Flowers and plants in Feng Shui

A note before we start: Feng Shui is a traditional Chinese system for arranging space, not a scientific discipline. We treat it as what it is — a tradition with fairly sensible aesthetic criteria behind it, which many people find useful as a framework for deciding where to put things.

The general principle

Plants represent the wood element, associated with growth and vitality. The central idea is that rounded, upward-facing leaves help energy flow, while sharp points and drooping leaves scatter it.

And one rule that holds beyond any tradition: a sick or dried-out plant has to go. A corner with a dying plant in it does no space any good, Feng Shui or not.

The plants most associated with it

Plant	What it represents	Where to place it
Jade plant	Prosperity. The money plant par excellence	Southeast, or near the entrance
Lucky bamboo	Health and growth	East. In an odd number of stalks
Pothos	Softens hard corners and edges	On top of tall furniture, trailing
Anthurium	Hospitality and abundance	Living room, entrance
Orchid	Fertility and relationships	Southwest
Peony	Love and romance	The couple's bedroom
Peace lily	Harmony, calms conflict	High-traffic areas

What the tradition advises against

• Cacti indoors, especially in the bedroom: the spines are read as aggressive energy. (Outside Feng Shui, there is a practical reason too: they almost never get enough light indoors.)
• Dried-out plants or wilted flowers. This is where tradition and common sense agree completely.
• Plants with pointed leaves aimed at where you sit or sleep.
• Too many plants in the bedroom, which is associated with too much activity in a space meant for rest.

By color

• Red and orange: fire. They activate and energize. Living and dining rooms.
• White: metal. Clarity and order. Workspaces.
• Yellow: earth. Stability and center.
• Green: wood. Growth and renewal.
• Blue and purple: water. Calm. Bedrooms and bathrooms.

What to check either way

Whatever system you use to decide where a plant goes, the factor that determines whether it lives or dies is light. You can have the perfect southeast corner and kill the jade plant in three months if no sun reaches it. It is covered in how to care for an indoor plant.