Climbing indoor plants are total game-changers for any indoor space, bringing instant vertical interest, maximizing green space, and adding a vibrant, natural jungle feel. If you're ready to elevate your plant game (literally!), this guide will introduce you to 7 fantastic climbing houseplants and how to help them transform your home.
1. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Image: submitted by Soltech customer
The Pothos and their many varieties are the champions of easy-care vining plants and known for abundant leaves and forgiving nature. It readily trails from shelves but will also enthusiastically climb with support, producing larger, more mature leaves as it ascends. It's incredibly adaptable, making it a reliable choice for adding abundant greenery.
Care Snapshot: Pothos will thrive and climb in bright, indirect light but it still tolerates lower light, which is why it’s considered an easy, beginner-friendly plant. A small, but powerful light like the Aspect™ Gen 2 provides the bright, indirect light that will encourage upward growth. Prefers its soil to dry out a bit between waterings. Looking for more Pothos care tips? We have a comprehensive care guide for Golden Pothos.
2. Heartleaf Philodendron (Epipremnum aureum)
Image: Sasha Kim
Often mistaken for Pothos, Heartleaf Philodendron offers softer, thinner, emerald-green leaves, creating a delicate, lush curtain. It's incredibly fast-growing and excels at climbing, using its aerial roots to cling. This makes it a fantastic choice for those new to plants looking for easy vines that love vertical support.
Care Snapshot: Heartleaf Philodendron prefers bright, indirect light but can tolerate medium light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
3. Monstera Deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant)
Image: House Plant House
This Monstera variation is known for its large, glossy leaves that develop stunning natural holes and splits as they mature. Monstera Deliciosa is naturally a vigorous climber in its jungle home, using prominent aerial roots to cling. Providing it with vertical support is key to encouraging those coveted bigger leaves and more dramatic fenestrations.
Care Snapshot: Loves bright, indirect light and consistent moisture, appreciating good humidity. Refer to this guide on how to increase the humidity for your houseplants for helpful tips!
4. Syngonium (Arrowhead Plant)
Image: The Sill
Syngoniums feature distinctive arrow-shaped leaves with a wide range of colors and variegation (from deep green to pink, white, or bronze). While they start as bushy plants, their vines will eventually begin to climb or trail beautifully, offering versatility. They are relatively easy to care for and can fill a space with unique foliage as they ascend.
Care Snapshot: Prefers medium to bright, indirect light and consistently moist, but not soggy, soil. The Grove™ LED Bar Grow Light mounted next to the Arrowhead Plant or underneath a shelf above the plant is a great grow light to help support growth and climbing. Curious for more Arrowhead Vine care tips? The Spruce has a great article on how to grow and care for Syngonium plants.
5. Hoya (Hoya carnosa, Wax Plant)
Image: Gardenia.net
Hoyas are unique climbers with thick, waxy leaves and beautiful clusters of delicate, star-shaped and fragrant flowers (with patience!). They have a more refined, slow-growing climbing habit, gently wrapping their vines around supports. This makes them a sophisticated addition to a vertical display.
Care Snapshot: Needs bright light, with some direct sun often encouraging blooms. Water when the soil is mostly dry, and they often prefer being a bit root-bound. Horticulture Magazine has a great, quick overview of the Wax Plant.
6. Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus radicans)
Image: Lodhi Garden
This cool, trailing plant gets its name from its vibrant red, tubular flowers that emerge from dark, "lipstick-like" buds. It's fantastic for hanging baskets, but its vines will also climb readily when given support, adding a pop of unique color and form to a vertical display.
Care Snapshot: Needs bright, indirect light to bloom well, consistently moist (but not soggy) soil, and appreciates higher humidity. Check out this Lipstick Plant guide for more tips & troubleshooting for this colorful plant.
7. Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)
Image: Plantura Magazine
For a plant that truly clings, the Creeping Fig is a dense, fast-growing option with tiny, heart-shaped leaves. A close cousin to the Fiddle Leaf Fig and the Weeping Fig, It's fantastic for covering small walls or creating a living tapestry effect indoors, using strong aerial roots to adhere directly to surfaces.
Care Snapshot: Needs bright, indirect light and consistent moisture, and it absolutely loves high humidity and can sulk if the air is too dry.
Helping Your Climbing Houseplants Reach New Heights
Climbing houseplants naturally want to go up! Providing them with the right support doesn't just make them look tidier; it encourages stronger, more mature growth and often larger leaves, mimicking their natural habitat.
Why Support Matters: In their natural environment, these plants climb trees to reach more light and stability. When they cling to a support indoors, their growth habit adapts, leading to more robust stems and impressive foliage development.
How to Support Climbing Indoor Plants:
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Moss Poles: Excellent for aroids like Monsteras, Philodendrons, and Pothos, as their aerial roots can cling directly to the moist moss, encouraging larger leaves. We love the Mossify Bendable Moss Pole.
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Trellises: Decorative structures that provide a framework for vines to wrap around.
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Command Hooks/Clips: For a less visible support, small adhesive hooks or plant clips can be used on walls or shelves to gently guide trailing vines upward without damage.
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Stakes: Simple bamboo or wooden stakes can provide initial support for younger climbers or less aggressive vining plants.
What Kind of Light Do Climbing Plants Need?
For your climbing plants to truly reach new heights, strong and consistent light is essential. Healthy plants put out robust stems and leaves, making them more capable of clinging and growing upwards. If a climbing plant isn't getting enough light, its vines might become weak and leggy, making it harder for it to attach to supports or grow vigorously.
FAQ: Climbing Houseplants
How do I get my climbing plant to stick to a wall or pole?
Many climbing plants, like Pothos, Philodendron, and Monstera, produce aerial roots that will naturally attach to rough surfaces like moss poles or textured walls. For smoother surfaces, you can gently train the vines using plant clips, soft ties, or small adhesive hooks to encourage them to grow upwards.
Can I let my climbing plants just trail instead of climb?
Absolutely! Most climbing plants are also fantastic trailing plants. Letting them cascade from shelves or hanging baskets creates a beautiful effect. However, providing vertical support often encourages the plant to produce larger, more mature leaves, especially for species like Monstera.
How do I encourage my climbing plant to produce larger leaves?
For many climbing plants (especially aroids like Monstera and Philodendron), providing a vertical support like a moss pole that their aerial roots can cling to, combined with excellent light and consistent humidity, often encourages them to produce larger, more mature leaves. This mimics their natural climbing behavior in the wild.
What's the biggest mistake when caring for climbing houseplants?
A common mistake is not providing adequate support early enough, or not giving them enough light. Without proper light, vines become leggy and weak, making it harder for the plant to climb effectively and produce healthy, full foliage.
Will climbing plants damage my walls?
Some climbers, like Climbing Fig, have very strong aerial roots that can adhere directly to and potentially damage painted surfaces or wallpaper if removed. For these, it's best to provide a separate trellis or moss pole. For plants with less aggressive aerial roots (like Pothos or Philodendron), using removable plant clips is generally safe.
Cultivating Your Vertical Garden
Adding climbing houseplants to your indoor space is a fantastic way to introduce unique aesthetics, maximize greenery, and bring a vibrant, jungle-like feel to any room. By understanding their natural growth habits and providing the right support and optimal light, you can cultivate a stunning vertical garden that truly elevates your home.
Ready to find the perfect light to help your new climbing plants reach their full potential? Take our Lighting Quiz to discover the best Soltech light for your green climbers! →
