30 Subtropical Fruits & Spices to Grow INDOORS on your Windowsill

Not every tropical (or subtropical) fruit is suited for windowsill cultivation; some fruits and spices just grow too big for a container garden, and your windowsill can’t keep them happy. This is my giant go-to list (to be expanded as time goes on!) of temperate-zone fruit trees, spice plants, and more that are suited to indoor growing. (Side note before we get started: if you’re not sure where to get started finding tropical fruit or spice plants for your windowsill garden, I wrote a quick rundown of a few of my favorite online nurseries in an earlier post. Keep in mind these are just a few ideas to get you started – there are many more reputable sources out there, so don’t stop with these!)

Banana: It’s tough to convince a potted banana tree to fruit, but for sheer wow-factor, it’s hard to beat this subtropical fruit. There are SO many dwarf banana trees available to grow indoors – and they’re so easy to grow, even on a windowsill! I recommend starting from a pup, but if you want to try a cheaper method, I’ve written up a how-to guide on starting banana trees from seed.
Lemon: My hands-down, number-one pick for windowsill gardens; if you are only going to grow one potted fruit tree indoors, make it the lemon. You can’t beat the ease of care, production power, and the usefulness of the fruit. (Looking for care tips? My book, The Complete Mini-Guide to Growing Windowsill Lemon Trees is available on Amazon in paperback or ebook formats… or if you would prefer the cliff notes version, I have a series of blog posts with care guides for growing lemon trees indoors)
Orange: I love lemons… but the orange tastes better for fresh eating! Just about as easy to care for as the lemon, the orange tree is an amazing windowsill fruit tree – and because there are so many dwarf orange trees available, you can grow a whole orchard of orange trees indoors! Just make sure you know whether you are picking a sweet orange for fresh eating or a sour, culinary-use variety.
Lime: Key lime pie, anyone? Lime juice is useful in so many dishes, and it’s pretty unusual to grow your own limes in northern climates. If you want a potted subtropical fruit tree that sets you apart from the neighbors without breaking the bank, this affordable, easy-care citrus tree may be the one for you.
Tangerine: If you’re looking for a potted citrus tree to grow indoors but you don’t want to risk picking a sour type, go with a tangerine. There are many sour oranges out there that are great for baking but too tart for fresh eating – but tangerines? Almost always fantastically sweet. Hard to go wrong with this one.
Avocado: I had a LOT of false starts with the avocado. You can’t grow a fruit-bearing windowsill avocado from a pit – but you can find a windowsill-friendly dwarf avocado tree from a nursery! Growing potted avocados is a little delicate (ask me how I know… oops), but it’s doable and you can grow your own avocados indoors, even in cold climates!
Pomegranate: Ahhhh one of my favorites. Pomegranates are such a weird, weird fruit – and it is SO cool to be able to share your own home-grown pomegranates with friends! Growing pomegranates indoors can be incredibly easy if you choose the right dwarf tree; however, some of the more tasty varieties are tougher to grow in pots, so know what you’re getting before you buy. If you’re not sure what cultivar to look for, check out my article on different types of windowsill pomegranate trees.(Looking for more in-depth information? The Complete Mini-Guide to Growing Windowsill Pomegranate Trees is available on Amazon in paperback or ebook formats… or check out my series of blog posts with care guides for growing pomegranate trees indoors)
Pineapple: Hands down the most impressive windowsill tropical fruit you can grow. Growing a pineapple plant indoors is so easy and so striking – just watch out for the pokey leaves! As a potted plant, pineapples need a little more effort than, for example, growing a potted citrus tree, but the taste of your own homegrown pineapple is so worth it. If you want a real challenge, you can try to grow your own pineapple plant from seed… But be aware that pollination is actively discourages by commercial growers, so the odds are definitely not in your favor!
Coffee: I don’t even drink coffee. But at this minute, I have – really – nine different coffee plants growing on my windowsill. The drink is addictive… and growing potted coffee plants is addictive, too! As an indoor plant, the coffee “tree” is easy-care, very forgiving, and very striking… but producing enough for a steady supply of coffee might take a full greenhouse. Just heads up!
Papaya: Nothing says Hawaii like a fresh-picked papaya, and it’s very easy to find a potted papaya tree suited to windowsill growing! If this fruit is on your bucket list, you have multiple options available from today’s online nurseries.
Citron: The citron comes in many different shapes and sizes, but one of the most striking is the Buddha’s Hand variety. If you’re looking for a highly unusual windowsill subtropical fruit you can grow indoors – one that your neighbors may never have even heard of – this easy-care citrus tree may well be your best bet!
Guava: Once a rare, hard-to find fruit, the guava has experienced a sudden popularity boom – and in addition to being able to find guava trees at online nurseries, I’ve even found young potted trees for sale at my local farm store! Take advantage of the popularity and add this subtropical fruit to your windowsill today!
Dragonfruit: Looking for a completely unique, conversation-starter fruit that will set you apart from all the gardeners AND cooks you know? The Dragonfruit simply can’t be beat! There is a wide variety of tree types available, and there are windowsill-friendly types that produce fruit in a variety of colors. It’s an odd one, but it’s definitely the type of unusual fruit to put you on the map for local windowsill gardeners!
Loquat: I’m kind of embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure out what a loquat is. I’d skimmed past the listing in so many nursery catalogs… and all this time I thought it was a type of potted citrus. Nope. This is more like a medlar (although it’s not that either). Sometimes called the Japanese plum, this is definitely an unusual fruit to grow indoors on your windowsill.
Fig: I have a tiny fig tree, and it’s one of my favorite windowsill fruit trees. It’s so photogenic, and it’s tough too – hanging on with grim determination, even when conditions aren’t easy to deal with. You can get potted fig trees in a variety of sizes and types, and these dwarf trees do great when grown indoors on a sunny windowsill.
Kumquat: The jury is still out on what type of plant this is… some people consider it a citrus, some don’t. In any case, the kumquat is “close enough” to be treated for just about the same way, although the fruit is closer to grape-sized. A potted kumquat tree would definitely be an unusual addition to your windowsill garden.
Macadamia: Is there a better nut tree to grow indoors??? I think not! The macadamia nut is a fabulously useful nut, and I was absolutely thrilled when one of my favorite plant nurseries started carrying a potted macadamia tree. You can also start one of these trees from seed… but heads up, that seed is a tough, tough nut to crack. You will need to put a lot of effort into scarification, or your seeds will never germinate. (And in terms of harvest, heads up… I literally had to use an arbor press to crack the shell off the nut. This isn’t an easy pick-and-eat nut!)
Mango: This highly popular fruit DOES come in dwarf sizes, if you put in enough work and research hunting for them. Just heads up that allergies may be a problem for some people, particularly if you have sensitivity to poison ivy (weird, I know).
Olive: Drought means NOTHING to the olive. NOTHING. This tree laughs in the face of drought… so you if you regularly forget to water your indoor windowsill garden, this may be the perfect potted tree for you! Do watch out if you have allergies (in some locations, growing olives is banned entirely), and be aware that curing homegrown olives is a complicated process. Although you can purchase olive seeds for planting, I recommend buying a started plant instead. It is really hard to get the olive to germinate, partially because of the incredibly tough seed coat. Scarification is no joke with this seed!
Passion Fruit: The passion fruit is grown as often for its unique flowers as for its fruit. As an addition to a windowsill garden, the passion fruit is highly unusual, a real conversation piece, and surprisingly easy to find at multiple nurseries and suppliers.
Starfruit: The starfruit is another one of those fantastically unique fruits that is hard to find in a supermarket – and the bragging rights of growing your own are second to none. You can find windowsill-friendly starfruit trees at online nurseries, but I’ve never found one at a local greenhouse (at least in my region).

SUBTROPICAL SPICES TO GROW ON YOUR WINDOWSILL

Black Pepper: Black Pepper is one of my highest-recommended starter plants for growing your own spices indoors. If you’ve wanted to get into growing subtropicals but you’re afraid to kill off the tender plants in your northern winters, start with black pepper. It’s very forgiving, quick to grow, and is amazingly useful. I love mine.
Cinnamon: I’ve had my eye on a potted cinnamon tree for YEARS. Growing cinnamon indoors on my windowsill is a bucket-list goal… it’s one of those incredibly difficult plants that was never designed to grow indoors, and nurturing it to harvesting size is a huge accomplishment. It’s on my list!
Curry: Although I’m admittedly not a huge fan of the taste, growing curry on my windowsill has been a super fun experience. It’s a leafy herb-type plant that seems hardy enough to survive all the nasty cool-weather tricks my northern windowsill can throw at it. Highly recommended! Be aware though, that the spice you know as curry is not the same taste you will get from the plant called curry. Curry spice is typically a blend of multiple spices (or at least it is in my neck of the woods). The curry leaf is valuable in cooking, yes, but it’s not the same thing… just like a bell pepper isn’t the same as the black pepper you shake on your food. Same name, different thing.
Cocoa: Another bucket-list item, right here. I must admit, I’ve never actually harvest my own cocoa pods… but making my own homegrown chocolate is high (like, reeeeeally high) on my want-to list! It’s all a matter of how fast I can budget for the hefty purchase price…
Vanilla: My vanilla orchids are hands-down some of the coolest plants I’ve ever owned. I LOVE these things. They’ve been very forgiving, are fun to train along a trellis, and let’s face it, there are few windowsill-grown spices as useful as vanilla. What more could any container gardener wish for? Be aware that it takes a long time and just the right environment to encourage blossoms to appear, so if culinary value is your goal, be prepared to put a lot of effort in.
Allspice: Typically a large tree, you can get and grow allspice in a shrubby growth form with a little research and some careful gardening. This is a highly unusual windowsill spice plant, so you may have to dig a little harder to find a nursery, but I’ve found them – so I know it can be done!
Anise: Yet another bragging-right spice plant that is rarely grown by northern gardeners, growing anise will give you points for uniqueness. I have to be honest, I don’t use the spice often enough to make it worth my time – but if you’re looking for a more vegetative than woody spice plant (anise is an annual!), this may be your best bet.
Ginger: An easy-grow root-based spice, ginger does well when potted on a warm windowsill. I’ve grown ginger, and I can personally vouch for the plant’s incredible hardiness and sheer “coolness” factor. (And it doesn’t hurt that I’m a huge fan of sushi…)
Turmeric: Incredibly similar to ginger, turmeric is a fantastically useful spice that’s easy to grow and fund to experiment with different types and varieties. I don’t personally use it for medicinal qualities, but I’ve heard great things about the spice. Growing turmeric indoors on a windowsill is both easy and provides a healthy, homegrown spice option. You can find turmeric and its relatives available in different colors, also!

Obviously, not all of these amazing tropical and subtropical fruits and spices will be the perfect fit for every windowsill. Everyone has different spatial considerations, home environments, even allergies – and not all gardeners will want to grow the whole list! However, from this giant list of indoor container gardening plants, almost every gardener can find at least one fruit or spice to grow indoors and bring the taste of the tropics to your windowsill… even in northern climates!

This post was originally published for 2022. The post has since been updated to keep information and links current.