Anyone who has dreamed of turning their indoor space into a plant-filled paradise will know that a trip to the nursery or garden store can be an expensive venture.
Big plants in particular have seen an incredible increase in both popularity and price.
So, what do you do if you are one of those people that love big plants, but you don’t want to break the bank?
Fear not, houseplants are still one of the most affordable hobbies you can have. In fact, you could get most of the plants you see here today for free.
In this article, I will show you the 10 most affordable large indoor plants and where you can get them the cheapest:
1. Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)
Growing up to 6 feet tall, the Fiddle Leaf Fig is a great indoor plant that grows large green waxy leaves.
They are easy to care for and grow well in moist, humid air, and best of all, you can grow them from cuttings.
Given the size and visual appeal of these plants, they really provide great value.
- Price range: Free from cuttings up to around $130 for a 3-foot plant.
- Size: Up to 6 feet (2 m) tall.
- Light: Bright indirect light.
- Water: Water 1-2 times per week. Keep the base of the soil slightly moist.
- Temperature: Warm temperatures 60 – 70 °F (15 - 20°C) when grown indoors.
- Toxic: Toxic to animals and humans if ingested.
Where to get it: I recommend this one from Costa Farms on Amazon as the best value for money. Plus, it comes multiple sizes and pot options.
2. Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
When you’re really on a budget, the Money Tree is a great option.
Often available in a braided variety, the money tree is low maintenance, and grows well indoors up to around 4-5 feet tall.
The Money Tree is hardy and can grow in full sun or shade and is often available from most local garden stores or online.
- Price range: From $5 for a small 10-inch plant up to $60 for a mature 3-foot plant.
- Size: Up to 5 feet (1.5 m) tall.
- Light: Grows in full sun, partial sun, or full shade.
- Water: Water regularly once a week to ensure soil is soaked.
- Temperature: Between 65-80 °F (18 - 26°C).
- Toxic: Not toxic to pets, may cause stomach irritation in humans if ingested in large quantities.
Where to get it: Perfect Plants on Amazon has a 15-inch plant, just the perfect size to start growing it.
3. Black Velvet Elephant Ear (Alocasia reginula)
This striking large-leaf perennial is a native to SouthEast Asia and is a great indoor plant.
The most common size you will find it is around 2 feet, however it can grow up to 5-6 feet tall with large waxy dark green and white colored leaves.
They are striking looking plants that require little maintenance, and they can produce yellow flowers between their boldly colored leaves.
Taking into account how beautiful they are and how big they can get, you can pick them up at a bargain.
It’s also quite uncommon looking, I highly recommend it if you are missing a darker shade of green in your plant collection.
- Price range: $20-$50 depending on the size and maturity of the plant.
- Size: Up to 5-6 feet (2 m) tall.
- Light: Partial sun or shade, avoid the full sun as it will burn the leaves.
- Water: Water twice a week, keep soil moist and well-drained. Water less frequently during the cooler months.
- Temperature: Grows well in warm climates approx 65-75 ºF (18 - 23°C), and avoid temperatures below 30 ºF (0°C).
- Toxic: Toxic if ingested by humans and animals, sap may cause skin irritation.
Where to get it: Get it from Wellspring Gardens on Amazon as it starts at the best price with free delivery options.
4. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum)
Native to Central America and the Caribbean, this is an affordable and low-maintenance plant that grows in soil or can be propagated in water.
Best of all you can grow it easily from cuttings and once mature will drape long heart-shaped leaves.
Best grown in an elevated pot or hanging basket, this plant grows anywhere indoors and can grow up to 6 feet in length.
- Price range: Free from cuttings, $15-$50 to buy depending on the size, can be expensive to ship when mature due to its large size.
- Size: Up to 6 feet (2 m) in length.
- Light: Avoid direct sun, grows well everywhere else, even in the bathroom.
- Water: Keep soil moist, mist leaves with water once a week.
- Temperature: Grows best in 65-80 ºF (18 - 26°C) range, avoid any colder than 40 ºF (5°C).
- Toxic: Toxic to animals and humans if ingested.
Where to get it: I recommend you this one from Amazon. It’s roughly 4-inch tall with free delivery available.
5. Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
This hardy and low-maintenance plant is a native to West Africa, thriving as a houseplant in cooler climates.
It grows long green leaves with white veins that extend upwards from the fibrous base of the plant and can reach up to 6 feet (2 meters) in height in ideal conditions.
As an added bonus, the Snake Plant not only looks good but is also a great plant for air filtration, with the beautiful colored leaves cleaning over 100 air pollutants from the air you breathe.
- Price range: Free (when grown from a cutting) to $100 for a 3-foot tall plant.
- Size: Up to 6 feet (2 m) tall.
- Light: Grows well in indirect sun and shade.
- Water: Water once per week during the warmer months and once a month or less during the cooler months. Keep away from cold drafty areas.
- Temperature: As a hardy plant, it grows well in temperatures ranging from 50-85 ºF (10 - 30°C) range. Avoid cold drafty areas.
- Toxic: Can be highly toxic to cats or dogs when ingested, causes only mild stomach irritation to humans.
Where to get it: American Plant Exchange on Amazon is where I get mine and it’s the best deal you can get.
6. Multicolor Plant (Stromanthe)
These bright evergreen plants are from the ‘prayer plant’ variety and the brightly tri-colored leaves will curl up each evening as if in prayer for the next morning’s sun.
They’re an attractive indoor plant with green, white, and purple shades to their leaves and are hardy and easy to care for.
Stromanthe plants will get up to 2-3 feet tall, and given they can get 1-2 feet wide and have bold bright colors, they can completely dominate the room.
They’re available from most garden stores, nurseries, or easily available online with free delivery and cost-effective options.
- Price range: $10 for a small plant up to $50 for a mature plant.
- Size: Up to 2-3 feet (1 m) tall and 1-2 feet (60 cm) wide.
- Light: Grows well in full sun.
- Water: Moderate watering once or twice a week, keep the soil moist in the warmer months.
- Temperature: Warm room temperatures between 65-80 °F (18 - 26°C).
- Toxic: Non-toxic to humans, cats, and dogs.
Where to get it: Again, American Plant Exchange on Amazon has a great specimen with free delivery.
7. Tree Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)
Other names: Xanadu
A native to Brazil and the tropical regions of South America, this gigantic plant grows up to 15 feet tall and more than 8 feet in diameter in the wild.
When kept indoors, it will realistically reach 6 feet tall and boasts striking green leaves reaching up to 3 feet in diameter that fan out from fibrous stems.
It can be grown almost anywhere indoors as long as it receives enough light, and grows very well in humid areas such as bathrooms.
Their large leaves also work well to purify the air in your home or indoor space.
- Price range: Can be grown from cuttings so free, expect to pay around $50-$75 for a semi-mature plant around 2-3 feet tall.
- Size: Up to 6 feet (2 m) tall for an indoor plant, with leaves as big as 3 feet (1 m) long.
- Light: Grows best in medium to bright indirect sunlight. Also grows well in shady areas with low-intensity direct light in the winter months.
- Water: Keep the base level of soil moist and only water once the top two inches of soil dry out. Water less frequently in cooler months, around every 2-3 weeks maximum.
- Temperature: Grows well in warm, humid environments between 50-85 ºF (10 - 30°C), keep out of drafty or sustained low temperatures below 30 ºF (0°C).
- Toxic: Contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals making it toxic to pets and children if ingested.
Where to get it: I recommend this one on Amazon, well below the medium price with free delivery available.
8. Elephant Ear Philodendron (Philodendron giganteum)
Much as the botanical name suggests, the Elephant Ear plant is an evergreen exotic plant that has huge leaves reaching up to 3 feet in diameter when grown indoors.
If you are hungry for more iconic plants big green leaves, checkout my top 15 plants with gigantic leaves article.
Overall, they’re a great plant for indoors where you have a large space as the plant can grow up to 10 feet tall.
They are great air purifiers and the vibrant green leaves grow in a large diameter that grow outwards from the fibrous stems and base.
You’ll want to grow them in a large pot for them to reach full size.
Also, keep in mind is these plants love humidity, so it’s encouraged to mist the leaves once or twice a week to keep them in top condition.
Sadly, they’re not easy to propagate. However, they do grow small baby plants that pop up around the edge of the base of the mature plant, and these can be separated and repotted once they are around 6-10 inches tall.
- Price range: Bulbs start at $5, a 3-gallon potted plant will cost around $40 online, a larger plant may cost considerably more due to large size and shipping costs.
- Size: Up to 10 feet (3 m) tall, although it usually reaches 6 feet (2 m) tall indoors.
- Light: Grows best in partial to low filtered sunlight.
- Water: Allow top 2-3 inches of soil to dry out before watering, be sure to keep the soil well-drained to avoid root rot. As these plants love humidity, misting is encouraged.
- Temperature: Grows best in tropical, humid environments, 50-85 ºF (10 - 30°C).
- Toxic: Toxic for humans and pets.
Where to get it: I recommend this one from Amazon as a great XL specimen.
9. Domino Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum domino)
The Domino Peace lily is a flowering subtropical plant and is ideal when you want to create a tropical vibe indoors.
They thrive in low to medium light with moderate humidity and can be easily grown in a well-ventilated bathroom.
Peace Lilies are one of those plants that almost grow square. Reaching 2-3 feet both tall and wide, they appear much bigger than what the measurements suggest once fully grown.
They also are great air purifiers and grow up to around 30 inches in diameter with large, waxy, dark green leaves and will produce large white flowers that grow year-round under the right conditions.
I love Peace Lilies, I own a Domino Peace Lily myself and it’s one of my favorite plants.
- Price range: $15-$50 for a 6-inch potted flowering plant.
- Size: 2-3 feet (1 m) tall and wide.
- Light: Low to medium light, avoid direct sun as it will burn the leaves and turn them brown.
- Water: Keep soil evenly moist throughout the year, water a little less regularly in the colder months. Mist the leaves and flowers once a week during the warmer months to keep them in optimum condition.
- Temperature: Thriving in a tropical environment, maintain a temperature of 60-75 ºF (15 - 23°C), avoid contact with cold drafts.
- Toxic: Poisonous to cats and dogs and mildly toxic to humans if ingested.
Where to get it: Check out this one on Amazon for the most affordable option online. It’s the one I got and it’s superb quality.
10. Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis miller)
Aloe Vera is one of the most popular plants in the world and rightfully so.
Well-known for its skin treatment properties, this attractive succulent grows wild in tropical and semi-tropical climates.
Although Aloe Vera isn’t the biggest plant out there, people don’t realize how big they can actually get, it’s far from a small plant.
It’s also pretty much free as it can be easily propagated from cuttings and grows very fast, quickly reaching into a full-sized plant of around 2-3 feet tall.
- Price range: Free from cuttings (I recommend it, you can find Aloe everywhere). If not it's $9.99-$50 depending on size and amount of Aloe leaves when purchased online.
- Size: 2-3 feet (1 m) tall.
- Light: Grows best in bright indirect sunlight, although can tolerate full sun.
- Water: Water Aloe vigorously and infrequently, allowing the soil to dry out between watering. Water every 2-3 weeks during spring and summer, and less frequently during the cooler months.
- Temperature: Thriving in a tropical environment, maintain a temperature of 60-75 ºF (15 - 23°C), avoid contact with cold drafts.
- Toxic: Can be toxic if ingested, non-toxic to skin.
Where to get it: Although you can get Aloe Vera for as cheap as $9.99, I would recommend you this one from Amazon. The quality doesn’t even come close to other plants at a similar price.
