As a massive nature addict, I love finding new ways to bring the outdoors inside as much as possible. One way I found is to get some easy low maintenance indoor plants into my home. With tons of different plants and each having its own set of needs and demands, there are plenty of plants for anyone interested in doing the same. In this post, I want to chat about a few plants I love and still have in the home that I bought as a first-time plant owner. 

Please note that these are suggestions from my own experience. Please always research and chat with your local nursery to ask about watering schedules, humidity levels, and such before purchasing a new plant. 

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General tips

• When purchasing a new plant, even one that is low maintenance, I suggest placing the nursery pot (the black pot the plant comes in) where you see the plant living for about one week. Repotting is pretty invasive. This helps give the plant a chance to climatize before switching pots. 
• Most indoor plants are toxic to humans and dogs. For your convenience, I have labeled each plant in this blog to identify if it is poisonous or not.
• In my experience, I found that terracotta pots are a lot more forgiving than ceramic. If you are a beginner plant mom/dad, I highly recommend a terracotta pot and then switching out to ceramic later on.
• Few things that will help you in your journey
  • Apps
    • Blossom
    • Plant identifier

#1 Snake plant

They are also known as the plant of steel with a hardy zone of 9-11! This very hands-off plant allows you to bring a little bit of green into your house without needing to keep to a strict schedule. They dont need a ton of light, nor do they need humidity. As long as you water it 10-14 days and give it part sun, this plant will thrive.

Benefits: 

• Proven by NASA’s Clean air study, the snake plant is considered the highest oxygen-producing plant. 
• Filter out harmful pollutants
• Effective against allergies
• Low light thriving

Downsides: 

• Grows slow
• Toxic for humans and pets – dont eat the leaves

#2 Air plants

Air plants have no watering schedule. These plants thrive in low light as photosynthesis occurs during the night. Their hardy zone of 10-12 makes this plant the perfect beginner. If you are a little forgetful about watering but want to give the plant mom lifestyle a try, give this one a go. There are endless ways to style air plants. For example, you can drill a few holes into driftwood and squeeze the plant in there, or you can also style a few in an air terrarium. Or my personal favorite, I have mine in the bathroom. The humidity from showers allows the plant to get the water it needs without me having to tend to it. Soak them in a bowl of water for 10-15 minutes weekly.

Benefits

• Because they photosynthesize at night, it’s a great plant to keep in the bedroom for fresh oxygen while you sleep at night.
• Pet friendly
• It can be a great office desk plant
• Pet friendly

Downsides

• It needs humidity, so if you live in a dry climate, it might not be a good fit. 

#3 Pothos

Also known as Devil Ivy, also great for a beginner, it’s the easiest plant to care for. This plant thrives in low light conditions, making it the perfect first-time plant. This plant is also very forgiving to drought, so if you forget to water it for a week, don’t worry about it. Water 1-2 times a week. I suggest getting this plant on a trellis sooner than later, as the vines tend to get a bit unruly.

Benefits 

• Fast light growers
• Easy to style
• Great air purifiers

#4 ZZ plant

Great for if you are a bit forgetful. This plant thrives when it’s ignored and grows in the lowest light conditions—water twice a week for best results.

#5 Money tree

Some believe that this plan is a symbol of luck and prosperity. It has lush big leaves and a braided trunk (though you dont have to braid the trunk), giving a tree-like vibe more than just a plant. Very easy to take care of, water once a week and place next to indirect light. This tree does get quite big, so be sure to keep up on changing the pot size to keep it healthy.

Downsides:

• have to keep up changing pots

How to water plants

Watering might look easy enough; however, if you overwater a plant, you may risk root rot, but you may risk dryness if you water it too little. So how much is enough?

How to tell if the plant needs watering

Generally speaking, a thirsty plant will show you in various ways. Paying close attention daily to your plants to help you identify the symptoms and ensure it’s hydrated and healthy. A few common signs to look for are: wilting of leaves, change in leaf color, leaf drop increases, or droopiness of the plant. 

A simple way to check if your plant needs water is to see if the soil is dry. But be sure to check both surface level and deep down. An excellent way to check the surface level is by simply grabbing some soil off the top of the pot and testing to see if it is wet to touch. A great way to see if the soil deep down is moist is to insert a soil moisture meter in the pot.  

Pro tip: If you have a large pot, it’s more likely the soil will be wet deep down where your moisture meter or finger might not be able to tell. If you can, I suggest lifting the pot and checking to see if the soil near the drainage hole is wet. 

When to water 

Typically the best time to water plants is in the morning or the evening, but watering plants in the morning is better. When you water the plants in the morning, the sun has time to use that water and process, whereas, at night, the water tends to sit in the soil. The temperatures also drop during the night; if there is water in the soil, you may risk freezing the roots. 

Pro tip: If you are traveling, try watering the plants before you head out and using water globes to help to keep them hydrated while you are gone. These globes keep plants watered for up to 2 weeks! Just fill them up with water, insert the blub into the soil, and that’s it!

Watering techniques

Misting

Great for if you picked up ferns, pothos, lucky bamboo, or anything with flossy leaves. These little ones love being misted because they thrive on pulling water from the air. Misting helps keep the water on the leaves and eliminates any dust or bugs on the plant’s surface. 

I hate constantly squeezing the spray bottle, so I use this plant mister to help keep my plant babies misted and loved. 

Pro tip: check to see if your plant likes to be humid weather and only mist those. Plants like succulents don’t appreciate the occasional mist as they prefer dry climates. 

Topsoil watering

Use long neck water to water the plant on the soil instead of watering the leaves; make sure to water all over the soil instead of targeting the base of the plant to avoid dry patches. 

Sink Bath 

• Photo of succulents in a sink bath 

I do this with my succulents a lot. I fill the sink with enough water to submerge the pot ¾ of the way with lukewarm water. Then I set my succulents (with the pot) straight into the water and let them sit for one hour. Then you take the pot out and set it out to dry.

Pro tip: I also bathe my plants, as it sounds. I rub down the leaves with dish soap and give them a good rinse. This prevents bugs, gnats, or dust from sticking to the leaves. 

Bottom watering

If you have your pots on a saucer, I would recommend putting some pebbles in there; this is great for decoration, but also it lifts the pot into the air, and access water can drain out for drainage holes quickly. This also allows you to water your plants from the bottom. Fill the saucer with water and let the sun work for you. The sun will evaporate the water from the plant, soaking up the water throughout the day. 

Pro tip: if your plants like to be humid, this is also a great way to achieve that without 20 humidifiers. 

You can also use these self-water pots to help you with the bottom watering. 

Common issues 

One of the most common mistakes is over-watering. Be sure to check to see if your plant needs water; you can do that by the soil test I discussed earlier. Every plant has different watering needs. If you have difficulty remembering how long you have to wait before watering, try arranging your plants by watering needs. Stick the ones that need watering every week in one corner and the ones that need watering every month in another. 

I hope this inspired you to become a plant mom/dad. If you have any questions, leave them in a comment below.

Final thoughts

I hope these tips and tricks help you keep your plants happy and healthy. If you have any questions, leave a comment below!