7 Best Indoor Plants that are Ideal For Beginners
Are all the green Instagram feeds and other social media posts inspiring you to get some indoor plants for your home?
Is the idea of bringing some nature inside intriguing you?
Do you like the thought of surrounding yourself with plants but don’t know where to start from?
Search no further! You’ve come to the right place! (Or better, you’ve landed on the right page!).
If you are new to plants, (a.k.a. Plant Beginner or Plant Noob), you need to know the very few tricks to buy the plants that are right for you!
In-fact, before I even list the 7 best indoor plants for beginners, I want you to know what are the staples to buying your first plant babies;
- Consider your space; How much natural light does your home have? Do you have enough light for all plant species? If so, where are your rooms and windows oriented? (South and West windows are ideal for plants that love plenty of bright light, while East and North facing windows may not work for some of those plants).
- Consider your lifestyle; How busy are you and how much time do you want to spend caring for plants? This will tell you a lot about the type of plants you should buy…
- Start small; only buy a couple of plants to start with. One step at a time!
- Buy the “Impossible to Kill Plants”; start with low maintenance plants that are hard to kill.
Whether you have plenty of light, or not enough of it; whether you are busy with a full schedule, or have time but no green thumb, these indoor plants for beginners will fulfill your dream of having a green home!
These are the stunning variegated leaves of the Marble Queen Pothos, a variety of Devil’s Ivy.
1. Devil's ivy, (epipremnum aureum)
Also known as Golden Pothos, the Devils’ Ivy is not only one of the best indoor plants for beginners, it’s a beautiful trailing plant you can arrange in many different ways; from wall hangers to shelves; cascading from high ledges, or climbing interesting wall patterns.
I have a Marble Queen Pothos in our home, which is a stark white and green variety of Devil’s Ivy.
Native to the Society Islands of French Polynesia, this plant has become naturalized to sub-tropical forests worldwide. It has been named Devil’s Ivy because it is impossible to kill, remaining green even when kept in the dark.
However, the Pothos does well in moderate to bright light conditions, but it definitely thrives in bright, indirect light conditions.
This plant is very forgiving when it comes to humidity levels and it really adapts to any home condition.
I water mine once a week but it doesn’t seem to mind if I am gone for two weeks and I skip one watering.
I fertilize it every second watering from Spring to Fall with a liquid plant food.
Its stems grow quite fast and it is a good idea to prune them off in early spring to encourage new growth.
I pruned a long stem of my Pothos and I divided it into 4 stems I rooted in water.
The plant grew so many new stems in place of the one long stem I cut off.
I suggest you read more about the advantages of pruning indoor plants. It’s unbelievable what plants can do when they get a trim!
(And you get to root the cuttings too!)
It’s important to know this plant can be toxic to pets if ingested.
2. Snake Plant, (Dracaena Trifasciata)
The Snake Plant, also known as the Mother in Law Tongue, is one of the most known impossible to kill houseplants, making it a perfect indoor plant for beginners.
Native to the tropical regions of West Africa, this plant is an excellent air purifier.
There are many different varieties of Snake Plants, some more common than others and easier to find, and some easier than others to care for.
The most common one is the Laurentii variety, which is the typical yellow and green tall, striped Snake Plant. You see them in every mall and airport for their ease of maintenance and their tolerance to low light conditions.
No matter the variety of Snake Plant, they are all succulents and they are exceptional air purifying plants to have in your home!
The beautiful thing about Snake Plants is that, not only there are many varieties to suit everyone’s different personal taste, but they come in different sizes!
Different varieties and different sizes allow people to have plants with very similar needs that look different in different areas of their homes!
Snake Plants are very adaptable and they can thrive in bright, indirect light areas, as well as in areas with moderate light conditions.
They require very little watering; it is actually important to let their soil dry out between waterings. I water mine every two to three weeks.
They adapt to any humidity condition your home may have.
The only negative aspect about Snake Plants is their toxicity if ingested by humans and pets.
Read my article on the Snake Plant to learn more about this succulent.
Silver Queen Snake Plant, (Dracaena Silver Queen)
Fernwood Sansevieria variety
Bird’s Nest Snake Plant, (Sansevieria Hahnii)
3. ZZ Plant, (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia)
The ZZ Plant, also known as the Zanzibar Gem, is oldie in our home!
At the time this article is written is 13 years old.
I love it so much that I wrote two articles about this plant:
One describing the 6 Reasons why you should have a ZZ Plant, and the other one is about my personal experience dividing, (propagating) and repotting my giant 13 years old ZZ Plant. I highly recommend you read these articles if you have one of these plants, or if you are considering getting one, because you shouldn’t even think about it twice!
This plant is a no-brainer! It one of the best indoor plants for beginners!
It’s beautiful and exotic looking, it’s incredibly easy to care for and it’s an excellent air purifier!
Native to Eastern Africa, this drought tolerant plant can withstand quite harsh conditions!
The ZZ Plant is one of those plants that actually does well in darker rooms. However, it thrives in medium to bright, indirect light conditions, as long as there is no direct sunlight exposure.
This plant is adaptable to any home humidity.
It doesn’t require too much watering as it stores a fair amount of water in its fleshy stems. I water mine every two weeks, but it can go even three to four weeks without watering.
The only downside of this plant is that it’s toxic to humans and pets.
(Let me be clear here; when I say toxic I mean it can be poisonous if ingested. Breathing near this plant is actually great because it cleans the air from toxins!!).
This is my 13 years old ZZ Plant after being divided. This is only 1/4 of the plant left in the pot. The rest of the plant has been removed, divided and propagated into 3 different plants.
Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.
4. Heartleaf Philodendron, (philodendron Hederaceum)
The Heartleaf Philodendron is a favourite of mine.
It’s another great indoor plant for beginners that is also lush and beautiful!
Native to Central America and the Caribbean, this fast growing plant can adapt to different levels of light; from moderate to bright, indirect. Avoid direct light exposure.
Water your Philodendron once 50% of the soil feels dry to the touch.
Depending on how much light it receives, its watering needs may change. This plant is quite forgiving if you forget to water it once or twice…
Fertilize it monthly between Spring and Fall.
The interesting aspect of this plant is that it will grow its stems much faster than its roots, so you don’t need to repot it yearly.
When you do that, I recommend using a tropical plants mix with some perlite to add drainage, using 4 parts soil to 1 part perlite ratio.
When its stems grow too long and leggy, you need to prune them. It will benefit the plant and it will allow you to root those cuttings into new plants!
Click here to learn more about the Heartleaf Philodendron.
5. Wax Plant, (Hoya Carnosa)
The Wax Plant, in addition to being one of the best indoor plants for beginners, is also an excellent non-toxic plant, safe for children and pets despite its succulent leaves.
Native to Eastern Asia and Australia, The Hoya Carnosa isn’t technically a succulent. It’s a succulent-like plant.
This plant thrives in bright light conditions. The brighter the surrounding area, the more likely it will produce the sweet fragrant porcelain looking flower that doesn’t even seem real!
It needs to be watered when the soil is dry to the touch. I water mine once every two weeks in both winter and summer.
Wax Plants are extremely easy to propagate by simply cutting the stems and allowing them to grow roots into water. In-fact, my plant is the result of three stems I cut off from my friend’s plant!
Like for many other trailing and climbing plants, there are so many different ways to display a Hoya Carnosa; from ceiling hung, to arranged on special trellises.
Its trailing stems won’t grow terribly fast but the more bright light you provide, the faster it will grow.
My Hoya grew from three snipped stems into this plant in two years.
I used these unique heart shaped wood trellises from Treleaf to display my Wax Plant.
6. Ponytail Palm, (Beaucarnea Recurvata)
Technically, the Ponytail Palm is not a palm tree, but it does share a similar structure with the palm.
Not only it’s a beautiful plant that can dress up any space with no effort; it’s also one of the lowest maintenance plants I’ve ever had.
In-fact, I have two of these beautiful succulents!
That’s right, this plant is actually a succulent!
One is 17 years old, and one is 10 years old! Not bad uh?
I devoted an entire article to this plant if you want to dig deeper into the Ponytail Palm care.
It’s no surprise I listed it among the best indoor plants for beginners.
This plant is native to eastern Mexico, where it still grows wild, and some species have even reached 350 years of age!
Another added bonus in favour of this plant, is that it’s a non-toxic succulent, safe for children and pets!
Oh, and one more thing! It’s a very slow growing plant! So you really don’t have to worry about its size and having to repot it often, (other than to replace its potting mix with some fresh one!)
This succulent thrives in bright, indirect light, but it can do relatively well in medium light conditions.
Like other succulents, this plant does really well in dry environments.
Average homes, with forced air central heating system and air conditioning, (hence low humidity levels), are perfect for this type of palm.
The Ponytail Palm needs to dry out between waterings, so it is safe to recommend watering it every 2 weeks. However, if you happen to forget one week, it’s not the end of the world, as this plant is drought tolerant.
Take it easy with fertilizers!
Twice a year is plenty enough for this plant; once in the Spring and once in the Summer.
My 10 years old Ponytail Palm
7. Spider Plant, (chlorophytum comosum)
The Spider Plant is not only a non-toxic houseplant; it’s one of the most versatile plants you can buy for your home.
It has all the benefits you can think of; it’s extremely easy to care for, it does well in low light areas of your home or office, and it’s an excellent air purifier!
Native to tropical and Souther Africa. It has become naturalized in many other parts of the world.
Spider Plants like to dry out thoroughly between waterings. They really don’t need constant watering.
If you have a green thumb with an interest for propagation, this is a great plant to propagate as it produces many spiderettes that can be cut off from the mother plant and re-potted to make other plants.
This is an ideal hanging plant so if you still don’t want your pet to nibble on it you can simply hang it from the ceiling in a nice decorative hanging pot.
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Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.