10 Best Low Maintenance Indoor Plants
Do you love plants but don’t have much time to care for them?
Do you love plants but you consider yourself a black thumb?
Do you love plants but you are not experienced with indoor plants?
Or, you don’t care much about plants and don’t want to make time for them but just need to fill your space with a decorative plant?
I’ve got the plants for you! And these plants will answer all of the questions above!
These are the best low maintenance indoor plants!
This time, I haven’t done the same amount of research I generally do before writing an article; this is my very own list of best low maintenance indoor plants exclusively based on my own experience!
And trust me, I’ve had some of these plants for over 12 years! They have survived the neglect caused by the birth of two babies; two full time working parents with toddlers and the arrival of a plant chewing puppy!
These are 10 resilient plants!
I only have one disclaimer; no matter how hardy and low maintenance these plants are, you still need to provide them with the right environmental conditions to thrive!
Once you’ve determined which one of these plants is most suited to your space and lifestyle, you can pretty much periodically water them and they’ll grow, even without you watching!
1. Ponytail Palm (beaucarnea recurvata)
I’ve ranked this plant as No. 1 among the low maintenance indoor plants because one of the two Ponytail Palms we have in our house is almost 15 years old!
It has has survived the hardest conditions we could have possibly subjected it to; it moved several times in different light conditions, it moved with us to our new home 9 years ago, it received very little care and water during the crazy busy years of having babies and working full time!
All this with no sign of distress!
I was so impressed with the hardiness of this plant that I chose to buy a second one when I needed to spruce up a pony wall, (no pun intended), between our Living Room and Dining Room.
It was the easiest choice to make as this plant, on top of being super hardy, is highly decorative and aesthetically pleasing! This is an absolute no brainer for me!
You just can’t kill this plant, unless you abandon your home!
Did you know this plant is a succulent? YES! And as a succulent, it needs little water; every 2-3 weeks.
It thrives in bright, indirect sun and doesn’t require high humidity.
The Ponytail Palm is an ideal non-toxic succulent plant to have around cats!
2. Snake Plant (dracaena trifasciata)
This is another diehard plant within the best low maintenance indoor plants family…
I’ve been hesitant for years to buy this plant because I’ve never really liked the yellow and green combination of colours they generally come in. However, when I saw this type of Snake Plant, (Dracaena Silver Queen), I fell in love with its colours; dark greens and silvers!
Snake Plants have many benefits;
– They thrive in any lighting conditions, so if you have a darker area in your home where you’d like to have a plant, this is it!
– They require very little watering, like every 2-3 weeks and you can stretch it even longer…
– They purify the surrounding air, which makes it a perfect plant for bedrooms!
– They thrive in any humidity conditions.
– They are highly resistant to pests, keeping those bugs and insects away from your home.
This is a plant you should be cautious with if you have young children and pets. The saponins in its leaves are toxic to both pets and humans if ingested.
I keep many of my large and tall houseplants in baskets to enhance the look of their surrounding space. I found this particular vowen basket on Amazon.
3. ZZ Plant (zamioculcas zamiifolia)
The ZZ Plant is another notorious plant within the low maintenance indoor plants category.
Our ZZ Plant grew incredibly big in 12 years.
It was a little plant in a 6″ pot when I first bought it, back in 2008! I repotted this plant something like 3 times already!
Like the Ponytail Palm, it has survived many changes in location, care and circumstances.
This plant was the victim of our puppy “chewing everything” phase…and despite the fact its sap is considered mildly toxic to pets, we didn’t have any issues with our puppy.
I didn’t know where else to put it to keep it away from our dog so I placed it outside…maybe for too long and it didn’t like it! When I brought it back inside in the fall it was all droopy and many stems had yellowed. But once I brought it back inside, I placed it on this sturdy plant stand and it recovered beautifully, giving me so many new stems!
You see this plant in many malls as it thrives in dark areas and with little watering. However, based on my experience, this plant still loves a lot of bright light!
The ZZ Plant requires watering every 2 weeks and can go longer without any water as it stores up water in its stems.
Among the low maintenance indoor plants, the ZZ Plant is one plant you can push to the extremes of low light conditions.
4. Spider Plant (chlorophytum comosum)
Spider Plants are extremely adaptable plants that can thrive in many environmental conditions.
They are basically impossible to kill, and because of this, highly recommended as low maintenance indoor plants for Black Thumbs!
I placed two different varieties of Spider Plants in my son’s bedroom, knowing they were able to survive the neglect…
These plants are among the best low maintenance indoor plants that are ideal hangers for moderate to low light environments.
In addition to being low maintenance, Spider Plants have many benefits, making it an irresistible plant to buy:
- They can thrive in moderate to low light conditions.
- They are non-toxic plants safe for children and pets, (yes, especially cats!)
Spider Plants like to thoroughly dry out between waterings and produce many spiderettes that can be used for propagating the plant.
They come in green or variegated varieties as well as curly, like the one shown in the picture here below.
Water approximately once every one or two weeks.
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5. English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Together with the Spider Plant, this is one of the “Universal Plants” good for everything and with a few extra benefits, in addition to being low maintenance;
- low light tolerant
- and ideal for hangers!
Definitely one of the best low maintenance indoor plants for a newbie!
The English Ivy likes medium light the best but can do well in moderately low light conditions. Like all variegated species, it thrives and continue to produce variegated leaves with higher light levels.
This plant doesn’t like to be overwatered so it’s a good idea to check the top 1″ of soil with your finger to determine if it is dry enough to re-water. At the same time, do not let the soil dry thoroughly!
The Indoor English Ivy doesn’t grow out of control. It is however aesthetically pleasing and fun to create interesting wall or wire designs with its long trailing branches!
This is another plant you want to keep an eye on if you have young children and especially pets, as its leaves and berries are mildly poisonous to humans, cats and dogs.
6. baby rubber plant (peperomia obtusifolia)
The Baby Rubber Plant, is an easy to care for plant with interestingly shaped, shiny and deep green leaves.
Definitely a favourite among the low maintenance indoor plants.
I keep mine in a relatively shaded shelf in a South facing room, this way it still gets plenty of light without being exposed to bright, direct sunlight.
It seems like the Rubber Plant thrives in bright but indirect sunlight, however, it does tolerate medium light.
I water mine once a week and I don’t give it too much water as this plant is an epiphytes, (in nature, it grows on other plant’s branches).
Another benefit of this plant is that it’s non-toxic and safe for young children and pets.
7. Philodendron
I bought this Brazil Philodendron because I was mesmerized by its leaves colours first. Then, I noticed it was a Philodendron and I thought: “This will make for a great bathroom plant for us!”. And it has been a great plant for our bathroom!
Why did I choose this Philodendron among the many low maintenance indoor plants for our bathroom?
While we do have a fairly large window in our bathroom, it doesn’t receive direct sunlight. In addition to this, Philodendrons thrive in highly humid environments; and what better spot than a bathroom for that?
Philodendrons do well in indirect sun to medium light conditions. I water it once every week or two and I’ve had some new beautiful leaves and a good growth in less than a year.
Like many other variegated leaves, the less the light exposure, the less the variegation.
Philodendrons leaves are toxic to pets if ingested.
8. chinese money plant (Pilea Peperomioides)
I can talk about my Pilea for a very long time but for the purpose of this article I am going to stick with the facts; it’s a very easy plant to care for once you find the right spot for it.
It loves a lot of indirect sunlight.
I water mine once a week.
My Pilea sits by a big North facing window and it has grown significantly in the one year I had it.
Now, this is a great plant to have if you love to experiment with propagation. This plant produces a lot of offsets, (new plant shoots), that you can cut off from the mother plant and use to make new plants for yourself or your friends!
If you are interested on Plant Propagation, read my articles on Propagation for Kids and Plants in Progress, as well as my article on the Sharing Plant | Pilea Propagation.
This is by far one of my favourite low maintenance indoor plants!
9. devil's ivy (pothos)
The Pothos is the definition of low maintenance indoor plants; it is extremely easy to care for and is a very adaptable plant.
It can grow in different environmental conditions and different medium, (it can be grown in pots of soil or in bowls filled with water! I have mine in a Kokedama moss ball!).
It is a beautiful trailing plant that can be shaped to make beautiful compositions on your home walls or table tops.
This plant thrives in high humidity but does well in dry environments!
It does well in bright, indirect light as well as low light. Variegated types maintain their beautiful colours and variegation in bright, indirect light. The Pothos does not like direct sun light.
Let the soil dry well in between waterings. The plant will tell you when it needs water by drooping its leaves. It is better to under water than over water this plant.
10. jade plant (Crassula ovata)
The Jade Plant is not only one of the best low maintenance indoor plants, it’s one of the easiest indoor succulents to grow!
This succulent is believed to bring good luck to the person who owns it, (that’s why is also called Money Plant). It is a staple in Feng Shui plant decorating practices.
Like many other succulents, the Jade Plant needs a lot of bright light and even direct sunlight to thrive. Low light conditions will induce the Jade Plant to grow leggy.
This plant should not be watered on a schedule. The best way to determine whether or not water is needed is to touch the plant’s top soil. If the soil feels dry, it’s time to water! Do not allow the soil to dry out completely!
The Jade Plant is extremely easy to propagate. Simply pinch the stems off when the plant is growing leggy or too big and plant those stems directly into a pot of soil.
This plant can grow quite old and big, if cared for properly and in the right environmental conditions.
I hope this article showing you my favourite low maintenance indoor plants has inspired you to surround yourself and the space in which you live and work with indoor plants!
There are so many beautiful plants out there, with so many benefits for your mind, health and space that are easy to care for and beautify your space immensely.
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I have had my air plants for ten or more years and they are still doing just fine.