So, you are ready to start your adventure as a new plant parent! Question is, how do you choose?
The best way to begin is to keep it simple. While you could start with the plant, I find it is a better idea to start with the location. Where in your house would you most like to see some life?
How to pick your houseplant: 5 things for beginners to consider
1. How much sun will the plant get?
Once you decide on where you want to put your new houseplant, determine how much sun that spot will get. You just need a general idea. Don’t overthink it! Here’s an easy way to think about it:
– It’s friggen BRIGHT! The sun just shines and shines on this spot. High light.
– Well, it’s light, but the sun doesn’t shine directly on the spot. Medium light.
– There’s light, it’s just pretty dim. Low light.
Why is the amount of sunlight important? Because not enough sun or light will kill your plant and too much sun will burn the leaves, and then kill it.
DON’T WORRY! You will be able tell the plant is getting too much sun well in advance and move it to a better location. The plant will exhibit something called leaf scorching, this is when the edges of the leaves start to pale, then turn brown or yellow. After that, the leaves will often start to curl.
It’s usually a bit tricker, however, to figure out if your plant is not getting enough sun. But with the types of house plants I’m sharing in this post are all quite easy to keep alive, which makes them great choices for brown thumbs and beginners.
2. Do you have pets that may want a bite of your houseplant?
Best to stay away from the toxic plants or keep them out of reach! There are also plants that aren’t toxic that my cats love and will just eat right up. That’s not good either, but there’s no way to know that in advance.
3. How big do you want your plant to get?
Exactly. How big do you want your plant to get? Take a look at your future plant’s home, do you want to keep it small or are you thinking tree, like you want a friggen indoor tree.
4. How easy or forgiving do you want this plant to be?
Some plants are simply more temperamental and take more care.
5. Do you want to live with this plant?
Do you love this plant? Do you think it will look good in its new home? Would you be excited if it might help purify your indoor air??
Best houseplants for brown thumbs
To help make things easier, I’m sharing my top four houseplant picks for brown thumbs and beginners.
Each plant on this list is easy to maintain and is flexible with the amount of light it needs to thrive. That takes the pressure off when you’re a new plant parent.
Let’s see which is best for you.
Spider Plant
How much sun?
These plants like bright indirect light. (Med to high light)
Do you have pets?
Pet friendly! This type of houseplant is not toxic to your cat or dog.
How big?
About 12″ to 24”. And this plant grows DOWN! Make sure you have allowed for the plant to cascade.
How easy?
Spider plants are forgiving and easy to grow. It’s a low-maintenance plant that can handle some neglect, making it a perfect choice for the new plant parent.
Once you have your new spider plant in place watch it grow. And I do mean GROW!
Check on your plant. Are the leaves getting brown at the tip? While a little browning is normal. too much could mean your spider plant is trying to tell you something. So you’ll need to figure out what’s wrong. Too much sun and/or too much water OR too little water are a few of the culprits.
Here are a couple easy care tips for your spider plant:
- Watering: In Southern California, I find this plant likes the soil to dry some between watering so I water it once a week, when the top ½ of the soil is dry. The plant doesn’t like it soggy so I make sure to test the soil before I water just in case. Ohh, and I mist my spider plant. They like it humid.
- Fertilizing: Don’t get scared here! This plant likes a basic all-purpose fertilizer, (20-20-20), once a month in spring and summer.
Do you want to live with it?
The spider plant is a beautiful graceful and grassy looking plant. It likes to be off the ground so you can enjoy it’s cascading leaves. Do you have the right space for it or want something more upright?
Air purifying? Yes. So it’s trying to take care of you, too.
A bit more info on spider plants
It’s hard to not talk about the BABIES! The arching leaves spider plants produce off-shoots called pups, or spiderettes. And you can use these pups to propagate a new plant.
Three ways you can propagate more spider plants:
– Grab a pot with traditional potting soil, set it next to your spider plant, and put that pup right onto the soil — without cutting it from the mother plant.
– Cut the pup from the mother plant and put in a pot with soil. Before you cut it, though, you should wait until you start to see some roots developing on the end of the pup itself.
– Cut the pup from the mother plant (again, wait to cut until you see some roots starting to form on the pup). Put it in water until roots develop to around 2″-3″ — then plant it. This should only take about two weeks.
Want to get fancy with your spider plant?
The traditional spider plant, which is most common type of spider plant, is a marvelous way to begin. But let’s go a little deeper.
The scientific name for a spider plant is Chlorophytum comosum and there are a few varieties if you want to get fancy. Mostly, the various types of spider plants just offer slightly different variegation in the leaves. One plant however, Chlorophytum comosum ‘Bonnie’ is a compact spider plant with curly leaves. Fancy!
So that’s one great houseplant for brown thumbs. By the way, being a brown thumb is only a state of mind. You can do this!
Okay, on to another great option.
Snake Plant
How much sun?
A lot to not that much!
This snake plant is one of your best bets for low light situations.
It will also take partial sunlight and even adapt to full sun!
In short, the snake plant is very amenable to varying amounts of light, making it one of the most durable houseplants out there. (Low to high light.)
Do you have pets?
Not pet friendly. This type of plant is toxic to cats and dogs. Typically, however, it is not a plant your pets will eat.
How big?
From 6-inches all the way up to 8-feet tall! That’s not very helpful, is it?
How easy?
The big easy! This will be short. Snake plants are difficult to kill.
Here are a few easy care tips for your snake plant:
- Watering: This plant is a succulent. Which explains its low water use. Snake plants should only be watered when the soil feels dry. It can go two months between watering in the winter months!! Watering every 2 weeks should be enough in the summer months. If the leaves of the snake plant start to fall over, that means it’s getting too much water. Number one problem with this plant? Being over-watered.
- Temperature: This plants doesn’t like it cold, though. And frost will kill your snake plant. Not that frost should be a problem inside your house!
- Fertilizing: No need, really. If you’re jonesing for faster growth, you can add some cactus and succulent fertilizer.
Do you want to live with it?
What an easy roommate. I would say it’s on the uptight side, looks-wise. Rather stiff and self-contained. It is also a pretty bold plant, so if you’d like something more delicate or finely textured move on. If you want something really, really low maintenance then here you go!
Air purifying? Yep. The best!
A bit more info on snake plants
Oh, I’ll dish the dirt on this one. There’s another common name for the plant, which I love: Mother-In-Laws-Tongue.
While we are talking about names, this plant had a name change a few years ago. The scientific name used to be Sansieveria. Snake plant was in the Sanseveria family since the 1700s. It only became a Dracaena in 2017!
Want to get fancy with your snake plant?
The scientific name for snake plant is Dracaena trifasciata (formerly Sanseveria trifasciata). There are many, many types of snake plants to choose from these days. Here are some examples:
– Dracaena trifasciata ‘Hahnii’: This type of snake plant is the small one, growing to just 6”. It is also called bird’s nest snake plant.
– Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentii’: This variegated snake plant has creamy yellow leaf margins.
– Dracaena trifasciata ‘Moonshine’: This one grows to 2’ and has upright silvery-white spear-like leaves.
– Dracaena trifasciata ‘cylindrica’ or ‘angolensis’: The common name for this dracaena is African Spear, and this variety has narrow round leaves reaching 4’.
Okay, so we’ve talked through two fabulous (and very different) houseplants for beginners. Let’s keep going.
Peace Lily (or Spathiphyllum)
How much sun?
While best in bright, indirect sunlight, the peace lily will tolerate low light situations. It will also tolerate fluorescent lights! (Low to high light, but best in medium to dappled indirect light).
The more sun, the more likely it is of flowering. Which is to say, a peace lily may not flower in a dark hallway.
Avoid south facing windows or direct sunlight.
Do you have pets?
Not very pet friendly! This houseplant is mildly toxic – keep out of reach of pets. Rumor has it the peace lily is one of the most common plants Poison Control is called about.
How big?
Peace lilies can grow from 10-inches to 6-feet tall. Quite a range!
How easy?
EASY to grow!
Here are a few easy care tips for your peace lily plant:
- Watering: Weekly will do. The plant will let you know by drooping its leaves when its feeling thirsty. Or when it’s had too much! So, check the soil if you’re not sure. In warm and dry weather you made need to water more or less in a cooler environment. You’re just going to have to get comfortable getting your finger into the soil to gauge the moisture.It is an easy to grow plant – just avoid drafts.
- Fertilizing: It will help with the flowering, so why not? Everyone has their own idea of how this should go down. I would grab a fertilizer that says it has a 3:1:2 ratio of NPK, and follow the instructions. You only want to fertilize during the plant’s growing season – which is in spring and summer. I would always err on less than more.
Do you want to live with it?
Hard not to like a plant that symbolizes peace! The broad, lush, dark green leaves and white calla-like flowers are perfect for casual relaxed environments. Like the snake plant, you can find some peace lillies big enough to look great on the floor, as well as smaller ones for shelves and tabletops.
Air purifying? Wait! Did I say the snake plant was the best air purifying plant? I take it back. This one is the best! NASA’s 1980s study put the peace lily as one of the top two air-purifying plants, along with the chrysanthemum. For whatever that’s worth.
A bit more info on the peace lily
Peace lilies are sometimes referred to as Spath, short for its scientific name, Spathiphyllum.
‘Spath’ is Greek for spoon, and ‘phyl’ means leaves. The flowers of this plant grow on the spadix, which is inside the white spoon we think of as the flower. The white spoon is actually made up of the modified leaves, or spathes.
The peace is from the white flag like quality of these spathes. Feng Shui experts are said to believe the peace lily plant converts negative energy into positive energy. Who couldn’t use some of that?
Want to get fancy with your peace lily plant?
White spathes aren’t the only ones representing peace. There are also green ones! There are also various types of peace lillies with with patterned and variegated leaves, both big and small. Here are a few:
– Sensational Peace Lily: If you want to go big, this is the type of peace lily for you. It grows to between 4′ and 6’.
– Piccolino Peace Lily: A small and more delicate looking dwarf lily that tops out at one foot.
– Domino Peace Lily: This is a lovely variegated lily, with its leaves sketched with white. This Spath gets up to 30” tall and wide.
ZZ Plant
How much sun?
This plant is also very forgiving as far as light. Like many of the other house plants it does prefer bright indirect light. (Low to high light!)
Do you have pets?
Not very pet friendly! This is another toxic plant if eaten by pets (or humans).
How big?
The ZZ plant is an upright plant that will grow 2′ to 4’ tall and wide.
How easy?
At this point, you get the idea. If the plant made my top four houseplants for brown thumbs list, it’s easy to keep alive. And the ZZ plant is no different.
This plant is hard to kill. Just avoid placing it near a cold draft.
Here are a couple easy care tips for your ZZ plant:
- Watering: This indoor plant likes to get dry! Check the soil every couple weeks to see if it’s ready for some water. If the soil is dry, go ahead and water the plant until the water is draining from the pot. You will want to toss excess water and not let the plant sit in it.
- Fertilizing: Don’t bother. If you feel the need, you can use the general 20-20-20 fertilizer a few times a year.
Do you want to live with it?
Take a look. Do you like what you see? It’s a lovely, simple, and good-sized plant that will add some gorgeous greenery to your home.
Air purifying? Yep!
A bit more info on ZZ plants
The scientific name for the ZZ plant is Zamioculcas zamiifolia. Thank goodness for common names, eh?
Want to get fancy with your ZZ plant?
There are other varieties for you to choose from if you want something more unique, but value the looks and ease of the ZZ plant.
Here are few types of ZZ plants:
– Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Raven’: A unique looking ZZ plant with dark maroon leaves.
– Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Lucky Variegated’: Want something brighter? This variety of ZZ has green leaves variegated with white and yellow.
– Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘zamicro’: This dwarf variety keeps it small.
There you go! That wraps up my list of four fabulous houseplants for brown thumbs. And soon enough, you’ll stop calling youself a brown thumb!
Pick a spot and pick your plant! I can’t imagine a downside to this relationship.
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