Even if you have a notoriously brown thumb, these varieties give you a realistic shot at success.
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Houseplants aren't just good company; they're good for your health. As they photosynthesize, they release oxygen. The moist soil adds humidity to dry indoor air, while their leaves help to filter out toxins like formaldehyde and benzene. There's also, less tangibly, the emotional benefit of surrounding yourself with beautiful living greenery, of nurturing life, especially through the dead of winter.
(Brag your love of gardening with the Organic Life 2018 Wall Calendar, featuring gorgeous photographs, cooking tips and recipes, plus how to eat more—and waste less—of what's in season.)
Many of my favorite in the easy-care category are just as easy to acquire. You can buy them at garden shops, obviously, but I've found some of mine at big-box stores, supermarkets, even yard sales.
Even if you have a notoriously brown thumb, these 10 plants give you a realistic shot at success.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Rhizomatous Begonia
Begonias get a bad rap because some are finicky and prone to powdery mildew. But the rhizomatous group is an exception: It’s renowned for its ease of maintenance and ornate leaves. A payoff comes in late winter, when the begonias, including the Bright Eye shown here, send up long-lasting sprays of tiny flowers.
GROWING TIP
Keep the container tight and shallow, and don’t overwater.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Kalanchoe
The family tree of this group of plants includes more than its fair share of freaks of nature, like the devil’s backbone (Kalanchoe daigremontiana), with tiny rosettes on leaves lining a central spine. I enjoy the species that’s a dead ringer for flapjacks (K. thyrsiflora, above left) and the flaming Katy (K. blossfeldiana, right), which blossoms prolifically throughout winter.
GROWING TIP
Kalanchoes prefer bright light and scant water.
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LUCY SCHAEFFER
Echeveria
These succulent oddities with chalky, chubby leaves prefer sunny south-facing windows to keep their rosettes in tight buns, but they will tolerate a bright east or west exposure. In midwinter, varieties like Topsy Turvy, pictured above, send up swan-necked flower spikes with coral-colored blossoms.
GROWING TIPS
Use a gritty potting soil with good drainage and a tight container that restricts their root growth. Water just once every two weeks.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Ficus
In my experience, the office-building standby Ficus benjamina, or weeping fig, is a water-guzzling bear. And the edible fig goes dormant during the winter, so it isn’t in the running as a handsome houseplant. A better choice is mistletoe fig (F. deltoidea, above), which forms a mini tree with lots of leathery, triangular leaves and tiny inedible fruits that look like natural ornaments. It thrives in indirect light.
GROWING TIP
Although it tolerates watering lapses, don’t push it.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Agave
Arguably the most architectural houseplant on the market, the agave has a (literally) sharp form that looks like nature’s own version of a fine-art sculpture. If you have children or pets, this plant with daggerlike spikes at the leaf tips might not be the wisest choice. Another option, though, is to simply stay away from the types with outstretched, barbed arms and go for a compact version, such as this Agave parryi, clipping the thorns from the tips.
GROWING TIPS
Give agaves as much light as possible so they remain compact. Turn them occasionally to keep them symmetrical. And go easy on the water.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Chinese Evergreen
Recently, growers have improved on the boring but resilient Chinese evergreen, or Aglaonema, so often ignored in shopping malls. New varieties like Crete, emblazoned with red leaf edges, and the colorfully speckled Sparkling Sarah (shown) have the power to light up an east or west window. Protect Chinese evergreens from direct sun so their leaves don’t burn. But give them enough indirect light to maintain their splashy leaf colors. The older green-and-silver varieties get all the light they need in a dim north window (or a shopping mall).
GROWING TIP
Don’t overwater; too many drinks can kill your Aglaonema with kindness.
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LUCY SCHAEFFER
Fern
No light? No problem. Ferns can survive in a north window that cannot support most other plants. I suggest staying away from Boston ferns, but other varieties of sword fern, like the one shown here, make fine roommates that require little fussing. Other good indoor choices include bird’s nest ferns and “footed” ferns with furry, creeping rhizomes.
GROWING TIPS
Choose a pot big enough for the roots to roam, water at least twice a week, and give the plant a pat when you walk by.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Bromeliad
With straplike leaves marked by stripes and speckles, these tropical members of the pineapple family make forgiving but flamboyant houseplants. Bromeliads rarely outgrow their containers, which saves on repotting. Here I’ve paired a burgundy Neoregelia Malbec and a banded Vriesea splendens—two examples of the many handsome bromeliads that share a hearty constitution. Indirect light from an east or west window suffices.
GROWING TIP
Fill the vaselike furls of leaves with water to quench the plants’ thirst.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Peperomia
This group of houseplants comes in many shapes and sizes. The flowers are somewhat underwhelming—whippy stalks that inspired the common name “rattail plants.” But the jazzy leaves can look puckered and corrugated or marked by watermelon-like stripes, among other attractive guises. Shown: Peperomia caperata and P. dolabriformis.
GROWING TIPS
Peperomias don’t suffer when neglected, but they grow best with regular watering and indirect light.
LUCY SCHAEFFER
Plectranthus
Mona Lavender plectranthus (shown) blooms exactly when the seasons send you hustling inside. In fall, this coleus cousin starts producing spires of guppylike flowers that are like comfort food for your eyes. Other forms of plectranthus have velvety, colorful leaves that are often aromatic—smelling like roasted nuts or, in one case, camphor and eucalyptus.
GROWING TIPS
Give them the brightest window you can muster and let the soil surface dry to the touch before you water.
