Which plants & flowers are considered lucky?

Throughout history, plants and flowers have adopted various meanings derived from myths, religious texts and ancient beliefs, including a few that are said to bring luck and prosperity! 

Below, we’ll dive into which of these are lucky for the different occasions in your life (including weddings and birthdays), the importance of placement, Feng Shui principles and how colours can affect their meaning. 

Our artificial plant and flower expert, Sarah Dowsett, shares her expert insight on the meaning of various plants and how best to use them, including a few low-maintenance faux alternatives. Meanwhile, our interior design expert, Annabel Thain, has some tips on how best to incorporate these plants into your space. 

Which plants & flowers are considered lucky? 

• Lucky plants for the home
• Lucky plants & flowers for a wedding
• Lucky plants & flowers for a birthday
• Lucky flowers for anniversaries
• Lucky flowers for every occasion
• Lucky plant & flower meanings

Lucky plants for the home

• Bamboo
• Chinese money plant
• Snake plant

Bamboo

According to Vastu Shastra (the Ancient Indian practice of balancing architectural elements with natural energies to promote harmony and prosperous living), bamboo is one of the luckiest plants you can keep around your home.  

It's even said that the number of stalks represents specific blessings:  

• Three stalks: happiness, good fortune and longevity  

• Five stalks: health, balance and physical well-being  

• Six stalks: wealth, prosperity and financial opportunities  

And it’s not just Ancient India who believed that bamboo was lucky. According to Feng Shui, bamboo embodies the elements of wood, water and earth – the perfect recipe for harmony in your home.   

Just like Vastu Shastra, Feng Shui also recommends placing your bamboo on the east side of your home to attract wealth. 

Chinese money plant 

The pilea, or Chinese money plant, is popular for attracting luck and prosperity! It’s believed to have the power to attract positive energy, making it a must-have for your home. 

This little guy is also affectionately named the ufo-plant, pancake plant and the friendship plant, making it a brilliant gift for your friend's housewarming or as a cute desk buddy.

The only downside is that the pilea is fond of warmer temperatures, humidity and bright light, but you can make your life easy with our faux pilea plant.  

Not sure if faux plants are for you? See our article on real vs artificial plants. 

Snake plant

The leaves of the snake plant are thought to act as shields from negative energy and evil spirits, which makes this another good luck plant that’s perfect for the entrance of your home. It’s also a good choice for your home office, where it can ward off any stress and unwanted energies. 

The sansevieria’s snake-like leaves tend to come in two variations – a green marble pattern or variegated green and yellow markings. Choose which one best suits your interior and pair it with a nice pot to compliment your space. 

Lucky plants & flowers for a wedding

• Rubber tree
• Peonies
• Lilies
• Heather
• Anthurium

Rubber tree 

The bold rubber tree makes an excellent wedding gift to send wishes of luck and prosperity. 

Its rounded, emerald leaves are perfect for softening your interior, offering a sense of peace and relaxation, and are said to attract good fortune and success – ideal for a wedding! 

Its simple greenery means that you can jazz it up with a more colourful pot, or any planter to match your decor. 

And if the bride or groom are renowned plant killers, you can opt for a faux rubber tree instead!  

Pssst! Need more help with going faux? See our guide to choosing an artificial houseplant. 

Peonies 

Pink peonies, in particular, are said to be brilliant good luck plants and make excellent buttonholes for weddings.

In Japan, they’re known to symbolise prosperity, good luck, love and honour, making them the perfect wedding flower. In China, they symbolise wealth as once upon a time, only Chinese emperors used peonies.  

Although the peony flowers themselves represent good luck and prosperity, planting a peony bush can have the opposite effect. It’s said that if your peony bush has many blooms, good fortune is coming your way. However, if the leaves turn brown and the flowers fade, you’d best prepare yourself for a spell of bad luck! 

Lilies 

Lilies are full of superstition, often seen as flowers for sympathy. But did you know that lilies are also a sign of good luck, fortune and prosperity? 

Peace lilies are particularly lucky and are known to promote inner peace and happiness – plus a small pop of white can elevate your wedding flowers, adding a touch of sophistication.

Alternatively, peace lilies make excellent gifts as they’re fairly low maintenance flowers. 

Heather 

There are various myths and legends that depict white heather as a symbol of good fortune. Some say that it’s lucky due to its rarity (like a four-leaf clover), while others say that white heather grows on the final resting place of fairies. It’s also long been associated with victory in battle. 

In wedding flowers, white heather can add that extra pop of delicate, dreamy colour. It’s often used in bridal bouquets to bring good luck for the big day and was even used by Princess Anne on her wedding day in 1992.

Anthurium 

The anthurium flower is said to bring luck into your relationships while representing happiness, hospitality and protection - so it’s perfectly suited to a wedding, either to be included in your wedding flowers, or as a gift.

Lucky plants & flowers for a birthday

Below are a few of our favourite lucky plants and flowers for birthdays, each blooming with luck! Alternatively, see our guide to birth flowers and find your lucky flower – similar to gemstones! 

• Bromeliad
• Sweet William
• Jade plant
• Calathea

Bromeliad 

Available in a range of colours to suit their style and personality, bromeliads are known to bring good fortune and are a perfect gift for those who like something a little rare and unusual. 

They like a warm, bright room and are a little sensitive to tap water, so they’re best given to an experienced plant parent, or someone who enjoys a challenge!

Sweet William

These country cottage blooms are a sweet way to celebrate someone's birthday. While not strictly known to be lucky, our plant and flower expert, Sarah, has listed them as one of the best flowers for birthdays. 

Sweet Williams are a personal favourite of mine and their particularly good for birthdays as they symbolise gratitude and admiration!

They grow in a variety of colours from dark red and purple to bright shades of pink and white so their great for combining with other lucky flowers to create a colourful floral arrangement. 

Jade plant 

When it comes to birthdays, you can’t go wrong with a jade plant!  

Also named the lucky plant or money plant, this succulent goes perfectly in any interior and has been considered lucky for centuries. 

When used in home offices or at the entrance of shops and businesses, it’s thought to attract wealth and prosperity, while enhancing financial opportunities. 

The jade plant is one of the most popular Feng Shui plants, due to its thick green, rounded leaves. It enjoys bright light, so it’s best placed on a windowsill or somewhere with plenty of natural sunlight.

Calathea 

These beauties are like a living work of art! Calatheas possess unique leaves with the most beautiful colours and patterns, making them one of the most popular houseplants in recent years. 

Their nightly leaf-folding routine has earned them the nickname ‘prayer plant’ and is seen as a gesture of gratitude and a physical manifestation of meditation and peace, like two folded hands in prayer.

Sadly, their beauty comes at the cost of being a little finicky. These are tropical plants which need plenty of humidity, warmth and light. Fortunately, we have a number of faux calathea plants to make things easy.

Lucky flowers for anniversaries

• Tulips
• Cornflower
• Geraniums
• Chamomile

Tulips

Tulips are said to represent a perfect and deep love, which already makes them an excellent anniversary gift, but they also symbolise good luck, joy and happiness. 

You can take them one step further as the colour of a flower can have a huge impact on the meaning it brings.   

Pink tulips are particularly good for anniversaries, as they represent affection, good wishes and happiness, and can be given alone in a bunch, or paired with other blooms, like roses.  

Complete your bouquet with a few faux eucalyptus branches to create a fuller effect, and once the flowers have faded, you can keep the eucalyptus as a sleek and stylish decor piece. 

Cornflower 

Bluebottles, knapweeds and Batchelor's button are just a few of the nicknames the charming blue cornflower has adopted.  

This striking, deep blue wildflower is said to be a symbol of hope, good fortune and devoted love, which makes it an ideal candidate for an anniversary gift.

Throughout history, the cornflower has been associated with luck, hope and protection, most notably in Greek and Roman mythology, making them symbols of good fortune and prosperity.

Naturally, cornflowers bloom all summer long and are one of the boldest wildflowers. Try pairing them with poppy’s, daisies and other wildflowers to create a colourful, country cottage-style arrangement. 

In fact, we’ve done this for you with our faux meadow bunch!

Geraniums

Geraniums are said to represent two people coming together in mind, body and spirit and are thought to attract happiness, health and good luck.

They’re the traditional flower to celebrate a 4th wedding anniversary and symbolise bliss, good health, peace and love – perfect for showing your other half how much you care!

While geraniums make beautiful anniversary flowers and are rich in symbolism, you may need to be careful about where you keep them if you’re a fan of Feng shui. 

According to Ancient Chinese practice, geraniums absorb negativity, therefore it’s best to keep them outside on a terrace or in your garden, so as not to spread that negativity indoors.

Chamomile 

Throughout history, chamomile has been used as a symbol of good fortune, attracting love, wealth and luck! According to Celtic folklore, it was even used as an ingredient in love potions. 🪄 

In modern times, it’s thought that chamomile can transform negative energy into positive energy and is said to symbolise joy, positivity, happiness and peace, which we think earns it a spot among our top anniversary flowers. 

What’s more, chamomile is also the birth flower of April!

For a full list and to learn more about flower symbolism, visit our guide to flower types and their meanings.

Lucky flowers for every occasion

In addition to flowers for weddings and birthdays, there are lucky flowers that suit any occasion.

• Lotus flower
• Snowdrops
• Lilac
• Lisianthus

Lotus flower

The lotus flower is often seen as a symbol of hope and good luck, particularly in Eastern cultures. 

Its power to emerge from murky water and bloom into something beautiful symbolises resilience through life’s struggles, purity and spiritual enlightenment.

The lotus flower can be an excellent addition to your interior if you want to follow floral feng shui principles, and it’s particularly popular when celebrating Chinese New Year.

In ancient Chinese tradition, the lotus flower is said to boost the balance of positive chi energy in your home, while its seven petals are believed to represent the seven chakras, which are considered the main energy centers along your spine and are associated with promoting harmony and well-being.

Associated with the water element, it’s best placed in a Northern space of your home to enhance your career and life path.

Snowdrops

With delicate white heads, the snowdrop is seen as a lucky flower and a symbol of hope, signifying that winter is drawing to a close and spring is on the way.

As with many white flowers, the snowdrop is said to symbolise purity and is believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits and protect your home by planting them near your front door or windows.

However, the snowdrop is also surrounded by superstition, particularly from the Victorian era. Instead of a symbol of hope and purification, it’s said that bringing a snowdrop over the threshold of your home was a harbinger of death and ill fortune.

Fortunately this superstition has passed, though it can’t harm to keep them outside!

Lilac

Just like the snowdrop, lilac flowers are rich with symbolism and can bring both good and bad luck, depending on their colour.

Purple lilacs are said to bring good luck and wisdom. They symbolise the “first emotions of love”, while white represents “youthful innocence” according to Kate Greenway's 1884 book, ‘Language of Flowers’.

When it comes to flowers, the colour purple is often associated with tranquility, elegance, royalty and success, while white flowers symbolise purity, innocence and peace.

While purple lilacs may bring good luck, white lilacs have been known to bring bad luck if brought inside your home. This superstition is thought to derive from Victorian times when the lilac’s sweet scent was used to mask the smell of death.

Lisianthus

This pretty flower symbolises gratitude, good luck and appreciation, among other good qualities. For this reason, it’s perfect for gifting to a friend and is particularly good as a Mother’s Day gift.

Unfortunately, lisianthus flowers can be tricky to grow and can take six months to bloom in the summer.

For this reason, it can be worth picking up a few faux lisianthus stems if you want to include them in your own flower arrangements.

Need more help with lucky plants & flowers? 

We hope this guide comes in handy when searching for your next good luck plant, whether it’s for your home, wedding, or as a gift!  

If you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole, you can find more research and faux plant tips and tricks in our other blogs.