I haven’t really talked about this on my blog yet, but I’ve recently become quite obsessed with houseplants. Over the past year or so, I’ve accumulated over 50 houseplants in my tiny apartment. (I know, it’s a problem.)
From my trials and tribulations of owning houseplants, I’ve learned that some plants are easiest to care for than others. Here are my top favorite and easy houseplants to care for! (In no particular order.)
1) Air plants!!
I absolutely love air plants! At one point in time, I had up to five air plants! Each of my air plants is a different species, but I think that they’re all pretty comparable in maintenance. They’re probably the easiest plants to take care of because they don’t require soil, so they don’t attract insects; they only require watering around once a week; and they thrive in low light. (YES, air plants do need water! Contrary to what I’ve heard from some people who have [now dead] air plants). They’re also fairly cheap (typically less than $5) and you can find them at many box stores now, like Target and Lowe’s. However, I loved to go to my local “EcoGro” plant shop in Tucson, Arizona, so just Google “air plants near me” and you’ll probably find a good nursery that sells air plants.
2) Pothos
Pothos are notoriously easy plants to take care of. I currently have a normal green golden pothos at home that has grown so much since I got it a few months ago, and I also have one at work on my desk that also continues to grow. I also have ‘N Joy, neon, silver and Marble Queen pothos varieties at home. Pothos are a vining plant, so you can put them basically anywhere. They require watering like once a week and are very easy to propagate (when you grow new plants from a cutting of a larger plant) in water. T ome, you just can’t have enough pothos. They range in price depending upon the size of the plant and where you’re buying them, but you can find them basically everywhere for pretty cheap.
3) Cactuses! (*yes, “cactuses” is the correct AP plural of cactus)
As you can imagine, cactuses are easy to care for because they only require watering once or twice a month. They can grow so quickly if you give them enough light, too. They come in so many different varieties and nearly all species of cactuses require the same amount of maintenance. My favorite is the “old man cactus” or Cephalocereus senilis. You can find cactuses in any plant shop or box store and they’re typically pretty cheap ($2-6).
4) Snake plants
Snake plants are those plants to put in that darker corner of your room that has very little light. They require minimum (although they do require some light, which many people forget) and watering two or three times a month. I have a few different types of snake plants and am attempting to propagate two more from cuttings, and all of the plants seem happy! I keep a snake plant at my desk at work and it seems pretty happy too. Some snake plant varieties can be a little tricky to find, at least near me, but they’re definitely becoming more common. They’re typically pretty cheap if you buy a small plant, but they can get expensive if you buy the larger plants.
5) ZZ Plant
ZZ plants, or Zamioculcas plants, show you so much love. They require watering once every one to two weeks and low light. They’re not the fastest-growing plants, but they can grow pretty big rather quickly. You can find ZZ plants at many plant stores and box stores since they’re currently a “trendy” plant. Mine was about $13 at Home Depot.
6) Syngonium
Syngonium plants, often called “arrowhead plants” are really cool plants. Syngoniums require low to medium light, and they tend to move towards the light so you have to rotate them every once in a while (I tend to rotate mine every few weeks). They require watering about once a week and I keep mine in terracotta so I don’t over-water it. I have a few different varieties and they’re beautiful. You can find syngoniums at plant stores or box stores ranging in price depending on size but typically less than $10.
7) Dracena
I’ve had a few different varieties of dracena… and if we’re being technical, technically snake plants (sanseveria) are dracena, but I’m still classifying them as different for this post because they look different. I water my dracena once a week and they get low to medium light. Again, I have a dracena at work and it seems to be so happy here. You can find dracenas at box stores and plant shops, but their prices range quite a bit. You can buy very big dracenas that are very expensive, or you can find a little dracena that isn’t as expensive, like I did.
8) Monstera adansonii
I have to have a monstera in here. Monstera (especially monstera deliciosa) are super trendy right now, and I think that the adansonii is gaining popularity. I have two adansonii plants and they’re probably two of my fastest growing plants. They’re vining plants that have giant holes in the middle of its leaves. If you give them something to climb on, lots of sunlight and moisture, then they will grow huge leaves with gigantic holes. They’re also super easy to propagate if you cut them and put the nodes in water. Since adansonii are gaining in popularity, they’re becoming easier to find, but they can still be pretty expensive, like $20-30. I’d check out your local nurseries and compare prices.
9) Cast iron plant
Cast iron plants, in my option, are so underrated. They’re so pretty, especially my “Milky way galaxy” cast iron plant, yet so easy to care for. With this plant, I literally just ignore it and water it every one or two weeks and it’s growing so much for me! It doesn’t require a lot of sunlight or water, but it grows so beautifully. My plant was $8 from a local nursery and I think that, in general, they’re pretty cheap.
10) Philodendron micans
Philodendron are very popular right now, so it’s only natural for the micans to be popular as well. I bought my micans several months ago as a cutting and it has grown so quickly for me, even in the wintertime. I keep it inside with medium light and water it every one or two weeks in well draining soil. The best part of the micans is its leaves because… they’re fuzzy! They’re so soft and velvety and you’re not supposed to mess with the leaves of your plants too much, but I just love mine so much! If you give them something to climb, then their leaves will grow even larger, too. I got my micans cuttings for about $8 online (including shipping), and I think that you can find larger ones from nurseries for a little bit more than that.
And those are what I think are the top ten plants that are the easiest to care for! I’ve had some bad luck with other plants that are supposedly “easy” to care for, so let me know if you want me to write about the unlucky experiences I’ve had with plant care.
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Thank you for reading! What do you think of my “easiest” plants to care for list? Have you every had any of them, and if so, then what do you think? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!
Xoxo’s
Emmalee
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Emmalee Mauldin 