indoorgrowing medium
Windowsill
A pot on an indoor sill. The most common indoor growing situation, and the one most often misjudged.
What this changes about growing
- Light is the limit and it is lower than it looks: glass and the angle of a wall cut incoming light sharply, and a plant a metre back from the window receives a fraction of what one on the sill does.
- A south-facing sill in summer can scorch; a north-facing one will not ripen anything.
- Warm, dry indoor air suits Mediterranean herbs and works against salad crops, which bolt.
- Small pots and central heating together make drying out the usual cause of failure.
What GrowingHQ has assessed in it
Only plants with an actual assessment appear here. A plant that is absent has not been ruled out — it has not been looked at for this method.
| Plant | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Aloe vera | Well suited | |
| Basil | Well suited | A bright warm sill; Watering in the morning, not the eveningThe best indoor herb after chives: warm dry indoor air is exactly what basil wants and what most other herbs resent. |
| Bird of paradise | Well suited | |
| Chilli pepper | Well suited | A south or west-facing sill; A compact cultivarThe standout indoor edible: compact, self-fertile, and it fruits in the conditions a house actually provides. |
| Chinese money plant | Well suited | |
| Chives | Well suited | A cool bright sill; Accepting that it dies back in winter |
| Curry leaf | Well suited | |
| Echeveria | Well suited | |
| Haworthia | Well suited | |
| Hoya | Well suited | |
| Jade plant | Well suited | |
| Lemongrass | Well suited | |
| Lettuce | Well suited | A bright sill; Cutting as baby leaves rather than growing to a heartCut-and-come-again leaf on a sill is one of the few indoor edibles that produces a genuinely useful quantity. |
| Marjoram | Well suited | |
| Moth orchid | Well suited | An east or north window, or behind a sheer curtain |
| Parsley | Well suited | A deep pot; A bright sill |
| Rocket | Well suited | |
| Snake plant | Well suited | |
| Spider plant | Well suited | |
| String of hearts | Well suited | |
| String of pearls | Well suited | |
| Thai basil | Well suited | |
| Vietnamese coriander | Well suited | |
| Anthurium | Workable | |
| Chard | Workable | |
| Chervil | Workable | One of the few herbs a north-facing sill actually suits, because it does not want sun. |
| Christmas cactus | Workable | |
| Coriander | Workable | |
| Dragon tree | Workable | |
| Garlic chives | Workable | |
| Heartleaf philodendron | Workable | |
| Hyssop | Workable | |
| Lemon balm | Workable | |
| Lemon thyme | Workable | |
| Lemon verbena | Workable | |
| Mint | Workable | Consistent moisture; A cool sill rather than a hot one |
| Pak choi | Workable | |
| Parlour palm | Workable | |
| Pea | Workable | Grown as shoots, cut young |
| Peperomia | Workable | |
| Pothos | Workable | |
| Radish | Workable | A bright sill; A trough at least 15 cm deep |
| Salad burnet | Workable | |
| Savory | Workable | |
| Shiso | Workable | |
| Sorrel | Workable | |
| Spinach | Workable | A bright sill; Cutting at baby-leaf size |
| Spring onion | Workable | |
| Sweet pepper | Workable | A compact cultivar; A south-facing sill |
| Swiss cheese vine | Workable | |
| Syngonium | Workable | |
| Tarragon | Workable | |
| Thyme | Workable | |
| Winter savory | Workable | |
| ZZ plant | Workable | |
| Aubergine | Marginal | |
| Bay | Marginal | |
| Beetroot | Marginal | |
| Borage | Marginal | |
| Boston fern | Marginal | |
| Calathea | Marginal | Most windowsills are too bright, too draughty and too dry. |
| Celery | Marginal | |
| Chamomile | Marginal | |
| Cucumber | Marginal | |
| Dieffenbachia | Marginal | |
| Dill | Marginal | |
| Fennel | Marginal | |
| Fittonia | Marginal | |
| French bean | Marginal | |
| Kale | Marginal | |
| Kentia palm | Marginal | |
| Kohlrabi | Marginal | |
| Lamb's lettuce | Marginal | |
| Lavender | Marginal | |
| Leek | Marginal | |
| Lovage | Marginal | |
| Monstera | Marginal | |
| Oregano | Marginal | |
| Peace lily | Marginal | |
| Rosemary | Marginal | |
| Rubber plant | Marginal | |
| Sage | Marginal | |
| Strawberry | Marginal | |
| Tomato | Marginal | A dwarf or bush cultivar; A south-facing sill; Tapping the flowers to set fruit |
| Aglaonema | Not suitable | |
| Alocasia | Not suitable | |
| Apple | Not suitable | |
| Apricot | Not suitable | |
| Blackberry | Not suitable | |
| Blackcurrant | Not suitable | |
| Blueberry | Not suitable | |
| Broad bean | Not suitable | |
| Broccoli | Not suitable | |
| Cabbage | Not suitable | |
| Carrot | Not suitable | |
| Cherry | Not suitable | |
| Courgette | Not suitable | |
| Fig | Not suitable | |
| Garlic | Not suitable | |
| Gooseberry | Not suitable | |
| Grape | Not suitable | |
| Loganberry | Not suitable | |
| Melon | Not suitable | |
| Onion | Not suitable | |
| Peach | Not suitable | |
| Pear | Not suitable | |
| Plum | Not suitable | |
| Potato | Not suitable | |
| Quince | Not suitable | |
| Raspberry | Not suitable | |
| Redcurrant | Not suitable | |
| Rhubarb | Not suitable | |
| Runner bean | Not suitable | |
| Tayberry | Not suitable | |
| Whitecurrant | Not suitable |
Ready-made lists from this group
Built from the same assessments as the table above, filtered to the question a person standing in front of the structure is actually asking.