You may be new to the world of houseplants, or you may struggle with keeping them alive. That is okay either way. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of houseplants that require a lot of attention. Luckily there are a few that are low maintenance and less finicky making for a more enjoyable time.

Before I get into this list of plants I want to help you identify a few things that will help you have a better experience. Consider:

What is your lighting like? Knowing this will help you select the plants that will work best for you. Most houseplants do well with bright indirect light. Direct sunlight will often scorch houseplants.

As for dark spaces you can still incorporate houseplants, just keep in mind most plants that are used in dark spaces are only shade tolerant. It will often be helpful to expose these plants to slightly more light during the spring and summer months to stimulate stronger growth.

For more information visit the House Plants Expert Light Guide.

What is your temperature like? Since we are talking about houseplants the odds are your home stays at a relatively constant temperature. The biggest concern when it comes to temperature and houseplants, are windows.

Be careful not to put plants too close to the windows during the winter months. The draft can sometimes be too much for it to endure resulting in the loss of your leafy friends.

Instead, place your plants within the indirect light of the window without being right up against it.

How to water? Watering can be trickier than it sounds like it should be. The best practice is to check the soil each day by placing a finger about 1-2 inches into the soil.

If it feels like there is a lot of water, wait another day. If the soil sticking to your fingers feels fairly dry, like you could brush it off and there wouldn’t be any water transfer, then go ahead and water it for the day. Remember, you are trying to see if there is water at this level of the soil. Some soil will almost always stick to your hands.

Always use pots that will allow excess water to drain out preventing root rot that occurs when there is too much sitting water in the pot. For more information on how to correctly water your houseplants check out this article with advice from Dr. Leonard Perry, an emeritus professor of Horticulture at the University of Vermont.

Plants that are easy to care for:

• Monstera
• Snake Plant
• ZZ Plant
• Spider Plant
• Philodendron
• Aloe
• Dracaena
• Ponytail Palm
• Aglaonema
• Peace Lily
• Christmas Cactus
• Dieffenbachia

For better growing success:

Try our animal by-product free organic potting soil mix. This mix includes Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, Coarse Perlite & Dolomitic Limestone. Because of its great drainage, moisture retention, and light characteristics this soil mix is ideal for anything from growing microgreens, vegetables, and flowers to your favorite houseplants.

For increased effectiveness add some worm castings as an organic nutrient source that is rich in nitrogen, phosphates, and other minerals.