5 Easy-Care Houseplants
Happy, Healthy Houseplants
Looking for easy-care houseplants to to add personality to your home or office space? We've got five suggestions—and all are easy to care for whether you're a beginner or more experienced. So go ahead, fill your interior space with fresh greenery to welcome the new year.
We noted a few plants that are known to be toxic to pets by the ASPCA. We strongly discourage allowing your pet to eat any plant regardless of its toxicity level. Visit the ASPCA website at www.aspca.org for details.
We noted a few plants that are known to be toxic to pets by the ASPCA. We strongly discourage allowing your pet to eat any plant regardless of its toxicity level. Visit the ASPCA website at www.aspca.org for details.
Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
One of the easiest houseplants to keep happy. This very popular plant comes in many varieties with different leaf shapes and variegated color patterns.
- Light: Indirect, low to bright light; Snake Plants are very flexible when it comes to light conditions
- Water: Low water; provide sparingly under lower light conditions
- Care: Allow the plant to "crowd" the pot before transplanting and use a soil with good drainage like an orgainc potting mix.
- Known for air-purifying qualities
- Toxic to pets
ZZ Plant
A perfect beginner houseplant! This tropical-looking houseplant grows in a graceful, wand-like shape with bright-green, waxy, oval leaves; can grow up to 6' tall, but you can control the height.
- Light: Medium to high light; place these succulent-like plants where they can get enough light to use water efficiently
- Water: Low water; avoid letting the soil stay wet for long periods of time
- Care: Allow the plant to "crowd" the pot before transplanting and use a soil with good drainage; feed with houseplant fertilizer sparingly to avoid top heavy growth
Dracaena
A perfect office companion. Grown for their dramatic, tropical foliage many species grow up to 6' tall. Foliage color varies from deep green centers with scarlet red margins to gray-green or silver-green variegation.
- Light: Indirect, low to bright light
- Water: Low water
- Care: Requires minimal care and can tolerate a wide range of humidity and soil types
- Prune to control height
- Toxic to pets
Peperomia
Peperomia has a playful look. Its a unique, easy-to-grow succulent that has wide, flat, shiny leaves with colorful margins or variegation, depending on the variety. Grows up to one foot tall and wide, which makes it perfect for a table or shelf display. May occasionally produce spikes of green-white flowers.
- Light: Indirect, medium to bright light
- Water: Low water
- Care: Allow soil to dry out between watering. Monthly feedings with an indoor plant fertilizer. Prune to control height only as needed.
- Known for their air-purifying qualities
- Pet-friendly
Pothos
We love Pothos for its trailing, tropical vine and heart-shaped green leaves—sometimes with white, yellow, or light green variegation, depending on the variety. You'll love how it looks on a bookshelf or hanging from the ceiling.
- Light: Indirect, can tolerate low, medium and high light—but known for it's ability to thrive under low-light conditions.
- Water: Low and medium water. Allow to dry evenly before watering, watering less often in low light conditions.
- Care: Fertilize monthly for best foliage. Prune some of the stems as the plant ages to keep it from being stringy.
- Known for their air-purifying qualities
- Toxic to pets
