe that they will give a few pups within 5 days.

My suggestion is to remove the pup from the mother plant and then just place it into its own container. It will look like a brand-new plant that looks really good.

9. Umbrella Plant

Another plant that I would suggest growing without soil is the Umbrella Plant or the schefflera.

This one grows extremely well in basically water if you can get it to grow. They have a very nice root system. After growing them in water, you can see that they are developed very nicely.

It needs something of more bright indirect sunlight to grow. So find an area to keep your umbrella tree.

For the lack of indirect sunlight, the leaves of your umbrella tree is getting white.

You can use the net pot if you want. Though a regular clear pot or a clear jar is enough. But the only problem with the clear jar is that it grows algae. To prevent this you can use spray paint to paint the jar in different colors.

You can see the root system of the umbrella plant a few days after keep them in water. They will grow extremely nice. It’s not as delicate as the other indoor plants.

FAQs

Are there any plants that cannot grow without soil?

Of course. There are so many plants that grow without soil. Actually, some of us think that soil is the only growing medium. But it’s not always true for many plants. There are different growing mediums like water, leca etc.

What plants can grow in just water?

There are so many plants that grow in just water. I have covered the nine plants in the following article. Keep reading. 

Can you grow plants in glass jars?

Obviously. Some plants like snake plants, peace lily and some kind of basil are just fine in a glass jar. Even you can get flowers from a peace lily which is very rare.

Can you put cuttings straight into the soil?

No, I think it’s not a good idea to put a houseplant cutting directly into the soil. At first, you have to put the cutting into the water. After a few days transfer the cutting into the soil when you noticed some tiny roots or something.

Final Thoughts

So these are the plants that don’t need any soil to grow. There are many other plants like this. But I have collected only this.

Some of you have tried to minimize your interactions with soil by looking for other growing mediums. You may have heard about “Leca” which is lightweight expanded clay pebbles. Basically, this is a substitute for soil. I found that a lot of houseplants are really happy growing in this medium.

But even simpler than leca you can grow a lot of your houseplants in water.

Now it’s your turn. Did I miss anything? If you find anything good, please do share.