5 Easy Houseplants That (Probably) Won't Die on You

“What are the most idiot-proof plants to grow?”

This is the most common question I get from houseplant-curious friends. Hey, I get it — the appeal of growing an indoor jungle of your own sounds delightful, but the uncertainty of it all can feel equally intimidating.

No one wants to jump in head-first with a houseplant, only to find that it’s a finicky drama queen. Instead, test your resolve with a relatively low-maintenance plant.

I’m all about sharing what I’ve learned based on my own experience, so here are some plants from my personal collection that can stand a little neglect.

1. Spider plant

Care: low to high light, moderate watering

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), also called ribbon plants, are fuss-free and a great hanging basket option. Its foliage is long and thin which cascades over its planter. Personally, I feel it looks more like a fun firework — so for any arachnophobes — visualize that instead!

I have three spider plants, all of which are within five feet from a natural light source. They can stand to be pulled deeper inside a room but may experience stunted growth. Like the others featured here, I don’t water my spider plants very religiously (I often forget, actually). When I forget to water, it reminds me to give it a drink when its leaf tips turn brown or the overall bounciness of it looks limp. Within 20 minutes of watering, it’s back to its sprightly self.

There are many spider plant varieties — curly, straight, solid green, white- versus green-edged variegation, etc. The one pictured here is a spider plant with white variegation on both edges of its leaves and a green midsection. When it’s mature, it develops long arms where small white flowers and babies or “pups” grow. These pups can be propagated to grow additional plants.

2. Snake plant

Care: low to high light, light watering

Moving on to another animal-named houseplant is the snake plant (Sansevieria). This hardy plant goes by a few names, like mother-in-law’s tongue. It has succulent leaves that retain water which means less sensitivity to irregular watering habits.

It enjoys a good amount of sunlight, though is tolerant of low indirect light. In less light, you can expect its leaves to etiolate (i.e. grow toward the direction of the closest light source). Conversely, keeping it in direct, intense sunlight can burn its leaves.

I have a handful of varieties throughout different areas of my apartment so each one gets a different level of light. The one pictured is a commonly called, a Whale Fin Snake Plant (Sansevieria Masoniana). It lives toward the far end of my living room (about 20 feet from a window). You’ll notice that the newest leaf at the front is thinner and stretched compared to the original leaf — this is likely due to insufficient light.

3. Devil’s Ivy plant

Care: low to medium light, low to moderate watering

Chances are you’ve seen a Devil’s Ivy plant at your grandmother’s home, your doctor’s office or hanging out at your local gym’s check-in desk. Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum) is also known as pothos. It has many varieties that display interesting variegation and leaf shapes. My favorite type is the Cebu Blue pothos which has a silvery blue-green color and pointed, textured leaves. The most standard pothos is called the Golden pothos is shown here; its leaves are green with splashes of yellow variegation.

These plants can be hung in a basket for a curtained aesthetic or given a moss pole to climb. If there was ever a “beginner’s houseplant”, this is it — it offers the most rewarding ROI. Generally, it’s a fast grower, even under artificial light. Pothos are pretty drought-tolerant, and can withstand a couple of weeks without water depending on other climate conditions.

Plus, if you’re on a budget, this plant propagates easily, too. Simply put a cutting into a container of water and within a few days, you’ll notice roots forming to make a new plant.

4. ZZ plant

Care: low to moderate light, light watering

Like the trusty Snake plant, the ZZ plant, short for its ridiculously hard-to-pronounce scientific name (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), is an understated, yet faithful houseplant. Admittedly, at first, I wasn’t a huge fan of its dark green, waxy leaves that made it look more faux than fashion (hey — I was a vain plant parent once upon a time!)

I found a sad ZZ plant rehab in a dark corner of IKEA and decided that for $5, they were worth saving. One year later after practically zero movement, they’re looking alive with new growth. Its slow growth pattern is probably the only downside IMO, but if you don’t need your plant to be extra, the ZZ may be the houseplant friend for you.

Thanks to its potato-like rhizomes under the soil that retains water, it can withstand a few weeks without water. These plants can tolerate low sunlight if needed, and if you enjoy the look of it but want a little more personality, check out the Raven ZZ plant which is its nearly black-leafed counterpart.

5. Wax plant

Care: moderate light, light to moderate water

The last one on the list is a little broad, but that’s intentional. Wax plants, also known as Hoya, have hundreds of known species throughout the world, many of which have varying care requirements. I’ve killed a few (hard-to-find, semi-expensive) Hoyas so for this roundup, I’m specifically recommending Hoya Carnosa and Hoya Pubycalix. These plants can look similar — in fact, they’re both in the same pot that’s pictured here.

Both wax plants have (obviously) waxy, semi-succulent green leaves, but the Carnosa has rounder textured leaves, while the Pubycalix has a pointed leaf. Like all Hoyas, they produce clusters of flowers, some of which are highly fragrant when in bloom.

Since these two species have thicker leaves that retain water compared to other thin-leaved Hoya, it can stand to have longer intervals between watering. In terms of light, it enjoys an indirect light source that’s still bright.

Interpreting ideal houseplant care

The care overviews above are described broadly for simplicity. But remember that the light and watering needs of your houseplants heavily depends on your personal space (i.e. intensity of sunlight and window direction, humidity in the plant’s immediate space, etc.)

I’ve found that these plants are not too fussy about details, like water (i.e. tap versus distilled) and medium composition. Try your plant-parenting skills on one or two of these easy-going houseplants and let me know how it goes!