Walk into any well-kept Chinese restaurant or family home in San Francisco’s Sunset District and you will see the same trio over and over: a Chinese evergreen on the bar, a money tree by the entryway, and lucky bamboo curled into a glass bowl on the kitchen counter. Growing Chinese plants indoor is a 2,000-year-old tradition rooted in feng shui, but the practical reason these species spread worldwide is simpler. They tolerate low light, infrequent watering, and the dry indoor air that kills tropical divas like fiddle-leaf figs. After fifteen years of installing plants in client homes from Seattle to Atlanta, the Chinese classics have the lowest kill rate of any group I work with.
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Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
Aglaonema is the houseplant I recommend to anyone who claims they kill everything. Native to the subtropical forests of southern China and Southeast Asia, it has adapted to deep shade and stagnant humidity. Modern cultivars like ‘Silver Bay,’ ‘Red Siam,’ and ‘Emerald Beauty’ come in green, silver, pink, and red variegations. A 6-inch potted plant runs $15 to $25 at Home Depot or a local nursery.
It thrives in low to medium indirect light, which makes it perfect for north-facing windows or interior rooms with no direct sun. Water only when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry, usually every 10 to 14 days in winter and 7 to 10 days in summer. Overwatering is the only common killer.
Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
The braided money tree is technically native to Central and South America, but it became culturally Chinese after Taiwanese growers popularized the braided trunk in the 1980s. Feng shui practitioners place it in the southeast corner of a room to attract wealth, though I keep mine on the kitchen island simply because it tolerates the inconsistent watering schedule of a busy household.
- Light: Bright indirect light, will tolerate medium light without complaint
- Water: Every 7 to 10 days, allowing the top inch to dry between waterings
- Humidity: Average household humidity is fine, no misting required
- Temperature: 65 to 85°F, never below 55°F
- Size: Stays 4 to 6 feet tall in a 10-inch pot, slow growth makes it manageable
The braided trunk is decorative only. If one strand dies, the others continue growing. Rotate the pot a quarter turn weekly to keep growth even.
Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
Despite the name, lucky bamboo is not bamboo at all but a member of the dracaena family from west Africa, re-popularized through Chinese culture. It grows in plain water with pebbles for support, which makes it appealing to homeowners who do not want to deal with soil indoors. A standard 3-stalk arrangement costs $10 to $15 at most grocery stores.
Change the water every two weeks using distilled or filtered tap water that has sat out overnight. Chlorine and fluoride yellow the leaves quickly. Add one drop of liquid houseplant fertilizer monthly. Position it away from heat vents and direct afternoon sun, which scorch the leaves.
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
The jade plant is the ultimate set-and-forget species among Chinese plants indoor. Originally from South Africa, it became a fixture in Chinese homes as a symbol of prosperity, prized for its plump, coin-shaped leaves. A mature jade can live 50 to 100 years and grow into a small tree-like form 3 feet tall.
Place it in the brightest window you have, ideally south or west-facing with at least 4 hours of direct sun. Water deeply but infrequently, every 2 to 3 weeks, letting the soil dry completely between waterings. Use a fast-draining cactus mix from Espoma ($8 per 4-quart bag) and a terra cotta pot with a drainage hole. Black plastic pots hold too much moisture and rot the roots.
Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)
Pilea peperomioides only entered Western homes in earnest around 2017, after Instagram discovered its round, coin-shaped leaves on long stems. Native to Yunnan province in southwestern China, it was carried out of Asia in the 1940s by a Norwegian missionary and passed from gardener to gardener for decades.
This plant thrives in bright, indirect light and produces “pups” at the base of the mother plant that you can separate and pot up. A healthy specimen sends up 4 to 6 babies per year, which makes it the cheapest plant to expand or share. Water once a week when the top inch feels dry. The leaves curl downward when overwatered and turn yellow when underwatered, so they read like a tiny meter.
Citrus and Jasmine for Sunny Spots
If you have a south-facing window with 6 or more hours of direct sun, the calamondin orange and Chinese jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) become worthwhile additions. Calamondin produces small, edible sour oranges throughout the year and tolerates indoor culture better than meyer lemons or limes. Expect to pay $35 to $60 for a 2-foot specimen.
Chinese jasmine blooms from late winter into spring, filling a room with the sweet floral scent you find in jasmine tea. Train it on a 3-foot bamboo hoop and keep it in a 6-inch pot to encourage flowering rather than excessive vine growth.
Care Schedule and Common Mistakes
The biggest mistake new owners make is treating all houseplants the same. Tropicals like pothos and philodendron want consistent moisture, while jade, money tree, and Chinese evergreen all prefer to dry out between waterings. Stick a wooden chopstick into the soil to check moisture before watering. If it comes out clean and dry, water. If it comes out damp, wait three days.
Fertilize from March through September with a balanced 10-10-10 liquid feed at half strength every 4 weeks. Skip fertilizer entirely in winter when growth stops. Repot every 2 to 3 years into a container only 1 inch wider than the current one. Going too big at once leads to root rot from soil that stays wet.
