7 Houseplants That Are Hard to Kill

Most houseplants that die in their first month are not neglected. They are drowned. Watering feels like caring, so a struggling plant gets more water, which is usually the exact thing making it struggle.

The seven below tolerate irregular attention better than most, which makes them a sensible place to start.

1. Snake plant

Upright, architectural, and close to indestructible. Copes with low light, bright indirect light, and long gaps between waterings. Water every two to three weeks in summer and roughly monthly in winter.

Its one weakness is soggy soil, so err towards forgetting it.

2. Pothos

A trailing plant that grows quickly and tells you when it is thirsty by drooping visibly, then recovering within hours of watering. That feedback makes it a good teacher.

Happy in most light, though variegated types keep their pattern better in brighter spots. Trims easily, and cuttings root in a glass of water, so one plant becomes several.

3. ZZ plant

Glossy, dark green, and genuinely happy in a dim corner. It stores water in thick underground rhizomes, which is why it survives being ignored for a month.

Water only when the soil is dry several centimetres down. In a low-light room, that may be every three or four weeks.

4. Spider plant

Fast growing, tolerant of mistakes, and it produces baby plants on long stems that you can pot up and give away. Prefers bright indirect light but manages in less.

Brown leaf tips are common and usually cosmetic — often a reaction to tap water or dry air. Trim them if they bother you.

5. Peace lily

One of the few forgiving plants that flowers indoors. It also dramatically wilts when thirsty and perks up within a couple of hours of watering, which removes most of the guesswork.

Handles low light, though it flowers more in brighter spots. Keep it away from cold draughts.

6. Chinese evergreen

Patterned leaves in silver, cream or pink depending on variety, and it copes well with average indoor light and inconsistent watering. Slower growing than a pothos, which means less trimming.

7. Cast iron plant

Named for good reason. It tolerates deep shade, temperature swings, dry air and irregular watering better than almost anything else sold as a houseplant.

The trade-off is that it grows very slowly. Buy one at the size you want it.

The two things that actually matter

Water by checking, not by schedule. Push a finger into the soil to the second knuckle. Dry means water; damp means wait. This single habit prevents most houseplant deaths, and it beats any watering routine you could set.

When you do water, water properly — until it runs out of the bottom — then empty the saucer. Little sips leave the lower roots dry.

Drainage is not optional. A pot without a drainage hole will eventually kill anything in it. If you love a decorative pot that has no hole, keep the plant in a plastic nursery pot inside it and lift it out to water.

Also resist repotting into something much larger. A big pot holds more wet soil than small roots can use, and that stays wet for too long.

Be honest about light

"Low light tolerant" means the plant survives there, not that it thrives. Nothing grows in a windowless room.

A rough test: at midday, hold your hand a foot above where the plant will sit. A sharp, clear shadow means bright light. A soft, fuzzy shadow means medium. Barely a shadow means low, and you should stick to a snake plant, a ZZ or a cast iron plant.

If a plant is struggling

Check the soil before doing anything. Yellowing lower leaves with damp soil is usually overwatering. Crisp brown edges with dry soil is usually underwatering or dry air. Leggy growth reaching sideways means it wants more light.

Resist the urge to treat all three at once. Change one thing and give it a fortnight.

A note if you have pets

Several plants on this list — including pothos, peace lily, snake plant and Chinese evergreen — are toxic to cats and dogs if chewed. Spider plants and cast iron plants are the safer picks of this group.

If your animals show an interest in leaves, check any plant before bringing it home, and keep the risky ones well out of reach.