Vastu plants: which plants to keep at home and where

Plants bring life and green into a home, and Vastu gives each a place according to the zone it suits. The placements below are what most consultants traditionally give. They are a guide to where a plant sits well, not a promise of what it will bring.

Plants commonly recommended and where they go

Each plant is linked with a direction through the element or the planet of that zone. Tulsi belongs to the sacred north-east and east, the money plant to the south-east, which Vastu links with energy and cash flow, and bamboo to the east, the zone of growth.

Plants commonly avoided indoors

Thorny plants such as cacti are commonly kept out of the house, because thorns are traditionally linked with friction. Many people keep them outside, at a distance from the main door. Roses are usually treated as an exception and are welcome in the garden.

Some traditions avoid bonsai indoors, as a deliberately stunted plant is said to stand for restricted growth. Others see no problem with it, so this is a point where consultants differ.

• Cacti and other thorny plants inside the house.
• Plants with milky sap, which some traditions avoid indoors.
• Bonsai, according to some traditions.
• Dried, dead or dying plants anywhere in the home.
• Creepers that climb the walls of the house itself.

Where to keep plants in the home

Small, light plants suit the north, east and north-east of a room or balcony, where they get the morning sun. Large, heavy pots suit the south and west. This follows the same rule Vastu uses for furniture: heavy in the south and west, light in the north and east.

In the bedroom, many consultants suggest keeping plants few and small, or leaving them out. In the pooja room, tulsi is the plant most often kept near the altar, though many families prefer it in a courtyard or on a balcony where it gets sunlight.

Looking after plants the Vastu way

Dried, yellowing or dead plants are commonly removed straight away. Vastu treats a dying plant in the home as stagnant energy, so a healthy plant in a clean pot matters more than the type of plant.

Water that stands in a bottle or tray for a money plant or bamboo is usually changed every few days. Pots that are cracked or stained are often replaced, and fallen leaves are cleared rather than left to collect.

Adjustments without rebuilding

• A tulsi plant in the north-east or east is commonly suggested as a gentle first step in any home.
• Many consultants suggest moving a thorny plant from indoors to the garden, away from the main door.
• A healthy money plant in the south-east is commonly kept for that zone.
• Heavy planters in the north-east are often moved to the south or west of the same room or balcony.

These are traditional practices that many families follow. They vary between Vastu schools; for your own home, a consultant can say which matter most.

Related Vastu guides

• Garden Vastu: Lawns in the north and east, tall trees in the south and west, water in the north-east, and what to keep away.
• Pooja room Vastu: The best direction for the pooja room or mandir, idol placement, and a pooja corner for small flats.
• Vastu for wealth: The north zone of Kubera, where a locker is commonly kept, water in the north-east and fixing leaks.
• Vastu remedies without demolition: Room use, colours, light, clutter, mirrors, plants, salt and yantras: traditional fixes, and when to rebuild.
• Vastu tips for home: Where each room traditionally goes, how to treat the centre and the corners, and what to change in a flat.
• Money plant Vastu: The south-east and why, pot or bottle, keeping the vine growing upwards, and what the name does not promise.

Your personal best directions come from your Kua number. Check your whole home with the house Vastu calculator, see whether your house number suits you, and find your lucky number. More tools: all free calculators.