Best Low Humidity Houseplants: Why Umbrella Plants & Pitcher Plants Need a Lot of Water

Growing tropical plants indoors offers a new experience to seasoned plant parents. Nurturing some species can be challenging, but it’s this that makes the encounter even more rewarding! 

Many thirsty houseplants require humid environments, but not all of them. Few plants that need a lot of water thrive in low humidity, so you won’t need to invest in a humidifier or partake in daily misting.

If you’re looking for low-humidity tropical houseplants that love water, we’ve got just the list for you!

Here’s our favorite list of tropical houseplants you can grow indoors that need a lot of water and low humidity to thrive (plus some background on why they love water so much!).

Umbrella Plant

A Cyperus is the ideal houseplant for anyone who loves partaking in daily watering! It’s one of the few houseplants that are impossible to kill by overwatering.

If you like a challenge, an indoor Umbrella Plant is an elegant choice for any home. Its glossy, grassy leaves sprawl in circular patterns, with small white flowers dotted between. When grown correctly, these flowers blossom all summer, even indoors! 

Since the Umbrella Plant originates from the swamps of Madagascar, it thrives in wet, boggy conditions. In the wild, it sometimes grows fully submerged in water, which is why it’s sometimes used as a plant for outdoor ponds.

Despite its ability to live submerged in water, you can care for a Cyperus in a pot as an indoor plant. You just need to ensure the soil never dries out entirely and the plant is watered almost daily.

If you don’t water an Umbrella Plant enough, the roots will dry out, causing the leaf tips to turn brown. If this happens, your plant should recover relatively quickly after a thorough watering.

 

Pitcher Plant

The Pitcher Plant is a unique-looking species. It’s a carnivorous tropical plant that swallows insects, and it has all the unearthly characteristics you’d expect! It grows upwards in blood-red tubes, with fleshy, open-mouthed leaves.

Some plants that love water are easy to care for, but the exotic Pitcher Plant is quite picky. They love to sit in water all day long, but they can only be fed distilled water or rainwater. You can’t use water straight from the tap, as these plants are super sensitive to any salts it may contain.

Because Pitcher Plants originate from boggy conditions, they have a special way of getting nutrients that doesn’t involve having rich soil. It’s why, when growing these houseplants indoors in a pot, you need to use well-draining soil with low fertility.

Even though Pitcher Plants don’t like rich soil, they need regular fertilizing. Since they usually get their nutrients from eating insects, and they can’t do this indoors, fertilizing regularly makes up for the loss of food. 

To fertilize, use an orchid feed and apply it directly into the traps. As you apply the feed, the traps should close, just like they would when insects wander inside. Repeat this process monthly throughout spring and autumn to keep your Pitcher Plant healthy.

Naturally, Pitcher Plants love to simply sit in water all day, but the stems and rhizomes that form just above, or at ground level, are sensitive to root rot. Especially if the soil is just slightly to rich. When watering, it’s best to soak them from the base or use a plant straw! This keeps their roots happy and hydrated, but the top layer of the soil dry. 

Summary

We love houseplants that need a lot of water! High humidity plants can be beautiful, but creating the right environment for them isn’t always ideal for our homes. 

These plants that need a lot of water don’t need a humid environment to survive. They are the perfect choice if you want the aesthetic of a tropical plant, without the fuss of getting a humidifier!

When caring for an Umbrella Plant, remember it:

• Needs daily watering or a plant straw
• Can’t be overwatered
• Is hard to kill

When looking after a Pitcher Plant, remember it:

• Is a picky plant that needs special water and fertilization
• Loves to sit in water constantly
• Needs a well-draining soil