Best Plants for Pots Outside Your Front Door

Last Updated on October 31, 2021 by Phil

Think your home’s entrance needs a little sprucing up? Here are the best plants for pots outside your front door.

These are perfect if you want to add a touch of nature or bright splashes of colors to liven up your porch or doorstep.

But, make sure they’re big enough so people will instantly notice them. And, they need to have something that makes a nice first impression.

To help you do that, consider the lovely plants below. They’re all of different types so you can choose what kind you prefer.

Best Plants for Pots Outside Front Door

Marigold

Marigolds are amazing in containers because it causes the plant to become compact. As a result, you’re able to see its blooms stand out ever more from the leaves.

Its blooms are no doubt its most attractive features. Yet despite this, they are easy to grow and can adapt to conditions easily.

Do note that there are many different types of marigold around. Each of them with distinctively different looking flowers.

For example African Marigolds look like pom poms which make their blooms look fluffy. French Marigolds are more prolific. As a result, they can become more bushy.

This not only gives you the choices of many different bright colors but also looks as well.

Hydrangea

Speaking of looks, it is almost impossible to miss. These flowering shrubs are known for their showy blooms that look like individual puffs of colored clouds.

You have the option of going with blue, pink, white, green, red or purple depending on what look you’re going for.

They can grow to as big as 15 feet on the ground. But, are more manageable when kept in containers.

Nevertheless, they’ll look their best when you allow them to get bushy and overflow around the edges of the pot.

Begonia

Begonias are another wonderful flowering plant to grow in pots. Note that there are many different types of begonias and they all look different.

So, you do want to select the blooms that represent the look you’re going for the most.

In fact, while begonias are most known for their flowers, there are a few amazingly stunning foliage begonias you may consider as well.

In general, these don’t have blooms that are as big as hydrangeas. However, they make up for that is number and darker, brighter hues.

Boxwood

Speaking of foliage, Boxwood are well known evergreen shrubs that can grow thick and tall. This makes them popular for hedges, low fences and privacy screen.

You do want to choose the dwarf varieties since these grow to between 2 and 8 feet high when planted in the ground. As such, they’re much smaller in containers.

However, you can likewise keep them in large pots to take advantage of the lovely shapes you can make from them.

Boxwood are mostly green. Although you’ll see some that are more yellow. They enjoy full sun but can tolerate part shade which makes them perfect for the pots on your entryway or doorstep.

Sweet Alyssum

In case you want something more subtle or classical looking, consider sweet alyssum. Visually, they’re carpets of small flowers. White is popular.

Although, you can opt for purple if you want some extra color. Or, pink of you want something in between.

Caladium

Caladium are best known for their showy foliage. These are oversized relative to he plant which is why some people consider them elephant ears while others call them angel wings.

Either way, it’s the amazingly colored patterns in their large, thin, arrow-shaped leaves that make them stunning to look of. Often you’ll find some combination of green, pine and a bit of red in there.

But, as beautiful as they are there are a few things to consider.

One, they are hardy to USDA zones 9 and 10. Thus, they can’t take the cold. If you keep them there, they turn into annuals.

Also, caladium are toxic to pets and humans.

Ferns

Ferns are foliage plants that give you another dimension. While they’re mostly composed of leaves like the Boxwood, the give you a completely different look because of how their fronds.

Additionally, they are resilient, require little care and are hard to kill.

Thus, they’re very popular indoor plants and you’ll see lots of them in offices, commercial building reception areas and even hotels.

Because there are over 12,000 different species, you do want to pick out what you want. Often, ferns will have varying shaped fronts.

Petunia

Petunias are amazing in pots and planters. They produce a lot of flowers which make them beautiful to look as they fill the entire container with flowers.

Plus, they come in many different bright colors which gives you tons of options.

Unfortunately, there are another plant that thrive in warm conditions and are afraid of the cold. Thus, it is only a good idea to keep them in your doorstep all year round if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11. Otherwise, do bring them indoors around fall and take them outside again after frost has passed.

Coleus

Next on our list of best plants for pots outside front door is the coleus. These are another foliage plant.

But this time you have all sorts of different small to medium sized leaves.

What makes them special is their color and patterns. Some have very subtle patterns or solid colors. But, they still amazing colors that immediately bring a splash of joy to anyone who sees them.

If you want something people will talk about, consider those with multiple colors and different patterns.

These are showstoppers.

Lantana

Another great option from our choices of best plants for pots outside front door are lantanas. These look more like cut flower or bouquet arrangements when grown in pots.

Each flower features an amazing mix of colors if you opt for multi-colored ones. Those with single hues are usually bright like orange, yellow, white and pink.

As such, they’re perfect for making your front entrance very welcoming.

Cactus

Cactus come in all shapes and sizes. And because you’re going to display them in your front door, you want to skip the small indoor cacti that are mostly for tabletop décor.

Instead focus on garden cacti which are bigger. These easily adapt to being grown in containers. And, they’ll be big enough for visitors to appreciate.

The best part about cacti is they’re very low maintenance. This means infrequent watering, no pruning and you can neglect them quite a bit without any issues.

Umbrella Tree

The Schefflera plant if often called the umbrella tree because of the way its foliage form shapes of an open umbrella. The tree part comes from the fact that it grows upward and looks more like a mini tree or a skinny bonsai rather than a houseplant.

Each stalk can produce 12 to 16 leaflets once it matures. But, younger ones only make 4 to 6 per stalk. So, you’ll see the umbrellas become more intricate as it gets older.

Umbrella trees can grow to between 4 and 15 feet high. But, in containers they’re much smaller which makes them about the right size for front door décor.