Do you want an urban jungle but don’t have a green thumb? Then now is your hour. Because whether bow hemp, dragon tree, yucca or monstera – these easy to care indoor plants will feel right at home with you.
1. Low Maintenance Plant: Viper’s Bowstring Hemp
Timeless, decorative and easy to care for: the evergreen bow hemp belongs to the succulent plant family, which is able to store a lot of moisture. Bow hemp is extremely robust, needs extremely little water and stays alive (almost) without care. Water it every now and then when the soil feels dry and crumbly on the surface. As a desert plant, bow hemp is a sun worshiper and enjoys a warm location with lots of light. His feel-good climate is 15 to 29 degrees Celsius, and he doesn’t mind dry heating air in winter either.
2. For Partially Shaded Areas: Green Lily
With its long and narrow leaves reminiscent of grass, the green lily spreads retro charm. In the 70s and 80s, it was in demand as a houseplant. And even if it was reviled for a while as “official grass”, today it is more popular than ever. The reason? With the green lily you bring a green lung into your apartment, which supplies a lot of fresh oxygen and diligently cleans the room air during photosynthesis. It easily forgives care mistakes and thrives practically anywhere.
If the green lily could choose a location, it would prefer a partially shaded place with slightly more humid room air. So this easy to care plant will also be happy to move into your bathroom – or enjoy an occasional spa treatment with a water sprayer. Like almost any indoor plants, it does not like waterlogging. Therefore, water it only once a week with enough water until the soil has soaked up.
3. Water Very Little: Elephant’s Foot
Admittedly, the name isn’t the most charming. But the houseplant hidden behind it has the potential to quickly wrap you around its thick trunk. The strong bark and a crown of leaves growing from the tip make the Elephant’s Foot look extremely decorative. Since this easy to care houseplant is a succulent tree, it can store significant amounts of water in its trunk and hardly needs to be watered. Therefore, water the elephant foot only moderately and only when the soil has dried through. As a true desert child, he loves a sunny location with plenty of light. However, the elephant foot will not mind a spot in partial shade. In winter it likes it a little cooler (10 to 15 degrees Celsius), but always avoid drafts.
4. Light Up: Dragon Tree
The dragon tree is an extremely popular houseplant and a welcome guest in offices. No wonder, because this exotic from the tropics is one of the air-purifying plants: It even filters pollutants from laser printers in the room. The easy-to-care-for houseplant loves a bright to semi-shady location at constant temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. However, the dragon tree does not tolerate direct sunlight very well. Since it is a plant from the tropics and subtropics, it needs a constant water supply so that the roots do not dry out. Care tip: As soon as the soil in the pot feels crumbly and dry on the surface, you should water it sparingly.
5. Decorative, Large Leaves: Monstera (Window Leaf)
It is one of the hippest houseplants of recent years: the Monstera, also called window leaf, scores with its large, decorative leaves and its rich, dark green color. Originally from Central and South America, the Monstera prefers a warm, bright location with high humidity. For this purpose, for example, a winter garden is suitable. However, a location in the living room is also suitable if you spray the green trendsetter with a little water once a week. The window leaf prefers it to be a little too dry in the pot than too damp – so water no more than once a week.
6. Bedroom Plant: Ivy
True to her motto, “So close to heaven,” ivy likes to reach for the stars. Depending on the variety, it prefers to dangle in a hanging basket or climb to lofty heights with the help of climbing aids. Therefore, this houseplant is particularly suitable as a green curtain or room divider. With its heart-shaped leaves, which range from silver to yellow and white to rich green, it’s always an eye-catcher. How convenient that it is also so easy to care for: from light to partial shade, it can cope with any location. Even longer periods of drought are welcome – the ivy is very frugal and requires little water. It thrives best at 20 degrees Celsius, but hates blazing sun. Whether you want to turn your living room into a jungle with ivy or improve the air quality in your bedroom – with this plant you have the right green at your side.
7. Any Location Welcome: Money Tree (Jade Plant)
This equally popular and well-known succulent owes its name “money tree” (also “lucky tree” or “penny tree”) to its coin-shaped leaves. The little “tree” is extremely undemanding when it comes to choosing a location: it likes sunny to semi-shady places and likes to stand by the window. In any case, you should avoid waterlogging and water the money tree carefully and rarely. Like any succulent, this plant can store water, so you can let its granules dry out for several days without any problems.
8. Easy Care And Frugal: Lucky Bamboo
Looking for a relaxing roommate for your bathroom or kitchen? Then the lucky bamboo is just right for you. This undemanding plant from the tropics thrives best in a bright, warm location with pleasant humidity and a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. Rule of thumb: the brighter, the faster the lucky bamboo grows. It does not need much water, but the roots should be well moist. Only in case of draught the lucky bamboo drops its leaves in a huff.
9. Avoid Waterlogging: Rubber Tree
As a real classic, the rubber tree has already had one or the other hype behind it. For a few years now, it has been celebrating its revival and is rightly regarded as a particularly low-maintenance houseplant. It is available in single and multi-colored variants; the color spectrum ranges from light to dark green to beige speckled variants with pink leaves. The rubber tree is available for light as well as semi-shaded locations and likes it pleasantly warm (from 20 degrees Celsius). If it forms aerial roots, you can pat yourself on the back, because then the rubber tree feels completely comfortable. Therefore, avoid drafts and waterlogging. As soon as the soil dries out, it is time to water the rubber tree carefully. Care tip: Instead of using a watering can, you can occasionally dip the root ball in a bucket of water until its granules have soaked up.
10. Decorative Plant: Golden Fruit Palm Tree
With its decorative feathery foliage, the golden fruit palm provides a good indoor climate, increases the humidity, has a noise-absorbing effect – and exudes vacation flair to boot. If you want to set up a place for the exotic good mood maker, you should choose a location that is as bright as possible without direct sunlight. In a consistently warm room climate and high humidity (e.g. in the bathroom or conservatory), the golden fruit palm will thrive all by itself. To ensure that it never dries out completely, it is best to water your plant regularly with just a little water.
11. For Beginners: Yucca Palm
Yucca superstar! Even if you have no green fingers at all, nothing can go wrong with this easy-care houseplant. Native to Central and North America, this palm is not called the “student plant” for nothing. It needs hardly any water (watering once a week is quite enough) and has a special preference for calcareous water. The yucca palm grows both in partial shade and in sunny locations, in winter it may be quiet a little cooler.
12. Sunny, Sunny, Cacti
Survivor through and through: Cacti survive impressively long periods without water. Most can even absorb their own weight in water. Nevertheless, you should give this robust and easy to care houseplant a little attention: water your cactus with a little water when the soil feels dry on the surface. Waterlogging is taboo. When it comes to light intensity, cacti are not particularly demanding. Particularly decorative and easy-care cactus species are, for example, the rock cactus, the bird’s nest cactus and the gold torch.
13. With Flowers: Peace Lily
The peace lily with its dark green leaves and white, decorative calyx flowers, is a real eye-catcher for the living room and hallway. In total, there are more than 50 species of this plant. The most popular ones are the Spathipyhllum floribundum and Spathiphyllum wallisii. As a tropical plant, the peace lily loves warmth and prefers a bright location without direct sunlight (e.g. a north-facing window). The peace lily welcomes high humidity and thanks you with strong growth. Provide this plant with a little water regularly so that the soil never dries out completely.
14. Sunny Location Desired: Aloe Vera
Taken by storm: hardly any houseplant has gathered as many new followers around it in recent years as the aloe vera. Its spiky-looking, large leaves give the succulent a rugged appearance, making it look almost sculptural and making it a popular decorative plant. Its low-maintenance character makes aloe vera interesting even for people without green fingers. The exotic from the tropics loves a warm location with plenty of sun. Water the plant sparingly and make sure that the inside of the leaf rosette does not get wet.
15. Very Easy To Care For: Zamioculcas (Lucky Feather)
It’s considered to be almost indestructible: the Zamioculcas is so tough that it thrives in even the most untalented gardener’s hands. The Zamioculcas can cope with everything from shady to semi-shady to bright locations. An occasional dose of water will keep this hardy, low-maintenance houseplant alive; otherwise, you can safely leave it alone. Bingo!
