10 easy-to-grow houseplants

BY ASSIA MORTENSEN

Houseplants can add a touch of the outdoors to your inner sanctum, as well as providing an inexpensive way to decorate. Indoor plants can even add extra oxygen to the air, making for a more healthful environment. But if you’ve had bad luck keeping them alive in the past, here are some tough plants that will thrive with almost no fuss. Most can grow in indirect light, and prefer the same temperatures as most people, that is 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Just be sure not to over-water, according to Godd Schneider, proprietor of L.A.-based plant care company, Botanicare. “Over-watering can cause a variety of problems. For example, if plants are floating in water, then the roots begin to rot, you get a terrible smell, and you may get insects,” he says. So resist the urge to constantly water!

Dracaena: Dracaenas are easy to care for because they require less water on a regular schedule, and less light than most indoor plants, according to Schneider. “Because they originally grow in the rainforest—along with low-light palms—their natural habitat is shade, they thrive below larger rainforest trees. So low to medium light, or a curtained window should be fine,” he says. They can grow quite large and be a great decorative addition to your office or home.

Pothos: This heart-shaped vine is an attractive and easy-to-grow houseplant, according to Schneider. You may grow Pathos in a hanging pot, or trailing up a post. “These plants can stay in their nursery pot, so it’s easy to simply check the tray underneath to see if it is still moist,” says Schneider. They generally need to be watered only once per week and can tolerate low or moderate lighting.

Spider Plant: These will just keep growing and reproducing prolifically. You almost never see a spider plant that doesn’t have babies attached. Their roots tend to fill a pot, so repotting may be necessary every couple of years. The young plantings can be cut off and put in water, once roots form; they can be cut planted on their own. Spider plants are versatile in that they can be grown in nearly any kind of indoor lighting, and can be watered once a week.

Jade Tree Plant: Thesecan live up to 30 years and can grow quite large. It’s a succulent, so it tends to like bright light, and makes a lovely addition for windows, tabletops, or patios, says Schneider. No need to water very often, just once a week, or even every other week, allowing it to get dry in between. The jade tree also adds a great Asian feel to the décor.

Mother in Law’s Tongue: These plants actually like being pot-bound, so don’t repot them unless the pot is too small to keep the plant upright. Mother-in-law’s tongue has sharp pointed leaves, and is incredibly tenacious. These plants can thrive with little light, and needs a little amount of watering.

Lucky Bamboo: Considered one of the easiest plants to grow, hands down, all the lucky bamboo requires is a vase or decorative container, a few inches of water, and perhaps some colorful gravel. Keep it constantly moist and it will thrive with ease. The lucky bamboo, large or small, makes a good gift for housewarming or other special events, and is said to actually bring good luck to the home.

Aloe: This plant comes in a variety of forms (like aloe ferox, and tiger aloe), but they all have thick succulent leaves which radiate outward from a central point. The aloes are said to be healing if you cut and apply the juice to a cut, and are very simple to grow. They tend to prefer a large amount of light. If you wish to regrow aloes, just break off some of the smaller plants, with roots, that are growing beside the larger plant, and put them into new, moist soil.

Christmas Cactus: This trailing member of the cactus family produces deep pink or red flowers in early winter. This hardy plant tends to do best when put in a window and left alone; however, you may want to prune a bit after blooming. It can tolerate low lighting, but you’ll get more flowers in bright light. Keep it cool in November and you should see blooms around Christmas Time, as the name indicates.

Ivy: Common types of this hard-to-kill companion include Persian ivy, Irish ivy, Algerian ivy, and English ivy. Ivy will thrive in medium light, and, as long as you don’t over-water, will grow large—even up to four feet tall—without much care. In addition, ivy doesn’t need much watering, though you probably will need to water a bit once a week, according to Schneider.

Azalea: Most flowering plants are going to require good light for them to last, Schneider commented. “Anything that has color needs a good amount of photosynthesis. Azaleas don’t grow in the rainforest but rather are grown on a prairie,” Schneider adds. “The key—which is pretty simple—is to look at the natural habitat, and try to mimic those conditions as best as possible.” Azaleas actually come in more than a thousand different varieties, with lovely flowers in pink, red, white, purple, and other shades.