41 Variegated Houseplants With Beautiful Leaf Patterns
Variegated houseplants can add character to just about any indoor garden. Some varieties of variegated indoor plants are also highly sought after due to the rarity of the species, and their unique looks. In this article, we take a look at our favorite indoor plants with variegated leaves, with names and pictures of each!
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Houseplants with variegated leaves are some of the most stunning and unique plants you can have in your home. They feature varying shades of greens, whites, reds, and other bright colors that will leave you in awe. Some variegated houseplants are highly sought after due to their rarity, also making them a little pricier.
While some of the more rare variegated indoor plants can be considered collector’s plants, there are plenty that are budget-friendly and can add plenty of intrigue to your indoor garden. Many variegated houseplants are also low maintenance, making them a great option for new houseplant owners.
So, where do you start? We’ve hand picked some of our favorite indoor plants with beautiful variegated leaf patterns. Keep on reading to find in-depth information on our favorites to add to your indoor garden, with names and pictures of each!
Aglaonema
Scientific Name: Aglaonema pictum tricolor
- Plant Type: Shrub
- Plant Size: 2 feet
- Water Needs: Water when the top soil is getting dry
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
Aglaonema is an excellent variegated indoor houseplant for beginners and experienced plant owners. They’re beautiful and have a variety of patterns on their leaves. The artistic appearance of dark and light green makes them look lavish and like they require a lot of work when in fact, they’re easy to care for.
These houseplants are low maintenance, only requiring you to water them whenever the top soil is getting dry. You’ll use your finger to test this and then add enough water to make it moist again. Be sure not to overwater it.
Since they don’t need direct sunlight, they’re perfect for bedrooms, kitchens, coffee tables, and anywhere that won’t fry its leaves.
Aluminum Plant
Scientific Name: Pilea cadierei
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 1-2 feet
- Water Needs: Once or twice per week
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
An easy to please variegated houseplant is the Aluminum Plant. It gets its name from the silver pattern on the leaves, which resemble aluminum. It can’t be placed on a windowsill because it doesn’t like direct sunlight, but make sure it has indirect light.
Having indirect sunlight not only is what will keep it thriving, but it allows the beauty of the silver pattern to impress anyone in the room.
While caring for the plant is relatively simple, the roots are known to break pots when they need more room to grow, so you’ll need to watch this plant regularly.
Balfour Aralia
Scientific Name: Polyscias Scutellaria’ Balfourii’
- Plant Type: Evergreen
- Plant Size: Up to 6 feet
- Water Needs: Once a month
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
The Balfour Aralia is native to many continents, so you can easily have it as an indoor houseplant almost anywhere. The leaves are lacy, shiny, and feature subtle hints of light green and white shades.
Like other indoor houseplants, the Balfour Aralia doesn’t like direct sunlight. You’ll need to keep it away from window sills and within temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. One of the best parts about having this plant in your home is that you only need to water it roughly once a month.
Birkin
Scientific Name: Philodendron ‘Birkin’
- Plant Type: Self-heading philodendron
- Plant Size: 3 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
A rare and newer variegated houseplant that you will want to get your hands on is the Philodendron Birkin. Often called a Birkin, this beautiful green plant features subtle yellow or white markings that almost look like an artist painted them on the leaves.
Some Birkins have more white or yellow than others, but even if you get one with fewer colors, it’s still a fantastic plant that will look great in your home. Birkin’s look great on coffee tables, kitchens, or anywhere they can receive indirect sunlight.
Creeping Fig
Scientific Name: Ficus pumila variegata
- Plant Type: Vine
- Plant Size: 10-15 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Partial sunlight
Creeping figs are a beautiful houseplant. They have white edges and dark green leaves that are beautiful. Most people have creeping figs outside their homes and allow the vines to grow on the walls, but it’s small enough that you can keep it as a great indoor plant.
The best part about this plant is that you can plant it in a pot and allow the leaves to hang down, hang it in the corner of your room, or place it where it eventually will climb.
These plants work well in almost all areas of your home. You’ll want to keep them out of direct sunlight and not too close to anywhere too cold like an air conditioning unit.
Crinkle Leaf Begonia
Scientific Name: Begonia moyesii
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 3-6 inches
- Water Needs: Every one to two weeks
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
The Crinkle Leaf Begonia is a popular indoor begonia variety that won’t grow to more than half a foot in height. It’s characterized by the ridges and crinkles in the leaves.
While it doesn’t always look like a variegated plant at first glance, as you study the plant and look closely at the leaves, you’ll see shades of deep purple or a maroon hue.
Depending on your specific plant, you’ll only have to water it every one to two weeks, making it a low-maintenance houseplant.
Croton
Scientific Name: Codiaeum variegatum
- Plant Type: Evergreen shrub
- Plant Size: 3-8 feet
- Water Needs: Daily or weekly
- Sun Needs: Medium sunlight
The Croton plant is native to Australia, Indonesia, and other Asian countries, but it makes a great indoor houseplant.
This plant is a larger houseplant but features stunning green leaves with deep red, orange, and yellow shades. The leaves are broad and take up quite a bit of space, so it’s best to ensure you have enough room for them before purchasing this plant.
The Croton can tolerate small amounts of direct sunlight, but keeping it where it gets indirect light is best. Depending on your specific plant, you’ll need to water it daily or weekly. You’ll just need to check for dry soil before watering.
Cryptanthus
Scientific Name: Cryptanthus zonatus
- Plant Type: Terrestrial bromeliad
- Plant Size: 3 inches to 3 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
Cryptanthus is yet another fascinating variegated indoor houseplant that you may want to consider adding to your collection.
It can be pretty small but also reach heights of three feet. The leaves feature deep green shades but many irregular white lines throughout. If you didn’t know any better, you’d probably think it’s fake!
Be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight to ensure the leaves stay healthy and in their pretty state. As for watering, it doesn’t require a lot and should only need watering once a week.
Flapjack
Scientific Name: Kalanchoe thyrsiflora
- Plant Type: Evergreen succulent
- Plant Size: Up to 2 feet
- Water Needs: Every two weeks
- Sun Needs: Partial to full sunlight
Flapjacks are adorable succulents that will spruce up any home or office. They also make for a great gift! The leaves are paddle-shaped and feature beautiful warm hues along with the green leaves.
You’ll see red, yellow, and orange hues scattered around the paddle leaves. Flapjack leaves are known to change colors, too, depending on how much light they receive.
They love partial to full sunlight and can go a while without water, making them one of the easiest indoor houseplants to take care of.
Florida Beauty
Scientific Name: Dracaena surculosa
- Plant Type: Evergreen hybrid
- Plant Size: 2-3 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Moderate sunlight
Florida Beauty is an odd and rare hybrid plant that will catch your eye. The leaves have several lobes but also are long and paddle-shaped.
If you get it when it’s young, you’ll see mostly paddle leaves before several lobes begin to form as it ages. They often almost look like a small person with arms, legs, and even a head.
Most of the leaves boast a deep green shade, but as they grow, you’ll see more and more of the pink-colored stems. They also sometimes have shades of yellow and not pink.
Fruit Salad Plant
Scientific Name: Monstera’ Thai Constellation’
- Plant Type: Variegated cultivar
- Plant Size: 6-9 feet
- Water Needs: At least once a week
- Sun Needs: Gentle sunlight or bright indirect sunlight
Before you jump to conclusions, you can’t eat this Fruit Salad Plant, as tasty as it may sound. This variegated houseplant has large, tropical leaves with varying shades of green.
Some will have more intricate patterns, but whether you have one with minimal or several patterns, they’re still a beautiful plant. They can get tall, making them a great focal point in your home.
They don’t like too much water, so even though you’ll water them once a week, you may be able to get away with less if the soil is still moist.
Golden Hahnii (Snake Plant)
Scientific Name: Sansevieria trifasciata
- Plant Type: Succulent
- Plant Size: 6-8 inches
- Water Needs: Every two to three weeks
- Sun Needs: Direct sunlight or bright, indirect sunlight
Golden Hahnii, is one of many varieties of snake plant. It’s a small indoor houseplant with yellow and deep green leaves. If you struggle with houseplants or are just starting out, this is a great plant to have.
Snake plants are extremely tough. They survive in almost any type of sunlight level, and you only need to water them every two to three weeks for the most part. They can even survive colder temperatures in short bursts. You’ll need to use soil that drains well to ensure that it lasts and not overwater it because it cannot handle too much water.
Golden Pothos
Scientific Name: Epipremnum aureum
- Plant Type: Vine
- Plant Size: 20-40 feet
- Water Needs: Whenever the soil is dry
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
The Golden Pothos is another easy-to-care-for, variegated houseplant. This beautiful plant is ideal for beginners. This beautiful plant is tough like the snake plant but looks different. It also features vibrant green leaves with touches of yellow or lighter green.
The leaves trail down and hang from containers, making them a stunning plant to add to a hanging pot. You can trim the vine as you see fit or let the plant grow and climb.
Golden Pothos is perfect if you love plants but tend to forget about their needs sometimes due to a crazy schedule. They almost thrive on neglect.
Inch Plant
Scientific Name: Tradescantia zebrina
- Plant Type: Spiderwort
- Plant Size: No more than 6 inches
- Water Needs: Regular misting and watering once a week
- Sun Needs: Medium to bright sunlight
An Inch Plant is excellent if you love hanging plants in your home. The plant trails out of the pot and has beautiful deep red and purple hues along with some silver stripes.
While it looks stunning as a hanging plant, you don’t need to hang it to enjoy its beauty. It looks just as lovely in a regular pot on a table. Unlike other houseplants, this one can tolerate direct sunlight.
It thrives in medium to bright sunlight but requires watering at least once a week. It may need more if you leave it in direct sunlight for long.
Lemon Lime
Scientific Name: Dracaena fragrans
- Plant Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Plant Size: 5-7 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Medium, indirect sunlight
One of the most popular variegated houseplants is a Lemon Lime. This plant features broad, almost pointy leaves with dark green and yellow hues. The arching leaves are what draw plant enthusiasts in.
For the most part, this plant is easy to take care of. You only need to water it about once a week or whenever the topsoil is drying. It can even tolerate cooler temperatures, but you shouldn’t let it get too cold from a window, door, or air conditioner. While the plant is beautiful, use caution if you have pets that will eat plants, as this one can be toxic for them.
Milk Confetti
Scientific Name: Syngonium podophyllum
- Plant Type: Vine
- Plant Size: 1-3 inches
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
Milk Confetti is a tiny vine that makes a great indoor houseplant. It’s a pale green plant with oval leaves that point at the tip. As it matures, the arrowhead shape will become more pronounced.
The reason people call this plant Milk Confetti is the amount of white you’ll see on the leaves. The white coloring will spread further across the leaves as it matures, and even slight pink hues will appear. Even though it’s a vine, you shouldn’t expect it to get too long as long as you clip it. It will only be three inches tall.
Minima
Scientific Name: Rhaphidophora tetrasperma
- Plant Type: Perennial vine
- Plant Size: 6-8 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
If you put a Minima and Monstera plant next to each other, you may not be able to tell the difference immediately. Minimas have a similar leaf shape to Monstera, but it’s a much smaller plant, making it ideal for a house or office.
The leaves range from deep emerald shades to a lighter, almost yellow hue. When you place it in a pot, you’ll see the vines growing sideways and toppling over the edges of your pot. It’s a beautiful plant to add to a hanging pot in your house, as long as you keep it out of direct sunlight.
Moon Valley
Scientific Name: Pilea involucrata’ Moon Valley.’
- Plant Type: Cultivar
- Plant Size: 12 inches
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Moderate to bright light
This indoor houseplant is a stunning and unique one to have. Moon Valley’s leaves look like waffles and have ridges and crinkles, similar to the craters on the moon.
When in the flowering season, you’ll see small white flowers emerge, making the plant even prettier than it already is.
It cannot handle direct sunlight but appreciates bright or medium light. A great thing about this plant is that it can handle high humidity, so if you live in a humid area, you don’t need to worry too much about it.
Nerve Plant
Scientific Name: Fittonia albivenis
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 3-6 inches
- Water Needs: Every 4-7 days
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
If you haven’t heard of a Nerve Plant before, you may have heard it called a Mosaic Plant. They’re the same plant but depending on who you ask, you’ll hear it called a different name.
The Nerve Plant gets its name from the tiny colorful lines spread across the deep green leaves. They look like veins or a mosaic pattern. The colors range from pinks to rich purples.
Sometimes it will flower with red and yellow spikes, but flowering is rare with this plant. The plant doesn’t get very tall, but it can get wide.
Orbifolia
Scientific Name: Calathea orbifolia
- Plant Type: Prayer plant
- Plant Size: Up to 3 feet
- Water Needs: When the top inch of soil is dry
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
Orbifolia plants are native to Bolivia but make great houseplants throughout the world, but are best in temperate environments. This type of calathea has broad leaves that feature dark and light green horizontal stripes.
They prefer bright, indirect sunlight but can tolerate a darker space if need be. Even if it has to be in a darker room, you should do your best to move it back to indirect sunlight soon rather than later. Keeping it in indirect sunlight will keep the vibrant, striped leaves looking brighter and more appealing.
Peace Lily Domino
Scientific Name: Spathiphyllum wallisii
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 20-30 inches
- Water Needs: Every 2-3 weeks
- Sun Needs: Medium to bright, indirect sunlight
For beginner houseplant owners, a Peace Lily is a great one to start with. If you want an even more beautiful variety, though, the Domino variegated plant is even better.
The Peace Lily Domino features green leaves with a white marble design that makes this one stand out amongst other plants. You may see it begin to produce white flowers during the spring or summer.
This is one of the easiest plants to care for. It prefers soil that’s only slightly moist, which means you only have to water it every two to three weeks.
Pearls and Jade Pothos
Scientific Name: Epipremnum aureum
- Plant Type: Evergreen vine
- Plant Size: 6-10 feet
- Water Needs: Every 1-2 weeks
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
Pearls and Jade Pothos is a rare variegated plant botanists at the University of Florida developed. The leaves of this plant are a lighter green with a yellow or pale green marble pattern that’s different on every leaf.
This climbing vine does wonders when against a wall, but if you don’t want the vine sprawling against your walls, putting it in a hanging pot where the vines can flow down is a great idea.
These plants can flower, but since they’re manufactured creations, they often need intervention to encourage flowering.
Philodendron Florida Ghost
Scientific Name: Philodendron pedatum
- Plant Type: Evergreen hybrid and vine climber
- Plant Size: 2-5 feet
- Water Needs: Once a month
- Sun Needs: Dim or bright, indirect sunlight
Many variegated plants get their names because of their appearance, and the Florida Ghost is no different. The Florida Ghost has a white or ghostly color on its leaves. It’s an uncommon type of philodendron that’s increased in popularity over the last several years.
You can watch the leaves boast white shades as it ages while turning from bright lime green to a darker shade in only two weeks. The combination of different green hues and white makes this an attractive houseplant.
The plant is rare but easy to care for if you can get your hands on one. It needs indirect sunlight and only needs watering about once a month. Be careful if you have kids or pets, as it’s a toxic plant when ingested.
Prayer Plant
Scientific Name: Maranta leuconeura
- Plant Type: Flowering plant
- Plant Size: 10-12 inches
- Water Needs: Every 1-2 weeks
- Sun Needs: Moderate, indirect sunlight or shade
Prayer Plants are another popular indoor houseplant you’ll find in most nurseries or other places selling plants. They have deep green leaves that boast yellow dots.
Something unique about this plant is that the foliage will lay flat during the day when receiving sunlight but will fold up at night, giving in to the prayer hands where it gets its name.
While Prayer Plants can flower, they rarely flower when indoors. If you are lucky enough to have a Prayer Plant that blooms indoors, you can expect tiny white flowers to emerge in Spring.
Rattlesnake Plant
Scientific Name: Goeppertia insignis
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 9-20 inches
- Water Needs: Every few days to keep the soil moist
- Sun Needs: Medium to bright sunlight
Rattlesnake Plants have leaves resembling patterns you’ll see on a rattlesnake. The crinkled leaves have green and black marks throughout them. Sometimes, the black spots are just a darker green.
This plant requires more watering than some indoor houseplants, but you can quickly tell if it needs watering by touching the soil to see how moist it is. You need to be extra careful not to overwater this plant.
This perennial needs medium to direct sunlight to thrive. You can leave it on your windowsill or place it anywhere else in your home with great sunlight.
Red Aglaonema
Scientific Name: Aglaonema commutatum
- Plant Type: Evergreen
- Plant Size: 2-3 feet
- Water Needs: Every 5-7 days
- Sun Needs: Medium sunlight
Red Aglaonemas are incredibly low maintenance and beautiful plants. The majority of the leaves on this plant are red or even a darker pink shade. The green surrounds the bulk of the leaves, making it a unique variegated plant.
The best thing about these plants is that they can grow in almost any environment. You can give it low light, bright light, or something in between, and it can still thrive. You should try to water it every five to seven days, but it can handle an irregular watering schedule.
Red Spot
Scientific Name: Syngonium podophyllum
- Plant Type: Arrowhead plant
- Plant Size: 1-2 feet
- Water Needs: Whenever the topsoil feels dry
- Sun Needs: Medium to low sunlight
Originally from Mexico and Brazil, Red Spot plants are climbing plants that do excellent as indoor houseplants. The leaves on this plant have an arrowhead shape and several vibrant colors.
You’ll see Red Spots with more than just red hues. You’ll see deep greens, pinks, and even whites or cream shades. The white shades are rare and minimal, if they appear at all, but the combination of colors is still stunning.
Watering instructions for this plant will vary depending on your specific plant. You can touch the soil and whenever it feels dry, give it some water.
Royal Variegated Banana
Scientific Name: Musa x paradisiaca
- Plant Type: Banana plant
- Plant Size: Up to 8 feet
- Water Needs: Every 2-4 days
- Sun Needs: Bright sunlight
The Royal Variegated Banana plant is an excellent option for those who love a sizeable indoor houseplant. These trees can get up to eight feet tall when indoors, so you may want to be careful if you have low ceilings.
Royal Variegated Banana trees have the same characteristics as traditional banana trees, but the long, large leaves boast beautiful white shades. It needs bright sunlight and water pretty frequently to ensure it grows strong and the leaves stay vibrant.
Silver Urn Plant
Scientific Name: Tradescantia tricolor
- Plant Type: Evergreen perennial
- Plant Size: 4-11 inches
- Water Needs: Whenever the soil starts to dry
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
The Silver Vase Plant, also known as the Urn Plant, features dark green, point leaves with scattered silver markings.
This plant needs indirect sunlight, but the brightness nearby will allow the silver shades on the leaves to shine and stand out. If you love to pair flowers with your houseplants, this one looks fantastic with pink, red, and white flowers.
Silver Queen
Scientific Name: Aglaonema commutatum
- Plant Type: Evergreen perennial
- Plant Size: 5-10 feet
- Water Needs: Whenever the soil starts to feel dry
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
Silver Queen plants look like royalty. The plant’s foliage is the perfect combination of green and silver shades. It’s a beautiful gift to give others if you want to make your home feel fancier.
The leaves grow upright and give the plant a different appearance. Indirect sunlight is needed to keep this plant looking its best.
Something to remember with this plant is that it doesn’t do well in colder environments. Therefore, you’ll want to keep it away from air conditioning units and windows or doors when it’s cold outside.
Speckled Japanese Aralia
Scientific Name: Fatsia japonica
- Plant Type: Shrub
- Plant Size: Up to 5 feet
- Water Needs: When the top third of the soil dries out
- Sun Needs: Partial sun to shade
Speckled Japanese Aralia is often referred to as Spider’s Web. These plants have a solid white pattern that compliments the green leaves well.
Even though you’ll keep this plant indoors, the colors can change with the seasons. Sometimes you’ll see more green, other times a solid white pattern. They love tropical environments but thrive indoors too.
These plants are simple to care for and require little watering. You can use your finger to see how damp or dry the topsoil is before watering or misting the plant. Even indoors, this shrub can get rather tall if you don’t clip it.
Spider Plant
Scientific Name: Chlorophytum comosum
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 12-15 inches
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Moderate to bright, indirect sunlight
The Spider Plant is one of the most common houseplants in the world, and for a good reason. It’s small, easy to care for, and looks great by itself or with other plants. The leaves look like ribbons with shades of green and white hanging over the side of their container.
This plant is excellent for those who love plants but sometimes forget to water them. Spider Plants can withstand dry spells frequently and low light. While it can handle these situations, you should stay on top of watering to keep it pretty and looking its best.
Stromanthe Triostar
Scientific Name: Stromanthe sanguinea
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 2-3 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
If you love variegated plants that feature pink hues, you’ll love the Stromanthe Triostar. This indoor houseplant is not only easy to take care of but looks gorgeous in your home or office.
The leaves of the Stromanthe Triostar are long and pointed with deep green shades and vibrant pinks and red shades. The colors will stay vibrant as long as you don’t place them in direct sunlight, which can cause the leaves to turn brown and die.
Stromanthe Triostars can get pretty large for indoor plants, so you might want to place it in a pot on the ground or a corner table.
Swallowtail Plant
Scientific Name: Christia obcordata
- Plant Type: Flowering plant
- Plant Size: 18-24 inches
- Water Needs: Twice a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
If you love butterflies, then you’ll love this variegated houseplant. Also called a Butterfly Plant, a Swallowtail Plant’s leaves mimic the look of butterflies! The plant’s leaves have brown stripes that many butterflies have.
These plants need a little more watering than other houseplants, but twice a week is the norm for most Swallowtail Plants. Since they prefer indirect sunlight, they look fantastic in almost any area that receives a decent amount of sunlight.
When potting this plant, you should use well-draining soil, preferably organic. As for fertilizer, an all-purpose fertilizer should work well.
Swiss Cheese Plant
Scientific Name: Monstera Deliciosa
- Plant Type: Climbing shrub
- Plant Size: 3-8 feet
- Water Needs: Every 2-4 weeks
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
The Swiss Cheese Plant is a fascinating variegated plant with extra-large leaves with varying shades of green and white spots. The monstera family is native to Southern Mexico, so it can survive in indirect sunlight and without water often.
The plant gets its name from the hole in some leaves, allowing it to resemble swiss cheese. The leaves resemble a sizable tropical plant, so they’re often introduced to tropical climates.
Since you’ll be keeping it inside your home, you don’t need to worry too much about how it’s become a mildly invasive species.
Tineke Rubber Plant
Scientific Name: Ficus Elastica
- Plant Type: Evergreen tree
- Plant Size: 2-10 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Bright, indirect sunlight
Tineke Rubber Plants are small little trees that are perfect for keeping in your home. The plant showcases thick foliage with leaves that have many color variations.
You’ll see green shades as you would with every plant, but some plants have cream, yellow, red, and pink patches on them. You might even get one that features all five colors if you’re lucky.
These plants love bright, indirect sunlight, so you won’t want to place them directly in front of a window, but they need to be somewhere sunlight can still reach them.
Variegated African Violet
Scientific Name: Saintpaulia Ionantha
- Plant Type: Perennials
- Plant Size: 8-16 inches
- Water Needs: When the soil is dry to the touch
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
Another show-stopper of a houseplant is the Variegated African Violet. The classic African Violet is already a beautiful plant, but the variegated version is ten times more beautiful.
This plant’s leaves have several shades of purple, pink, white, and green. Depending on the plant you get, you might have one with a lot of one color and none of another, but regardless of which one you have, they’re stunning. These small plants are easy to take care of, only needing watering when the topsoil feels dry to the touch.
Variegated Monstera
Scientific Name: Monstera borsigiana
- Plant Type: Cultivar
- Plant Size: 10-35 inches
- Water Needs: When the top quarter of the soil is dry
- Sun Needs: Gentle sunlight
This plant comes from the classic Monstera plant. Over 100,000 clippings were propagated to get this plant. Not all propagated Monsteras have variegated leaves.
Variegated Monstera plants are among the most attractive indoor houseplants you can add to your plant collection. The leaves have a tropical appearance and feature shades of deep green and bright white areas.
The split-leaf appearance is going to make it the star of the show in your plant collection, especially if it’s the only variegated plant you have.
Watermelon Peperomia
Scientific Name: Peperomia argyreia
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: 12 inches
- Water Needs: Every 1-3 weeks
- Sun Needs: Medium to bright indirect sunlight
A unique variegated plant to add to your collection of greenery in your home is a Watermelon Peperomia. While all variegated plants look impressive, this one takes it to a new level.
Watermelon Peperomia plants feature leaves that look strikingly similar to watermelon skin! It’s also one of the most popular types of peperomia as an indoor houseplant. While it looks like a watermelon, you don’t want to try to eat this plant.
It’s a smaller plant, never getting taller than 12 inches, so it’s perfect in an office or kitchen and as a centerpiece on a coffee or dining table.
Weeping Fig
Scientific Name: Ficus triangularis
- Plant Type: Evergreen tree
- Plant Size: 3-6 feet
- Water Needs: Enough to keep it moist
- Sun Needs: Filtered, bright sunlight
Unlike other variegated houseplants, shrubs, vines, or succulents, the weeping fig is a stunning little tree. The leaves are thick and waxy with a dark green and spots of a creamy white color.
As it matures, it can get about six feet tall, but it fits in perfectly with your other favorite houseplants when it’s young.
Watering the plant is easy and should only be about once a week. You can tell it needs water if the topsoil feels dry. It’s a stubborn plant that hates moving, so once you find its home in your house, it’s best to leave it there.
White Fusion
Scientific Name: Calathea lietzei
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Plant Size: Up to 2 feet
- Water Needs: Once a week
- Sun Needs: Indirect sunlight
Arguably one of the most stunning variegated indoor houseplants is the Calathea White Fusion. Many leaves have white marks and light shades of pink, purple, and green.
This plant can be a little more challenging to grow and care for than some others, but if you have the time and patience, it’s worth it. Once you get the hang of the plant, it grows fast and can last for a long time.
White Fusions are sensitive and don’t like too much water or too much light, so finding the perfect combination of both is key to a beautiful plant.
Final Thoughts
Houseplants with variegated leaf colors can add an array of beautiful colors to any indoor garden space. Most variegated indoor houseplants are easy to take care of as long as you know their needs. Make sure to water them as needed and give them only enough sunlight to ensure their leaves don’t fry, and you’ll enjoy most of these beautiful plants a decade or longer.