These Eight Houseplants Are Perfect for Beginners

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For a long time—despite my outdoor gardening expertise—I steered clear of houseplants. Houseplants, I felt, rely on you too much. They bear no fruit, and they kind of … sit there. But over the pandemic, I decided that my living room needed more life and built out a plant wall. It was the start of a love affair with indoor plants—the key is starting with plants that are easy for beginners. I recommend starting with big, leafy plants, rather than succulents—there’s a higher payoff as new leaves emerge. Here are the plants I’d consider. 

Pothos

I love walking into someone’s house and seeing a pothos claiming the space. Those long, trailing plants you see crawling someone’s walls and shelves? It’s likely a pothos, and they come in a huge variety of patterns and colors. While there are verdant solid green pothos, the plethora of variegation possible on the leaves is astounding. There are yellow varieties like Golden pothos, too. This is an easy, hard-to-kill plant. It requires little of you—use a relatively shallow planter, water once a week, and occasionally, give it some plant food. Support the trailing vines as they begin to grow using plant clips along the wall. A pothos can fill a large space easily, and will grow with you over time. 

Monstera

Monsteras had a moment a few years ago, and remain very popular. There are varieties of monstera that can go for thousands of dollars, but your basic monstera deliciosa is easy and cheap. (If a friend has one, you can easily propagate theirs.) Monsteras are a split leaf variety of philodendron. Some varieties will develop holes (these varieties are referred to as cheese varieties). One of the charms of monsteras is that you can leave them in water, instead of planting them in soil, which I do.  

Spider plant

Spider plants were hugely popular in the '70s and have been a mainstay since then. Spider plants get their name because they form offshoots easily, similar to strawberry plants; each “baby” spider can be cut off and become its own plant. Spider plants grow larger, and so your main task is going to be ensuring that the pot the plant is in is large enough. Otherwise, spiders are easy to maintain—hang them and wait for baby spiders to “jump” from the pot. 

Bamboo plant

Outdoors, gardeners tend to avoid bamboo, due to its propensity to spread. Indoors, bamboo is popular and a common gift. Bamboo doesn’t require a lot of light, preferring low or medium light, and doesn’t even require soil. You can plant it in rocks or glass pebbles; you just need the roots submerged. Bamboo can benefit from a light fertilizer once or twice a year. 

Cast iron plant

If you’re looking for a pet-safe, larger plant, consider a cast iron. With tall, long, graceful leaves on tiny but strong stems, cast iron is passive, as plants go. It requires the least amount of attention of all my plants. Once a year it shoots up a few new leaves, some of which stick straight up and some of which drape over the side of the planter. Like other plants, there are varieties of the cast iron that are more interesting than a standard green variety, with variegation and color shifts.

Ferns

There are more ferns than you can imagine, and they come in so many shapes and textures. I am constantly in awe of the new varieties I fall in love with. Most people know asparagus ferns, which are the most resilient, in my opinion. They shoot out branches with tiny spiked leaves that can become quite fluffy. Maidenhair ferns have tiny, delicate leaves and look like something you’d want to pet. I am obsessed with cotton candy ferns, which are so fluffy and soft and grow to gigantic pillow size. Birds nest ferns reach out with leaves that resemble arms, with finger-like tips. Lastly, there are few ferns as majestic as the Staghorn fern, which you can mount on a wall, but can also live in a planter. Ferns love the indoors, and don’t need as much sunlight as other plants. They love moist but not wet soil. What’s wonderful about ferns is they tell you how they’re feeling. You can tell if they need more water if they become droopy. 

Philodendron

If you like monsteras, philodendrons make sense for you. There are tons of varieties, and they do well in planters inside. Whether hanging or in a standing planter, philodendrons want to grow. They’ll send out giant, reaching leaves on delicate stems and if needed, send aerial roots out as well. You’ll want to ensure the planter has enough room for the root ball, and that might mean upgrading the size of pot year to year. Philodendrons require as much water as ferns, and benefit from occasional weak fertilizing. 

Aloe

I make an exception to my avoidance of succulents for aloe for obvious reasons: its usefulness. Aloe has long been used to soothe burns and rashes. Aloe plants require a decent amount of indirect sunlight, so if you’re not locating this plant by a window, it will need a plant light. Aloe doesn’t like wet feet, so you want to ensure you don’t overwater it, but if the leaves turn yellow, it is a sign that it is under-watered.  A succulent potting mix is appropriate.

Where to find houseplants

There will inevitably be tons of nurseries with houseplants near you, but also consider finding friends who have the plants you like. Most houseplants are easily propagated. Also, consider online sources. For the past few years, I've sourced most of my plants on sites like Etsy and the app Palmstreet.