Houseplant Round-up for Beginners

Pinterest and Instagram are filled with beautifully designed spaces, many with large leafy indoor plants that are focal points for the room. Before you entertain the idea of dropping $300 on a fully matured statement plant, it helps to have a baseline understanding of plant care. There are some plants that you might have better luck with than, for instance, trying to grow a large olive tree indoors.

Are you looking to purchase your first houseplant? Maybe you received a new plant from a relative, family friend, or coworker and want to keep it alive.

I am detailing some quick and dirty plant care tips, as well as six plants that are beautiful, yet simple to care for!

My first few houseplants were gifts, but when I was looking for my first plants to purchase for my home I googled “houseplants for beginners.” Before you go out and buy the succulent and snake plant that the internet deems as the easy houseplant, here are a few things to consider to feel more confident in your plant purchase!

Choose one that’s cute, but low maintenance

Typically the plant that always comes to the top of searches is a snake plant. Don’t get me wrong, we have a few snake plants, but I wanted to look for plants that I was drawn to. Plants can be mesmerizing in that way.

I don’t consider a plant to be low maintenance if a special watering schedule is required! Looking at you calatheas! They are true stunners but have to be kept perfectly moist, yet not wet, preferably in humid conditions, and with hopes that you don’t get fungus gnats!

All of these plants listed below I thoroughly water once every 7-10 days. In the winter, that may stretch to 10 days and in the summer closer to 7 days.

Fertilize your plants

I fertilize these houseplants nearly all year round but stop in the dead of winter during their dormant season. My favorite fertilizer right now is this organic fertilizer for house plants. I mix a fraction of a cap full into my watering can and water with this liquid fertilizer about once or twice a month.

Get the light right

Find your window, and add plants near it. It might look lovely to have your fiddle leaf fig to the right of your fireplace, but if your window is on the left, it probably is going to prefer the spot with the better light.

At my old apartment, I had a large wall that I added several plants to. I thought it would add some greenery to such an open space. One by one those plants struggled, and that is because I put the plants where I wanted them to go, vs. where they would thrive.

Most of these plants prefer bright indirect light. This means these plants want to be in a well-lit area, but not for too long under harsh sunbeams.

Drainage holes are a necessity

A common reason why houseplants die in the hands of new plant parents is because the soil retains too much moisture. This causes the roots to get too much water leading to decay. This gives a visual appearance of soggy yellow and brown leaves. A proper drainage hole that allows air and water to readily flow through the soil media prevents root rot.

When I shop for new pots, I like to look for planters that have a drainage hole. If a planter doesn’t have a drainage hole, I keep it in the grower’s pot that it came in and lift it out to water. Another option is to take a drill and a diamond drill bit and create a drainage hole yourself using squirts of water.

The combination of drainage holes and loose soil helps ensure your soil is dry between waterings, preventing root rot.

After understanding the basics of plant care, it is time to choose a new plant to bring into your home.

Here is my round-up of houseplants for beginners that are tried and true in my home, and yet provide simple beauty to any space.

Zz Plant

Zamioculcas zamiifolia or “zz plant” is structurally different from many of the houseplants that you will encounter. Its waxy stems almost look plastic. It took a while to get any new growth. The stems grow slowly from these round tubers under the soil.

ZZ plants have waxy dark green foliage that can be irritating to the skin and toxic to pets. They can typically handle medium light as long as the soil is well-draining.

Monstera Deliciosa

Showstopper plant. These climbing plants get big. They can truly take over a room especially if they have multiple stalks. These plants need a lot of bright light or they can struggle. Bright indirect light with a fair amount of direct light seems to make these plants happy.

The first monstera I got was absolutely massive and it died in about two weeks! Completely rookie mistakes! I believe it was one of the first houseplants I ever purchased.

I foolishly immediately repotted this large monstera. In my mind, I was like “the plant is big so I need a bigger pot,” but the pot I got was way too large. I watered it and the roots never sucked up all of the water because there was too much wet soil. The soil wasn’t drying out between waterings and it began to rot. It unfortunately had to get discarded.

A few months later, I started fresh with a small monstera that could fit on my window sill. New beginnings! In just a few years it got big!

My Monstera is one of my favorite plants because it feels like a large living sculpture! When you are in the room, you can’t help but notice it.

Birkin

Did I want this plant because this was the closest thing to a Birkin bag that I’d own? My mom is a true plant lady and has a beautiful Birkin sitting on the upholstered ottoman in her living room. She introduced me to this plant. It has unique green and light green stripes.

This philodendron is an “instant-gratification plant!” As a new plant owner, you want plants that are going to pop out new leaves so that you know they are alive and happy. Every time I look there are new leaves sprouting from this plant.

It prefers bright indirect light, but it can handles some direct light sun-beams.

Pilea peperomioides

These are very delicate, but they are beautiful! They have perfectly round lily pad leaves. When they are thriving, they shoot off little baby plants from the main stem. They need to be rotated periodically because all of the lily pads will be facing the light. Pilea peperomioides like bright indirect light, with even a bit of direct light. They will start to stretch for light if they are too far from a light source and then the leaves begin to droop. It is like they can’t support their own weight when they are too long.

Scindapsus pictus

Silvery green leaf pothos also known as satin pothos. This is a beautiful trailing plant. Trailing plants aren’t everyone’s style, but having a trailing plant cascading off a shelf is quite charming. The more bright light this plant receives, the larger and more silver the leaves become.

Green Philodendron 

Gold Pothos seems to be a very popular plant for beginners, but mine always struggled. I found the green philodendron to be much easier to care for. The heart-shaped dark green leaves are more delicate. Green philodendrons tolerate medium light. I trim mine up periodically for a more compact look.

Don’t feel intimidated by the sheer variety of houseplants, unless an indoor jungle is your goal! Start small with plants that you are excited about and that bring peace to your home. For me, I found it helpful to take the pressure off of trying to keep the plant alive. Not every plant works well in my space and with my light. Once you see what plants work in your space, you will be able to create a houseplant round-up of your own!

Thank you for reading! I would love to hear about the low-maintenance indoor plants in your home or a plant on your wishlist!