The Best Trailing Plants for Apartments (Hanging Baskets, Shelves, and High Spots)

Last updated: 01.07.2026.

Trailing plants are the small-space gardener’s best friend. When you have no floor space and a windowsill that is already full, you go up and let plants spill down: off a shelf, out of a hanging basket, down the side of a bookcase, across the top of a kitchen cabinet. Suddenly the whole vertical dimension of a tiny apartment becomes growing space, and the room looks lush instead of cramped.

I have leaned hard on trailing plants in every small apartment I have lived in, a Brooklyn studio, a cramped London flat, a Berlin Altbau with high ceilings and no floor to spare. They turn empty walls and high corners into greenery without taking a single square foot you actually use. Here are the best ones, sorted by how much light and care they need.

The easy, low-light trailers (start here)

These thrive away from windows and forgive neglect, perfect for a beginner or a dim apartment.

Pothos. The undisputed king of trailing plants. It cascades for feet, roots from any cutting, tolerates low light, and survives serious neglect. Variegated types add color. If you grow one trailing plant, grow this. (More on keeping it healthy in why your pothos keeps dying.)

Heartleaf philodendron. Pothos’s equally easy cousin, with softer heart-shaped leaves. Fast, forgiving, and happy trailing from a shelf in a dim corner.

Spider plant. Sends out arching stems with baby plantlets dangling on the ends, which looks fantastic from a height and propagates itself endlessly. Tough and adaptable, and a great pet-safe choice.

These three are also the backbone of a low-light plant collection, so they double up nicely.

The medium-light trailers (a bit more light, a lot of style)

These want bright indirect light and reward you with standout looks.

String of hearts. Delicate, fast-growing vines of small heart-shaped leaves that can trail several feet. Loves a bright spot, drought-tolerant (it stores water), and one of the prettiest plants you can hang.

Tradescantia (wandering dude). Shimmery purple and silver leaves, grows almost aggressively fast, and roots from cuttings in days. Wants decent light to keep its color. Brilliant value for how quickly it fills out.

English ivy. Classic cascading vine, elegant down a shelf or bookcase. Wants bright indirect light and decent humidity. (Note it is mildly toxic to pets, so check the pet-safe list if relevant.)

The trailing succulents (for bright spots and forgetful waterers)

For a sunny window and minimal watering, trailing succulents are ideal.

String of pearls. Strands of little round bead-like leaves that spill dramatically from a hanging pot. Wants bright light and very little water. Striking, though a touch fussier about overwatering.

Burro’s tail. Plump, tactile trailing stems of overlapping leaves. Loves bright light, stores water, and asks almost nothing of you beyond not overwatering.

These want a bright window and the lean watering of any succulent, so let them dry out fully between drinks.

How to display trailing plants in a small space

The whole point is using vertical and overhead space you are not otherwise using:

• Hanging baskets in front of a window or from a ceiling hook. A simple macrame plant hanger or a hanging planter puts greenery at eye level and above, using zero floor or surface space.
• High shelves and bookcases. Let pothos or ivy spill down the side of a shelf. The higher the start, the longer the cascade.
• Top of cabinets and wardrobes. That dead space above kitchen cabinets is perfect for a trailing pothos.
• Wall-mounted shelves and brackets. A few wall shelf planters turn a blank wall into a green one.

This pairs naturally with going fully vertical, covered in how to build an indoor vertical garden, and trailing plants are the stars of the best plants for a vertical garden too.

A couple of care notes for trailers

• Most trail longer with more light, but pothos and philodendron stay full even in low light, just with more space between leaves in dim spots.
• Rotate them so they grow evenly rather than reaching to one side.
• Trim and propagate. Pinch back leggy vines and pop the cuttings in water to propagate into new plants. Trailing plants give you endless free cuttings, which is how one pothos becomes a whole wall of them.
• Mind the watering. Plants up high are easy to forget, so build them into your routine, and remember the usual overwatering caution still applies even when they are out of sight.

Trailing plants are the single best way to make a small apartment feel green and alive without sacrificing the space you live in. Start with a pothos on a high shelf, watch it cascade, and you will quickly want them in every corner of the ceiling. For arranging them alongside the rest of your plants, indoor plants for studio apartments and how to build a plant corner round out the small-space picture.