If you’re ready to fill your home with plants, but you feel unsure if the growing conditions are right in your space, it’s worth considering an indoor greenhouse for your apartment.
Greenhouses come in all shapes and feature a wide selection of materials so you can find the right one for your needs that also fits with your decor.
Here are our top five recommended greenhouses that are perfect for every type of plant owner, from a casual hobbyist to a passionate plant enthusiast. We’ll also go over essential features to consider and how they can help your plants flourish.
5 Indoor Greenhouse Ideas
We’ve got our favorite picks for an indoor greenhouse for your apartment outlined for you below:
1. Topline Mini Garden Greenhouse
The Topline mini indoor greenhouse is ok to use in a shaded area outdoors but is best for smaller spaces like in front of an apartment window since it measures 27 inches high by 19 inches wide and 27 inches long.
These dimensions provide ample space for several smaller houseplants, and the PVC cover allows for natural light to shine through. You can also add a grow light of your choice, and the bar across the top of this greenhouse makes mounting one easier.
You won’t need any tools to assemble this indoor greenhouse for your apartment, and it lifts up and off of your plants, so you have easy access. This greenhouse is suitable for year-round use indoors and features durable steel tubing with plastic connectors for added durability.
Pros:
- Lightweight and durable materials
- Suitable for seedlings, delicate plants, and maintaining mature plants
- Helps to preserve warmth and humidity with the clean PVC cover
- Compatible with different styles of grow lights
Cons:
- No door on the PVC cover for easy access
2. Ikea Greenhouse
The Ikea greenhouse is an attractive metal indoor apartment greenhouse with a more polished look. This mini indoor greenhouse features transparent polyester panes that are safer than traditional glass and more resistant to breakage.
The top of this greenhouse folds open, and each of the lid pieces features a piece of chain to hold them in place as you work with your plants.
This greenhouse is ideal for maintaining moisture and warmth for more sensitive houseplants and allows for airflow as it is not watertight or sealed around the edges of the base.
Pros:
- Made from durable alloy steel and transparent polyester panes
- The lid folds open on either side
- A solid base contains water runoff
- Easy to remove from the base for cleaning
Cons:
- Ideal for very small plants or seedlings
3. Giantex Garden Portable Wooden Cold Frame Greenhouse
This heavy-duty wooden greenhouse is an ideal indoor greenhouse for your apartment if you need something a little bigger but still want a stylish product. The top of this greenhouse flips up and features two option bolts that hold it firmly in place.
All of the pieces of this greenhouse detach so you can move it whenever without using tools.
The shelves adjust to accommodate a wide range of plant sizes, and the solid, semi-transparent polycarbonate side panels keep out unwanted moisture and strong lighting to maintain the ideal growing environment.
The Giantex portable greenhouse also features two doors that fold out on the front, which give you easy access to your plants. This door is secured with a simple wooden latch in the center and at the base where the two doors meet for added security.
Pros:
- Generously sized with adjustable shelving to suit plants of all dimensions
- Multiple sizes available
- Flip-up lid for adjusting ventilation
- Lightweight and easy to move
Cons:
- A limited number of shelving heights
4. Amerlife 4 Tier Mini Greenhouse
The Amerilife mini greenhouse has a small footprint, making it an ideal indoor apartment greenhouse if you have a more significant number of plants to protect.
This greenhouse features a PVC cover that can keep out even tiny insects and a roll-up door that zips closed for a sleek and polished look.
The wire shelving is sturdy enough to hold larger plants but is also suitable for seedling trays. It’s possible to use several different grow lights with this greenhouse, and the powder-coated steel frame resists rust.
The shelving in this greenhouse isn’t adjustable, but it’s easy to disassemble and move without the need for tools. Each shelf holds 33 pounds, and this greenhouse is appropriate for some outdoor conditions, such as on a protected patio or deck.
Pros:
- Sturdy powder-coated steel frame
- Comes with extra ropes and hooks for securing in place
- The zippered door rolls up and out of the way for easy access to plants
Cons:
- Fixed shelving height spaced 13-inches apart
5. Quictent Garden GreenHouse
The Quictent Garden Greenhouse is better suited for a larger surface such as a countertop or table as it has no attached base and features a larger footprint.
This medium-sized unit functions well as an indoor greenhouse for your apartment as it accommodates different grow lights and measures 71 inches wide by 36 inches deep and 36 inches high.
If you’ve been looking for a unit to enclose all of your houseplants, this greenhouse will work quite well with its PVC cover that is waterproof and features UV protection.
There are also two doors and four individual zippers so you can close up the greenhouse to hold in the warmth or open the zippers for better ventilation.
You don’t need tools to assemble this greenhouse, and it’s light enough to move around quickly. This unit would fit well in front of a sliding glass door but is versatile enough that you could also use it on a patio or deck over potted plants or a small raised bed.
Pros:
- Easy to assemble without tools and move around as needed
- Two doors for easy access to plants and precise ventilation
- Suitable for indoor and outdoor use with its tightly zippered cover
Cons:
- No built-in shelving
- Might be too large for smaller apartments
What to Look For in a Greenhouse for Your Apartment
When you’re shopping around for a greenhouse, it’s a good idea to know how to use an indoor greenhouse in your specific space to get the best result. There are also other factors to consider when it comes to indoor greenhouses to ensure your plants get the best growing conditions possible.
Here’s our list of what to look for in an indoor greenhouse, and the features that can have the most impact on your plants’ growth.
Size and Shape
One of the most important considerations when you’re looking for an indoor greenhouse for your apartment will be the size and shape.
Finding a greenhouse of the right size for your space means double-checking the measurements carefully and thinking about the possible locations that will provide your plants with ideal growing conditions.
Your greenhouse doesn’t have to sit next to a sunny window necessarily if you invest in a grow light that’s strong enough for the plants you grow.
Seedlings will likely require additional lighting anyway as even south-facing windows don’t always provide enough light during certain times of the year.
Functionality and Features
Many greenhouses come with features such as:
- PVC, glass, fiberglass, or plastic covers
- Zippered openings or folding doors
- Slatted or wire shelving
- Adjustable shelving
- Ventilation
- Robust yet straightforward frames made from wood, plastic, or metal
Smaller greenhouses infrequently require tools for assembly, and they are easy to move as needed.
If your greenhouse doesn’t come with built-in lights, it’s often not hard to mount some given the frame’s position in relation to the shelving.
Depending on what you want to grow or how often you want to interact with your plants, you’ll want to look for some specific features. If you plan to handle your plants frequently, having multiple doors and openings that allow you to keep the door material out of the way easily is a big help.
If your plants require intense light, you’ll want to look for a greenhouse that allows for larger or more plentiful grow lights.
For plants that prefer high humidity, having better ventilation options can help prevent mold growth and allow you more options when it comes to circulating the air inside the greenhouse.
Larger or heavier plants will need more robust shelving, and if you move often, you’ll want to get a greenhouse with a frame that disassembles easily into manageable sized pieces.
Budget
Indoor greenhouses come in a wide range of prices, so it’s best to set your budget early on in the shopping process. Metal greenhouses or larger units typically cost more, but plastic, PVC, and fiberglass are less costly and offer excellent durability.
If your budget is tight, keep in mind that even a simple 20-inch square mirror box or greenhouse is enough space to get you started and can hold a few small plants or one large specimen.
There are also some attractive DIY options online, and you can always upgrade your greenhouse as needed.
Materials
Small greenhouses often feature lightweight materials such as steel or plastic tubing and lightweight plastic covers.
These light materials make it easy to move the greenhouse when you choose to move apartments but also ensure you can quickly relocate the greenhouse within your apartment whenever you wish.
Keep in mind that wood frame greenhouses tend to soak up water more readily than plastic frames and potentially show watermarks or other wear if your greenhouse routinely has high humidity conditions.
What Do You Want to Grow?
There are many plants that you can grow in your greenhouse, but they often require different growing conditions and space to thrive.
For food-producing plants, you’ll probably need supplemental lighting and larger pots than you would for cultivating small succulents or low light tropical plants.
It’s possible to group your plants by their greenhouse needs and add lighting, humidity, and ventilation until you find their preferred conditions. This way, you can grow different types of plants together, such as:
- Strawberries
- Citrus fruits
- Herbs
- Cacti
- Succulents
- Tropical foliage
Keep in mind that some plants will grow taller than others, and having adjustable shelving might be necessary to contain your collection of plants.
For food-producing plants, you’ll want to make sure there’s also enough horizontal space for them to spread as plants like strawberries don’t grow very tall.
Lighting
You’ll likely need to add some supplemental lighting to your greenhouse, but the good news is that there are several different lighting options to choose from that can work with any style greenhouse you choose.
Consider using lights that can clamp onto the frame, light panels you hang from a hook or the greenhouse frame, and even grow lights that resemble a tree with multiple branches you can position.
Final Thoughts
To find the best indoor greenhouse for your apartment, you’ll need to decide on the right size and shape for your space and the plants you want to grow.
The Topline Mini Garden Greenhouse is our top pick thanks to its compact size, tool-free assembly, and lightweight construction that makes it easy to move where you need it.
Most greenhouses are relatively lightweight and easy to move, but their features often differ, and this can significantly impact how comfortable you are as you tend your plants.