97 Hard-to-kill houseplants for beginners 💪
New to houseplants and worried you will kill them? Start here. These are the plants whose own care notes describe them as forgiving, low-maintenance or hard to kill - the ones that put up with a missed watering and average light while you find your rhythm. Anything fussy or temperamental is deliberately left off.
Even tough plants have one weakness, and it is almost always overwatering. When in doubt, wait a few more days before you reach for the watering can.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is the houseplant that earns its keep.
Amazon Frogbit
Amazon frogbit is a floating plant that looks like a scatter of tiny green lily pads on the surf…
Amazon Sword
The Amazon sword is the classic rooted centrepiece plant - a big rosette of broad green blades t…
Anacharis
Anacharis is the classic beginner and goldfish plant - a fast, leafy stem plant sold in cheap bu…
Anubias
Anubias is the plant that made aquascaping beginner-proof - a slow, tough, dark-green rosette th…
Asparagus Fern
The asparagus fern looks feathery and fern-like but is actually a member of the asparagus (lily)…
Autumn Fern
The autumn fern flips the fern colour script - new fronds emerge coppery-bronze and pink before…
Baby Rubber Plant Peperomia
The Baby Rubber Plant Peperomia (Peperomia obtusifolia) is a compact, semi-succulent foliage pla…
Bear's Paw
Bear's paw is an irresistibly cute succulent whose chunky, fuzzy leaves are tipped with rows of…
Beefsteak Begonia
The Beefsteak Begonia is an old-fashioned rhizomatous begonia grown for its round, glossy leaves…
Beetle Peperomia
Beetle Peperomia is a compact, trailing epiphyte prized for its small, glossy leaves marked with…
Bunny Ears Cactus
The bunny ears cactus is a charming small opuntia whose flat, oval pads sprout in pairs like a r…
Calathea Musaica
Calathea Musaica is a collector-favourite foliage plant grown entirely for its extraordinary lea…
Crassula Perforata (String of Buttons)
Crassula perforata - the "String of Buttons" - is a charming, easy-going succulent whose small t…
Cretan Brake Fern
The Cretan brake fern is the easygoing table fern - upright, ribbon-like fronds (often with a pa…
Croton (Codiaeum variegatum)
The Croton is the most colorful foliage plant you can grow indoors.
Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)
The Crown of Thorns is a tough, sun-loving succulent shrub that does something remarkable: it ca…
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Cryptocoryne wendtii is the easy 'crypt' - a low rooted rosette in green, bronze or wine-red tha…
Dischidia (Button Orchid / Ant Plant)
Dischidia is a genus of small, trailing epiphytes from the same family as the Hoya - and if you…
Dwarf Hairgrass
Dwarf hairgrass is the go-to carpeting plant - fine green blades that, given enough light, sprea…
Dwarf Hygro
Dwarf hygro is one of the easiest, fastest stem plants there is - which is exactly the problem.
Dwarf Sagittaria
Dwarf sagittaria is the low-tech lawn - a grassy rosette plant that spreads by runners and can c…
Echinopsis (Sea-Urchin Cactus)
Echinopsis cacti are small, globular desert cacti famous for a spectacular disappearing act: for…
Epidendrum (Reed-Stem Orchid)
Reed-stem epidendrums are the everblooming garden orchids - cane-stemmed sun-lovers topped with…
Fairy Castle Cactus
The fairy castle cactus is a charming, slow-growing cactus that branches into a cluster of green…
Fishbone Cactus (Epiphyllum anguliger)
The Fishbone Cactus - Epiphyllum anguliger - is a trailing jungle cactus grown above all for its…
Fishhook Barrel Cactus
The fishhook barrel is a big, ribbed desert globe armed with fierce, hooked red spines that curv…
Flaming Katy
Flaming Katy is the cheerful, mass-market kalanchoe you see banked up in supermarkets, smothered…
Foxtail Fern
The foxtail fern grows dense, upright, plume-like fronds that really do look like bushy fox tail…
Gasteria (Ox Tongue)
Gasteria is a small, tough, slow-growing succulent from South Africa, best known for its thick,…
Ghost Plant
The ghost plant is an easy, fast-growing rosette succulent in soft, ghostly shades of pale grey,…
Golden Barrel Cactus
The golden barrel is a plump, globe-shaped cactus wrapped in dense golden-yellow spines, one of…
Gollum Jade
Gollum jade is a quirky cultivar of the classic jade plant whose leaves have rolled into slender…
Gymnocalycium (Chin Cactus)
Gymnocalyciums are rounded, easy-going desert cacti named for their smooth, spineless flower bud…
Haworthia (Zebra Plant & Window Plants)
Haworthia is the small, tough, charming succulent that fits almost anywhere - a desk, a windowsi…
Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum)
The Heartleaf Philodendron is, for many growers, the single easiest trailing houseplant in exist…
Holly Fern
The holly fern breaks every fern rule - glossy, stiff, holly-shaped leaflets on tough fronds tha…
Homalomena (Queen of Hearts)
The Homalomena - sometimes sold as "Queen of Hearts" - is one of those quietly excellent housepl…
Hoya (Wax Plant)
The Hoya, or Wax Plant, is a long-lived, easy-going trailing and climbing plant beloved for two…
Hoya Australis
Hoya australis is Australia's contribution to the windowsill - a glossy, round-leafed, sun-lovin…
Hoya Obovata
Hoya obovata is the coin-leaf hoya - big, round, thick pancakes of deep green freckled with silv…
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
The Jade Plant is a small, sturdy succulent tree that can become a lifelong companion - often ou…
Java Fern
Java fern is the other unkillable aquarium epiphyte - textured strappy green fronds on a creepin…
Java Moss
Java moss is the beginner's moss - a tangle of fine green strands that will attach to, or simply…
Jelly Bean Plant
The jelly bean plant, or 'pork and beans', is a cheerful little sedum whose plump, bean-shaped l…
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
The Flaming Katy Kalanchoe is the cheerful, easy succulent that you buy already bursting with fl…
Kangaroo Paw Fern
The kangaroo paw fern has fronds shaped like a kangaroo's foot - broad, irregularly-lobed, gloss…
Kimberly Queen Fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)
The Kimberly Queen Fern is the tidy, well-behaved cousin of the classic Boston fern.
Korean Rock Fern
The Korean rock fern is a compact, dark, finely-cut evergreen fern with stiff, holly-adjacent te…
Ladyfinger Cactus
The ladyfinger cactus is a neat, easy mammillaria that forms clusters of slender, upright golden…
Lemon Button Fern
The lemon button fern is a petite, well-behaved cousin of the Boston fern - upright fronds of sm…
Lithops (Living Stones)
Lithops are among the strangest and most fascinating plants you can keep on a windowsill.
Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
Lucky Bamboo is the green stalks you see growing in a vase of water and pebbles on desks, shop c…
Ludwigia Repens
Ludwigia repens is the easiest red stem plant in the hobby - coppery-red leaves without CO2, exo…
Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
The Money Tree is the houseplant of good fortune - instantly recognizable by its distinctive bra…
Monstera Siltepecana (Silver Monstera)
Monstera siltepecana - the "Silver Monstera" - is one of the most rewarding aroids for someone w…
Moon Cactus
The moon cactus is the eye-catching, brightly coloured little cactus you see topped with a ball…
Moonstones
Moonstones is a slow, plump rosette succulent whose fat, egg-shaped leaves come in dreamy pastel…
Nepenthes (Tropical Pitcher Plant)
Nepenthes are the hanging jugs of the tropics - vining plants whose leaf-tips swell into fluid-f…
Old Man Cactus
The old man cactus is an unmistakable columnar cactus draped in long, shaggy white hairs, like t…
Parodia (Ball Cactus)
Parodias, or ball cacti, are neat, globular desert cacti that ring their crowns with cheerful ye…
Peanut Cactus
The peanut cactus is a small, fast-clustering cactus whose finger-like stems really do look like…
Peperomia Frost
Peperomia Frost is a compact, semi-succulent foliage plant prized for its shimmering, silver-fro…
Peperomia Rosso
Peperomia Rosso is a compact, semi-succulent foliage plant prized for its deeply textured leaves…
Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid)
The Phalaenopsis, or Moth Orchid, is the orchid for everyone.
Philodendron Birkin
Philodendron Birkin is a compact, self-heading aroid prized for its dark green leaves streaked w…
Philodendron Brasil
Philodendron Brasil is a fast-growing trailing vine loved for its heart-shaped leaves splashed w…
Philodendron Brasil (Philodendron hederaceum 'Brasil')
The Philodendron Brasil is a trailing heartleaf philodendron whose glossy green leaves come spla…
Philodendron Micans
Philodendron Micans is the velvety-leaved form of the trailing heartleaf philodendron, prized fo…
Philodendron Moonlight
Philodendron Moonlight is a compact, self-heading hybrid prized for its electric chartreuse new…
Philodendron Prince of Orange
Philodendron Prince of Orange is a self-heading hybrid prized for new leaves that unfurl a glowi…
Philodendron White Knight
Philodendron White Knight is a prized variegated climbing aroid grown for its dark, near-black s…
Pincushion Cactus
Pincushion cacti (Mammillaria) are small, rounded, easy-going desert cacti that reliably ring th…
Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)
The Polka Dot Plant is pure cheerful color - a small, bushy houseplant whose green leaves are fr…
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
The Ponytail Palm is one of the most charming and characterful houseplants there is - a swollen,…
Portulacaria Afra (Dwarf Jade / Elephant Bush)
Portulacaria afra - known as Dwarf Jade or Elephant Bush - is a fast-growing, bushy succulent sh…
Rabbit's Foot Fern (Davallia fejeensis)
The Rabbit's Foot Fern - Davallia fejeensis - is a delicate, lacy fern grown for two things: its…
Raindrop Peperomia
Raindrop Peperomia is a compact, semi-succulent foliage plant loved for its glossy, teardrop-sha…
Rebutia (Crown Cactus)
Rebutias are tiny, clustering desert cacti that flower so freely and so young that a small pot c…
Rhipsalis (Mistletoe Cactus)
Rhipsalis - the "Mistletoe Cactus" - is a cactus that breaks all the rules you think you know ab…
Ripple Peperomia
Ripple Peperomia is a compact, semi-succulent houseplant prized for its deeply corrugated, heart…
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala rotundifolia is the gateway 'stem plant' - a fast, bushy background stem that stays green…
Schefflera (Umbrella Plant)
The Schefflera, or Umbrella Plant, is a classic, easy indoor tree - fast-growing, glossy, and fo…
Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks)
Sempervivums, or hens and chicks, are tough little rosette succulents that multiply into tidy ma…
Spathoglottis (Ground Orchid)
Spathoglottis is the flowerbed orchid - a true terrestrial with pleated palm-like leaves and con…
Tiger Jaws
Tiger jaws is a small, characterful succulent whose fat triangular leaves are edged with soft, c…
Tillandsia Aeranthos
Tillandsia aeranthos is a hardy, clump-forming air plant that lives entirely without soil, drawi…
Tillandsia Brachycaulos
Tillandsia Brachycaulos is a soft-leaved epiphytic air plant that grows without soil, drawing it…
Tillandsia Ionantha
Tillandsia Ionantha is one of the most popular air plants in the world, a tiny soil-free bromeli…
Tillandsia Stricta
Tillandsia Stricta (Tillandsia stricta) is one of the most popular and forgiving air plants, a s…
Tradescantia (Inch Plant / Wandering Dude)
Tradescantia is the fast, lush, colorful trailing plant that fills a hanging pot almost before y…
Vallisneria
Vallisneria is the classic underwater 'jungle grass' - long ribbon leaves that rise from the sub…
Watch Chain Plant (Crassula muscosa)
The watch chain plant is a curious crassula whose tiny, scale-like leaves stack so tightly along…
Water Wisteria
Water wisteria is a fast, forgiving stem plant with lacy, fern-like leaves that grows so quickly…
Watermelon Peperomia
Watermelon Peperomia is a compact, foliage-first houseplant prized for leaves that mimic the str…
Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia)
The Watermelon Peperomia - Peperomia argyreia - is a small, compact South American houseplant gr…
ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
The ZZ Plant is the houseplant for the darkest, most neglected corner of your home.
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Choosing a plant for a home with pets? We keep toxicity off Plantvale on purpose - check the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.