While my heart lies out in the garden, I love indoor plants too. They bring ‘life’ into the home and soften a room’s look. And if you don’t have a garden at all, or only have a small plot, easy to grow houseplants are a crucial opportunity to garden, which is so good for the soul.
But the challenge with houseplants is that most homes only have room for a few. So if they don’t thrive, you’re a bit stuck! Suddenly you’ve a house or flat full of slightly sickly looking plants. Looking at you accusingly. Reminding you that your green fingers aren’t that green. You can tell I’m speaking from bitter experience here!
So I thought I’d help us all avoid this misery by sharing my super seven, easy to grow houseplants.
Easy to Grow Houseplants – The Criteria
Houseplants are sensitive to three key things – light, water and humidity. So to make it into my list, I’ve chosen plants which in my experience are pretty bomb proof. They are tolerant of a mix of light conditions. They will forgive you if you forget to water them. And you don’t have to mist them – though some will thank you if you do!
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)
With their hooded white blooms, and glossy green leaves, Peace Lilies look cool, elegant and sophisticated. But despite this they are not at all high maintenance.
In terms of light, they are happy in bright, indirect light or partial shade. On the water front, they simply need their compost to be kept damp. So water them when almost dry and avoid them fully drying out.
They really are easy peasy. Indeed mine has flourished so much that I had to divide it up. I divided it into four and am happy to report that all four ‘babies’ are flourishing. They don’t look as glamourous as the incredible specimen pictured above, but they will hopefully get close to this in due course!
Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
This plant used to be called Mother-in-law’s tongue, but given I had a lovely mother-in-law and think my own Mum was equally kind and loving to Mr F-W, I’m very pleased to say it’s now more fittingly referred to as the Snake Plant.
That’s because it has stiff sword-shaped leaves which are patterned rather like a snake’s skin. These grow in a clump. So this plant will add an interesting architectural look to your home. I have mine (above) on a coffee table in my sitting room.
Snake Plant isn’t simply one of my easy to grow houseplants. I’d say it’s virtually indestructible! It always looks fresh but is incredibly low maintenance. In fact it can survive a long period of neglect. It isn’t fussy about its location, it likes a bright spot but avoid direct sun. It will cope with being stuck in a dark corner, but it’s leaves may lose some of their interesting patterns.
In terms of water, Snake Plant needs little watering. Just give yours an occasional drink to keep it in good shape.
Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa)
It never fails to amaze me that a tropical climber from the rainforests of Central America, can thrive so happily in our homes. But it does! I’ve put it on my list of easy to grow houseplants because it’s good in shade or in a sunny spot and will cope with eractic watering. Though I’ve read that the leaves start dripping water, like tears, if you overwater it!
You will need a bit of space, as they can get quite large. And it’s definitely the case that the bigger it gets the bigger and better it’s massive glossy green leaves, punctured with elongated holes, become. But if you’ve a bit of space out of direct sunlight, and want a statement plant, I’d go for it!
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
If you’ve got a shelf or a hanging planter, and want a trailling plant, then Spider Plants are a good choice. Their leaves form an arching clump and from these it will jettison stems, each with a new ‘baby’ plant at the end. These plantlets will spill over the edge of your container, providing a lovely cascade of foliage.
It’s easy to see why they’re on my list of easy to grow houseplants. Spider Plants will grow in all sorts of light. As per most houseplants (except cacti and succulents) direct sun should be avoided, but that’s all you need to think about. Water Spider Plants freely when they’re growing and reduce the watering in Winter. Sort of common sense really.
I think they’re a good plant if you’re introducing children to gardening as they grow pretty quickly and you can have fun potting up the ‘babies.’
Even though they grow fast, a Spider Plant will put up with growing in the same pot for ages before they need repotting. So if you forget about them, they will still keep performing!
Spider Plants are typically variegated but if you don’t like variegated plants there’s a variety called Lemon which I’ve heard is very handsome. It has zingy lemon green foliage. I don’t have the plant but you can see it here.
Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
The Parlour Palm is another larger plant which adds real softening sophistication to your home. Again it looks exotic and therefore high maintenance but it really isn’t. Simply put it in good light, but not direct sunlight, and you’ll be rewarded with elegant light green fronds. I think it looks particularly good grouped with other solid leaved houseplants. The contrast works really well. I also feel houseplants grouped together create a micro-climate for themselves which helps the plants to thrive. I may be talking nonsense here, but it seems to work in my experience.
In any event, caring for the Parlour Palm is pretty easy. You just need to water it regularly during the growing season. During Winter it’s better to keep the compost on the dry side. If it gets too big for its pot, (you can see roots coming out of the base) repot it in the Spring. Other than that give it a regular mist to keep its fronds looking lush and that’s it!
Easy to Grow Houseplants – Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Pothos is another lovely trailing plant that is completely low maintenance. It produces long stems of glossy, heart-shaped, patterned leaves which I think are so pretty. Although it prefers a bright spot, it will still put on a show in fairly poor light, and will patiently put up with erratic watering. Ideally it’s only watered when the compost is begining to dry out.
It’s on my list of easy to grow houseplants as it’s tolerant of all kinds of conditions and neglect. In fact I think it’s nickname – devil’s ivy – comes from the fact it can grow in low light levels and is virtually impossible to kill!
While I think it looks lovely trailing from a shelf or hanging basket, if you’re so inclined Pothos can be trained up a pole or along wires on a wall. In the wild (tropical forests) it can grow 20 metres long, but don’t panic, it won’t take over. In a typical home it will only reach a maximum of 2 metres.
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
I have a confession. Although this one of my an easy to grow houseplants, I don’t have one because it’s not my cup of tea. I don’t know why. It’s really easy to care for, tough as old boots, and produces an upright clump of lovely elegant shiny long, lance-shaped leaves.
It may be that I associate it with Victorian homes. Anyway, ignore me and do give the plant a go.
Aspidistra elatior is otherwise known as the Cast Iron Plant – and rightly so. It seems absolutely bullet proof and has a cast-iron constitution. In Victorian times it coped with the fumes from coal fires and gas lamps and lived in gloomy old rooms where it still managed to look splendid.
Indeed, it’s an absolutely ideal plant for a beginner. The Aspidistra can deal with neglect and is very low maintenance. That said to keep it looking its best, I’d pop it in a bright spot if you can, but again no direct sunshine and keep the compost just moist.
There’s no need to worry about replanting an Aspidistra too often as this plant likes being pot-bound. In fact you only need to repot it when the roots are actually coming out of the bottom or top of its planter.
The only bit of extra TLC I’d recommend is around its leaves. They’re lovely and shiny. So as with all of the showier, shiny leaved plants, such as the Swiss Cheese plant, I’d wipe the leaves with a damp cloth occasionally – say every month – just to keep the leaves dust-free and looking tip-top. Or you can give them a wash in a tepid (not cold) shower.
Easy to Grow Houseplants – Final Thoughts
So that’s my Super 7, easy to grow house plants. I think you will have very little trouble with them. If you do hit any issues, my blog – what’s wrong with my houseplant – will help you identify what’s going wrong.
These are easy plants because they’re very forgiving of neglect and mistreatment. Having said that, I don’t recommend you push this to the limit! After all, houseplants will definitely do better if looked after a bit. So here are a few final tips to end with…
Seven Tips
- Keep a spray bottle handy to mist house plants when you pass by. It’s rather nice to do this anyway
- During the main growth period (typically March – October) feed your plants every week with a liquid house plant feed
- Overwatering is the number one houseplant killer. Avoid it. Let the top few centimetres of compost dry out before watering again. Stick your finger in to test. Don’t have your plants standing in saucers of water.
- Reduce feeding and watering in Winter
- Avoid growing plants next to radiators or air conditioning units, the fluctuating temperatures really won’t suit them
- Even the most tolerant plants want a bit of light – so avoid deep shade.
- Equally, only Cacti and succulent houseplants can cope with direct sunlight
That’s it – here’s to our homes brimming with healthy, happy, lovely plants!
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