5 Unkillable Houseplants for the Lazy Gardener
These green friends require minimal care.
It often takes diligence to nourish plants from seed to bloom, but gardening doesn’t always have to be hard work.
If you want some plants in your life, but feel like you don’t have the time to have a green thumb, maybe you just haven’t found the right type of houseplant yet.
Here’s our list of five plants you can get away with neglecting.
Snake Plant
Sansevierias or snake plants are one of the easier plants to keep alive. These low-maintenance plants only require watering every two to eight weeks. Only water them when the top of the soil feels bone dry and make sure not to overdo it. You’ll know you’ve overwatered them if their leaves wilt, and turn soft and yellow around their base.
Snake plants, which are native to West Africa, can thrive in pretty much all types of light. They’re usually happy as long as they have at least some low light. When it comes to soil, snake plants like cactus potting mix, and require minimal houseplant fertilizer once or twice a year.
Lucky Bamboo
Dracaena or lucky bamboo is one of the most unkillable houseplants out there. It’ll find a way to survive, no matter how much you neglect it.
You won’t need soil to grow your lucky bamboo. Simply put it in a vase with some pebbles to hold its stalks in place, and add an inch or two of water. You’ll only need to add water once a week(ish), but you can get away with not changing the water for weeks.
These babies also don’t require much light. Just make sure to keep them away from windows so they don’t get direct sunlight.
Devil’s Ivy
The pothos or Devil’s Ivy can be grown in soil or in a vase with water. If you’re going to grow it in water, you’ll want to find a soil mix that drains well, such as cactus mix. Try to water it once a week when the top inch of soil is dry, but you can get away with not watering it for weeks. It’s better to underwater than overwater this one.
Like the rest of these plants, Devil’s Ivy can deal with a wide range of light, but it doesn’t like direct sunlight.
You can give your Devil’s Ivy houseplant fertilizer to help it grow every few months, but they tend to grow quickly and well without.
ZZ Plants
Zamioculcas or ZZ plants are drought tolerant plants native to eastern Africa. Like other plants on this list, ZZ plants should only be watered when their soil is dry, and they should be kept out of direct sunlight. Use soil that drains well and give your ZZ plant some liquid houseplant fertilizer every month.
Spider Plants
Chlorophytum comosum or spider plants thrive in bright indirect light. Avoid direct sunlight as it will damage your spider plant’s leaves. In terms of soil, you’ll want to use something that drains well.
Water these guys once a week and let them dry out between waterings. If you notice the tips of your spider plant’s leaves are browning, you might need to use filtered water, as these plants can be sensitive to the fluoride in tap water.
I have a Pothos plant, still in the same pot, since I was a kid( I’m 64). It was always on our kitchen table and curled around and around the pot while on a glass platter. I took it after my mother died-1990 and have kept it going ever since. I cut it way back last year and it still keeps growing. I’m sure the pot is just full of roots but it seems healthy so I’m afraid to change the pot.
Proof that you can’t kill it!
Im pretty new at gardening ,but im enjoying the learning prpcess that.goes. with this.Plus i need and welcome any advice or help out there that i can get .My mother bless her shes gone but her awesome love for plants and flowers has stuck with me .She could make anything grow.On our way to church on Sundays she would often ask my Dad to pull over in someone elses yard so she could get a cutting from a plant she and liked. And of. Course my dad reluctantly. Obliged.while my brothers and sisters would hide I thought it was awesome… Read more »
I LUV ALL OF THIS PLANT INFO….IM A PLANT ENTHUSIAST
I want to be a modern farmer
Thanks for sharing useful information. Specially how to watering indoor plants. Yes under watering is good for indoor plants. My favorite plants are crotons and colius.
I am a plant lover, thank you for the info that i have read in every plants in this page.
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