How to Choose a Large Indoor Plant
A large indoor plant is a different purchase from a small one. A 40cm pothos is décor; a two-metre fiddle-leaf fig is closer to furniture — it anchors the room, it arrives by hand, and it should be chosen the way you'd choose a reading chair: for the space it will live in, not just the look of it. This guide covers the four decisions that matter.
1. Start with your ceiling, not the plant
The most common mistake is buying too small. A 150cm plant that looks enormous in a nursery photo disappears against a 2.7m Victorian ceiling. As a rule of thumb, a statement plant should reach roughly two-thirds of your ceiling height:
- 200–220cm ceilings (modern apartments): a 150–170cm specimen — browse our Large Indoor Plants (150–200cm)
- 240–270cm ceilings (Victorian and Edwardian rooms): 170–200cm
- 280cm+ ceilings (period conversions, double-height spaces): a genuine two-metre-plus specimen — see Tall Indoor Plants (200cm+)
Every plant we sell is measured and photographed at true height — the number on the page is the plant that arrives.
2. Match the plant to your light, honestly
Light is the one thing you can't negotiate with. Stand where the plant will go at midday and be honest about what you see:
- Bright, indirect light (near south or west windows): the widest choice — fiddle-leaf figs, birds of paradise, olive trees
- Medium light (a few metres from a window): rubber trees, money trees, tree philodendrons — see our medium light collection
- Low light (north-facing rooms, corners): kentia palms, ZZ plants and the rest of our low light collection
3. Decide how much care you're signing up for
Large plants are, counter-intuitively, often easier than small ones — bigger root systems forgive a missed watering. If you want presence without a routine, start with a kentia palm, ZZ plant or rubber tree from our easy care collection. If you're happy to mist and monitor, a fiddle-leaf fig or bird of paradise rewards the attention.
4. Plan the arrival
A two-metre plant doesn't come in a courier box. Ours are hand-delivered — in London by our own team, who will position it in the room — and every specimen carries a 30-day guarantee with RHS-certified horticulturalists on hand afterwards. Check the nursery pot diameter on the product page against your decorative pot's opening, or add our professional planting service and receive it ready-potted.
The short version
Measure your ceiling, respect your light, choose the care level you'll actually keep up, and buy the finished article rather than a young plant sold as 'large'. Start with the Large Indoor Plants collection — every specimen on it is 150cm or over, grown by the Dutch nurseries that produce Europe's best-formed examples.
