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.

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