60 Houseplants you can forget to water 🏜️
If your plants tend to die of thirst - or of your good intentions with the watering can - start here. These are the houseplants whose own notes describe them as drought-tolerant or happier on the dry side, the ones that shrug off a forgotten week far better than a soggy one.
"Forgives a missed watering" is not "never water". These still need a proper soak when the soil is dry - just far less often, and never a permanently wet pot.
Aeonium
The Aeonium is a succulent that breaks all the usual succulent rules, and that is exactly what…
Agave
Agaves are bold, architectural succulents that form dramatic rosettes of thick, pointed leaves…
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is the houseplant that earns its keep.
Baby Rubber Plant Peperomia
The Baby Rubber Plant Peperomia (Peperomia obtusifolia) is a compact, semi-succulent foliage…
Baseball Plant (Euphorbia obesa)
The baseball plant is a curious, spineless, ball-shaped euphorbia patterned with subtle…
Bishop's Cap Cactus
The bishop's cap is a spineless, sculptural little cactus shaped like a plump star or a…
Blue Columnar Cactus
The blue columnar cactus is one of the most beautiful cacti in the world - an upright column of…
Brain Cactus
The brain cactus is a crested mutation of the ladyfinger cactus whose stems grow in waving…
Bunny Ears Cactus
The bunny ears cactus is a charming small opuntia whose flat, oval pads sprout in pairs like a…
Burro's Tail (Sedum morganianum)
The Burro's Tail - Sedum morganianum, also known as the donkey's tail - is a trailing succulent…
Cholla Cactus
The cholla is the cactus of desert campfire stories - a shrubby, branching cactus of…
Claret Cup Cactus
The claret cup is a hardy, clustering hedgehog cactus that mounds into a dome of spiny green…
Clivia (Clivia miniata - Bush Lily)
The Clivia - known as the Bush Lily or Natal Lily - is one of the great old-fashioned…
Clusia (Autograph Tree)
Clusia (Clusia rosea), known as the Autograph Tree, is a tough, glossy, upright houseplant with…
Crassula Perforata (String of Buttons)
Crassula perforata - the "String of Buttons" - is a charming, easy-going succulent whose small…
Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)
The Crown of Thorns is a tough, sun-loving succulent shrub that does something remarkable: it…
Echinopsis (Sea-Urchin Cactus)
Echinopsis cacti are small, globular desert cacti famous for a spectacular disappearing act…
Euphorbia Trigona (African Milk Tree)
The African Milk Tree, Euphorbia trigona, is a bold, architectural houseplant that looks…
Fairy Castle Cactus
The fairy castle cactus is a charming, slow-growing cactus that branches into a cluster of…
Feather Cactus
The feather cactus looks like a cluster of little snowballs wrapped in down - its spines have…
Fishhook Barrel Cactus
The fishhook barrel is a big, ribbed desert globe armed with fierce, hooked red spines that…
Foxtail Fern
The foxtail fern grows dense, upright, plume-like fronds that really do look like bushy fox…
Gasteria (Ox Tongue)
Gasteria is a small, tough, slow-growing succulent from South Africa, best known for its thick…
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…
Gymnocalycium (Chin Cactus)
Gymnocalyciums are rounded, easy-going desert cacti named for their smooth, spineless flower…
Hoya (Wax Plant)
The Hoya, or Wax Plant, is a long-lived, easy-going trailing and climbing plant beloved for two…
Ice Plant
The ice plant is a low, spreading succulent smothered, in summer, in brilliant daisy-like…
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
The Jade Plant is a small, sturdy succulent tree that can become a lifelong companion - often…
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
The Flaming Katy Kalanchoe is the cheerful, easy succulent that you buy already bursting with…
Ladyfinger Cactus
The ladyfinger cactus is a neat, easy mammillaria that forms clusters of slender, upright…
Lithops (Living Stones)
Lithops are among the strangest and most fascinating plants you can keep on a windowsill.
Mother of Thousands
Mother of thousands is the extraordinary succulent that grows a fringe of tiny, ready-rooted…
Old Lady Cactus
The old lady cactus is a plump, globe-shaped Mammillaria wrapped in a soft-looking veil of fine…
Old Man Cactus
The old man cactus is an unmistakable columnar cactus draped in long, shaggy white hairs, like…
Organ Pipe Cactus
The organ pipe is a majestic columnar cactus that, true to its name, sends up a cluster of…
Parodia (Ball Cactus)
Parodias, or ball cacti, are neat, globular desert cacti that ring their crowns with cheerful…
Peanut Cactus
The peanut cactus is a small, fast-clustering cactus whose finger-like stems really do look…
Peperomia Columbiana
Peperomia Columbiana is a compact, semi-succulent foliage plant prized for its deep…
Peperomia Hope
Peperomia Hope is a compact, semi-trailing houseplant loved for its plump, coin-shaped leaves…
Philodendron Brasil (Philodendron hederaceum 'Brasil')
The Philodendron Brasil is a trailing heartleaf philodendron whose glossy green leaves come…
Pincushion Cactus
Pincushion cacti (Mammillaria) are small, rounded, easy-going desert cacti that reliably ring…
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
The Ponytail Palm is one of the most charming and characterful houseplants there is - a…
Portulacaria Afra (Dwarf Jade / Elephant Bush)
Portulacaria afra - known as Dwarf Jade or Elephant Bush - is a fast-growing, bushy succulent…
Prickly Pear Cactus
The prickly pear, or opuntia, is the classic flat-padded cactus, forming chains of…
Rebutia (Crown Cactus)
Rebutias are tiny, clustering desert cacti that flower so freely and so young that a small pot…
Saguaro Cactus
The saguaro is the giant, tree-like cactus of the American Southwest, an icon of the desert…
Satin Pothos (Scindapsus pictus)
The Satin Pothos - sometimes sold as "Silver Pothos" or "Silk Pothos" - is one of those plants…
Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks)
Sempervivums, or hens and chicks, are tough little rosette succulents that multiply into tidy…
Silver Torch Cactus
The silver torch is a slender, upright columnar cactus wrapped so densely in fine white spines…
Snake Plant (Sansevieria / Dracaena trifasciata)
The Snake Plant is the plant for people who think they cannot keep plants alive.
Star Cactus
The star cactus is a small, spineless, geometric gem - a low, ribbed dome divided into neat…
String of Bananas (Curio radicans)
The String of Bananas - sometimes still sold under its older name Senecio radicans - is one of…
String of Dolphins (Senecio peregrinus)
String of Dolphins is one of the most charming novelty succulents you can grow.
String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii)
The String of Hearts is one of the most delicate and romantic of all trailing houseplants…
String of Turtles (Peperomia prostrata)
The String of Turtles - Peperomia prostrata - is a delicate, slow-growing trailing plant grown…
Tillandsia Tectorum
Tillandsia Tectorum is the fuzziest, most snow-white of the air plants, prized by collectors…
Totem Pole Cactus
The totem pole cactus is a smooth, spineless, sculptural column covered in soft, knobbly bumps…
Yucca (Yucca elephantipes)
The indoor Yucca is the tough, architectural, low-effort statement plant - a sturdy woody trunk…
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? Our table of plants toxic to cats and dogs shows what every profile says - and the reference behind it is the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.