Harmonising Your Home: Best Plants for Feng Shui & Positive Energy

 

In the ancient Chinese practice of Feng Shui, your home environment is directly linked to your well-being and prosperity. Plants are considered one of the most powerful tools in Feng Shui, as they represent the vital element of Wood, symbolising growth, vitality, and upward movement (positive Chi or energy).

Choosing the right plants—and placing them strategically—can help correct energy imbalances, promote health, and attract wealth into your space.

Here is a guide to the best plants for Feng Shui and positive energy in your home, along with tips on where to place them for maximum benefit.

 

Top 5 Plants for Attracting Positive Chi

These plants are widely recognised in Feng Shui for their specific attributes, such as attracting wealth, promoting longevity, and filtering air.

1. Money Tree (Pachira Aquatica)

  • Energy Focus: Wealth, Prosperity, and Financial Success.

  • Why it Works: Its distinctive braided trunk and five-lobed leaves are said to bring good luck and represent the five fundamental elements of Feng Shui. It's often associated with stability and resilience.

  • Best Placement: The Wealth Area of your home (the southeast corner, according to the traditional Bagua map), or near your home office/workspace.

2. Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)

  • Energy Focus: Protection, Strength, and Upward Energy.

  • Why it Works: The sharp, vertical leaves cut through negative energy and are excellent air purifiers, removing toxins like formaldehyde. Its strong, upward growth signifies the growth of positive Chi.

  • Best Placement: Areas that need protection or strong energy, such as a back corner, in a large, open living room, or near a doorway to ward off negative Chi. Avoid bedrooms due to the sharp energy.

3. Jade Plant (Crassula Ovata)

  • Energy Focus: Friendship, Wealth, and Longevity.

  • Why it Works: Also known as the "Friendship Tree" or "Money Plant," the Jade Plant features thick, round, coin-shaped leaves that symbolise luck and wealth accumulation. Its slow, steady growth suggests long-lasting prosperity.

  • Best Placement: The Wealth Area (southeast) or the Health/Family Area (east). Place it near the entrance of your home to welcome prosperity.

4. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

  • Energy Focus: Peace, Tranquility, and Air Purification.

  • Why it Works: The Peace Lily is one of the best plants for filtering common indoor air pollutants. In Feng Shui, its name and soft white flowers symbolise peace, emotional calm, and harmony within the home.

  • Best Placement: Bedrooms (it promotes restful sleep) or the Family Area (east) to encourage calm communication. It’s also excellent in a home office to reduce stress.

5. Orchid

  • Energy Focus: Fertility, Love, and Abundance.

  • Why it Works: Orchids are considered highly beneficial for attracting love and strengthening relationships. Their beautiful, symmetrical flowers and various colours each carry a different meaning—pink for love, yellow for friendship.

  • Best Placement: The Relationship Area of your home (southwest corner) or your bedroom.

 

 

Plants to Use Sparingly or Avoid

While most healthy, vibrant plants are considered good Feng Shui, there are a few general rules to follow:

  • Cacti and Succulents with Spikes: Cacti are discouraged in living areas and bedrooms because their sharp needles are said to introduce sharp, aggressive Sha Chi (negative energy). If you love them, place them far from your living spaces, such as on a windowsill facing an outdoor view you wish to protect.

  • Dead or Dying Plants: Any plant that is wilting, dry, or sickly represents stagnant or negative energy. Remove it immediately or nurse it back to health in a separate space.

  • Bonsai Trees: While beautiful, the practice of stunting a plant's natural growth (which Bonsai entails) can be seen as symbolising stunted growth or slow progress in your own life.

 

 

Best Placement Tips for Optimal Chi

The placement of your plant is just as important as the plant itself.

  • East & Southeast: This is the Wood element area. Plants here promote health, family harmony, and wealth. These are the best directions for placing your greenery.

  • South: This is the Fire element area. Wood fuels fire, so plants here can boost recognition and fame, but use them sparingly to avoid over-activating the area.

  • West & Northwest: These are Metal element areas. Plants are discouraged here as Wood destroys Metal. If you must place a plant here, choose one with rounded leaves (like a Jade Plant) and a white or metal pot to balance the elements.