Meet 14 Low-Maintenance Indoor Plants for Busy Lifestyle
Introduction
There's no better way to greenify your home than with live indoor plants. However, getting them is one thing, but keeping them healthy and alive can be difficult, especially if you're swamped! That’s why I’ve made this list of 14 best low maintenance indoor plants.
These resilient beauties thrive with just occasional sips of water and don’t mind low light conditions. And the best part – you don’t need a green thumb to keep these hardy plants alive! Here's the list:
- Boston Fern
- Red Aglaonema
- ZZ Plant
- Adanson's Monstera
- English Ivy
- Cast Iron Plant
- Weeping Fig
- Snake Plant
- Ponytail Palm
- Columnea
- Florist Kalanchoe
- Calathea Freddie
- Wandering Jew/Dude
- Arrowhead Vine
Let's get into details about these plants.
1. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
Among all the indoor fern plants, the Boston fern, commonly known as the Sword fern, is well-known for its lush fronds. This perennial plant also serves as an effective air purifier, removing harmful toxins and improving indoor humidity levels. Here are some more air purifying plants for you.
It flourishes in indirect light, requiring only a few hours to thrive! It won't grow in shade indoors, so it is best to use bright filtered light. Watering it is also hassle-free. In hot weather, a few times a week will do, while just once a week or less during winter is enough for it.
Reaching 2 to 3 feet in height, the Boston Fern thrives in high humidity. That’s why you can have them in the bathrooms and kitchen.
2. Red Aglaonema (Aglaonema Siam Aurora)
This small house plant is famous for its brightly colored leaves. With streaks of pink and red gracing its foliage, this vibrant plant can reach heights of 1 to 3 feet. It releases abundant oxygen and purifies indoor air by eliminating chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene.
To keep its leaves jazzy, place it in a spot with bright indirect sunlight. These exotic flowering plants prefer high humidity. Use well-draining soil for best results and water when the soil has dried up partially. Depending on the pot size, and where you put it, it may need watering every 10 days to 2 weeks.
3. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
Among all the low maintenance house plants, this tropical perennial shines brightly due to its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and its nearly indestructible nature. While bright indirect light is good, it's not a strict requirement. It can thrive even in extremely low light conditions. It grows pretty slowly, taking about three to five years to get to a height of 2 to 3 feet.
The ZZ Plant is also highly drought-resistant. You only need to water it every 2-3 weeks, letting the soil get dry before watering again. And it is really forgiving when it comes to infrequent watering. But beware it is toxic for animals and humans.
4. Adanson's Monstera (Monstera adansonii)
Also known as the Swiss cheese plant, this tropical perennial earns its moniker from its broad heart-shaped leaves that form holes as the plant matures, which looks like Swiss cheese.
But this isn’t a small house plant, as it can extend between 3 to 5 feet indoors, and when grown outdoors, it has the potential to reach heights of 12 to 13 feet.
This plant does really well if it gets six hours of bright, indirect sunlight each day, and you only need to water it once a week.
5. English Ivy (Hedera helix)
If you’re into indoor ivy plants that grow fast, you can’t go wrong with this one. This beautiful trailing plant can grow 50 cm to 70 cm each year, eventually reaching towering heights of 20 to 100 feet. Sure, I don't want my living room to look like a jungle, so I trim them every year to keep them short.
It has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory perks. Also, it seems to help with coughs. English ivies like moderate light, especially fluorescent, but can handle bright indirect light too. Watering every 5 to 7 days is good. Just remember to keep the soil evenly damp, not soggy.
6. Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
Among other hardy popular indoor plants, this herbaceous perennial stands out for its durability and air-purifying quality. It can handle dry spells if you forget to water it sometimes, handles heat well, rarely has pest issues, and thrives in low light—what more could you want!
Cast iron plants can reach heights and spreads of up to 3 feet. They thrive in bright indirect light or even a dim corner, just not under direct sun. Watering once a week or when the soil dries out is enough to keep them flourishing. And, they love well-draining, slightly acidic soil.
7. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
Commonly known as the Benjamin fig or ficus tree, this broadleaf evergreen is well-known for its ability to remove formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene from the air. Plus, its shiny green, teardrop-shaped leaves make any room look trendy.
Indoors, it grows between 3 to 6 feet, but outside it can reach a whopping 60 feet. It needs lots of indirect sunlight and a bit of afternoon sun too. That’s why mine sits by the front door, facing the porch, where it gets plenty of light.
It is one of the best low maintenance indoor plants, requiring water only when the soil is dry. Or, simply water it every week as I do—it'll be happy either way.
8. Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
Snake Plant is well-known for being extremely low-maintenance and simple to take care of. In addition to purifying the air, it can also improve mental well-being. And, it can reach a height of two feet indoors.
Put your Snake plant where it’ll get sunlight for only part of the day, around 2 to 6 hours. However, it can also do well in low light conditions. Plus it is not fussy about water! Water it every 1-2 weeks in summer, less in winter.
9. Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Among all the low maintenance house plants, this one stands out with its unique palm-like appearance. But don't let the name fool you—it's a succulent, not a true palm. This palm-wannabe can remove carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from the air.
Indoors, Ponytail palms can reach 6 to 8 feet in height. They need bright indirect light to flourish, so place them in the sunniest room, but avoid direct sunlight. In growing seasons, water them every 7 to 14 days. But during winter, reduce it to once a month.
10. Columnea (Columnea gloriosa)
Columnea, also known as the goldfish plant, is one of my favorite low maintenance indoor plants. It gets its name from its bright orange blooms that look like goldfish. When fully grown, this lovely plant reaches a height of 3 feet and a spread of 2 feet.
Columnea loves bright indirect light. During spring and summer, water it every week. In fall and winter, water every two or three weeks. It prefers moderate levels of humidity and grows well in temperatures ranging from 20°C to 25°C.
11. Florist Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
Also known as Flaming Katy, this flowering succulent is loaded with medicinal properties. The leaves are used medicinally to treat skin infections, burns, ulcers, rashes, and inflammation. It can reach a height of 12 inches to 2 feet.
This is one of the most popular indoor plants with low maintenance because it just needs water when the top 1-2 inches of soil feels dry. This means you won't need to water more than every 2 or 3 weeks. Not picky about light either, full sun or bright indirect light will do for it.
12. Calathea Freddie (Calathea concinna)
Also known as the zebra plant because of its long, shiny light green leaves that have wavy edges and stripes of darker green. Thanks to its versatility, this herbaceous perennial is one of the greatest indoor plants with low maintenance.
It can reach 3 feet in height and prefers spots with some shade and medium to bright indirect sunlight. Watering it once every week works, but remember it might need more if it gets lots of sunlight. I always keep the soil a bit damp and never let it get completely dry.
13. Wandering Jew/Dude (Tradescantia zebrina)
Often called the Silver inch plant, this herbaceous perennial is a treasure for health enthusiasts. It helps with kidney infections, cleans the blood, and works for things like swelling, hemorrhoids, and blood in stools – just a few of its benefits.
Not to mention, it doesn't use up lots of room, just grows about 6 to 9 inches, and only needs watering once a week. Bright indirect light is best for it.
Outside under bright light it grows flowers and more solid purple-colored leaves. However, indoors it thrives with stripes green leaves.
14. Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum)
This beautiful climbing plant is mostly used to decorate homes. Its leaves come in different shades of green, but they're not just pretty – they also help take out harmful stuff like benzene, toluene, and xylene, and even add moisture to the air.
It prefers bright light but not direct sunlight. When matured, it can reach 3 to 6 feet in height. It adds about 12 inches in height every year and gets around 6 to 7 new leaves.
Usually, give this plant water once a week or when the soil dries out partially during spring and summer, but cut back in winter. If you're like me and like your Arrowhead to be short and bushy, you'll need to trim it regularly.
Conclusion
Whether you like bushy ferns or trailing ivies, these colorful indoor plants with low maintenance won’t put a dent in your busy schedule! So forget about your gardening worries! Go ahead, pick a plant or two that go well with your style and home interior, and enjoy the beauty they add. Happy planting!
