Best Houseplants To Start From Seed: Easy Plants To Grow From Seed Indoors

(Image credit: Natalia Duryagina)

Houseplants are generally propagated asexually, that is via leaf, terminal or stem cuttings, division, or air layering. You can grow houseplants from seeds as well. What are the best houseplants to start from seed? The best houseplants to start from seed are also easy to grow houseplants for the most part. Keep reading to learn where to get the best indoor houseplant seeds and about houseplants you can grow from seeds. 

Where to Get the Best Indoor Houseplant Seeds

Obtaining indoor houseplant seeds is a little bit more difficult than getting carrot or radish seeds. The best place to find indoor plant seeds is online or through a mail order catalogue. There are numerous specialty plant sellers who deal in indoor houseplant seeds and of course there’s Amazon and Etsy. Also social media is another great place to get indoor houseplant seeds. 

Indoor houseplant seeds do not store well and should be used immediately. They lack dormancy since they originate from temperate regions and thus germinate rapidly in optimal conditions with no need for chilling. 

Best Houseplants to Start from Seeds

The best indoor plant seeds to grow are also the easiest houseplants to grow. If you have a cat, cat grass is an easy houseplant to grow from seed. Cactus, living stone, peace lily, African violet, English ivy, Asparagus fern, gloxinia, coleus, and many herbs are all easy to care for houseplants you can grow from seeds. 

How to Start Indoor Houseplant Seeds

Growing houseplants from seed is not a speedy project. Although germination times vary depending upon the cultivar, it will take anywhere from 2-12 weeks for the seed to germinate. Thereafter it may take a year or longer for the plant to fully mature. 

Fill a container with drainage hole with lightweight soilless medium. Water the medium, allowing the excess to drain out the hole. 

Plant seeds in the container and very lightly cover with medium. Sow the seeds three times deeper than their diameter. Many indoor houseplant seeds are so tiny they don’t really even need to be covered. 

Keep the soil moist with a spray bottle. Place the container in a warm area out of direct sun. 

Amy Grant
Writer

Amy Grant has been gardening for 30 years and writing for 15. A professional chef and caterer, Amy's area of expertise is culinary gardening.