5 Best Houseplants for Beginners
If you are a new Plant Parent and want to add some fresh greens to your home but you are not sure where to start or maybe you have already ventured into the indoor plant world and *maybe* you killed your first adoption, then this is the list for you! We’ve gathered 5 of our best beginner houseplants that are super easy-care but still deliver on that indoor jungle vibe.
DELICIOUS MONSTER (Monstera deliciosa)
Delicious Monsters are the quintessential houseplant with their iconic large leaves and their super sassy fuss-free nature. There is no doubt that this is a must have plant for any Plant Parent starting out. Many folks have told us that they started their plant journey with this very plant!
Delicious Monsters:
- Can handle erratic watering habits as long as the drainage is good.
- Are fine for interiors utilising air conditioning
- Like bright light, but would like to avoid direct, burning sun.
A big plus is that they are pretty fast growers, which adds to their appeal and over time. Delicious Monsters can grow to enormous sizes of more than 2m in width and height with leaf spans of over 30cm!
Top Tip: You will notice that your Delicious Monster will begin to grow brown-ish coloured aerial roots, just above the soil, as the plant matures. This is perfectly normal and the plant's way of telling you that it’s ready to start climbing! You can do one of 3 things: i) Tuck these roots back into the soil; 2) Trim them off; or 3) Upgrade your plant to a pot with a moss pole or climbing trellis.
LACY LEAF PHILODENDRON (Thaumatophyllum selloum)
This cheerful cousin of the Delicious Monster is another great Starter Plant for the budding plant collector. It features large foliage that will add instant Jungle vibes whilst carrying a low maintenance attitude. Lacy Leaf Philodendrons (also known as a Split Leaf Philodendron, Tree Philodendron or Philodendron Selloum) make the perfect office or houseplant as they can adapt to very bright light (and even a little bit of direct sun) all the way down to medium light areas with little complaints.
It really is near impossible to ‘get this plant wrong’ due to its forgiving nature, low watering needs and adaptability to an array of natural light exposures. As with the Delicious Monster, you will notice roots coming out of the side of the plant and the Philodendron will use these roots to anchor itself in the soil as the plant increases in size.
Top Styling Tip: Potting 2 or 3 of these plants together to create a bushy potted plant look!
HEART LEAF PHILODENDRON (Philodendron scandens)
Without a doubt, the Heart Leaf Philodendron is one of the most outstanding beginner houseplants! It’s a hardy, easy-care plant that has the extremely appealing characteristic of cascading and trailing down as it begins to grow. What’s more, these trailing vines can reach lengths of 2m and beyond.
Although Heart Leaf Philodendrons love bright, indirect light, they are very tolerant of medium to low light exposure making them an excellent choice for high shelves or cabinets that don’t get too much natural light.
It will forgive a bout of a missed watering with grace, and is very good at showing you when it is in need of a drink of water: thirsty leaves will go limp and lose their vibrancy, resulting in a plant that looks ‘lacklustre’. Simply water the plant and it will perk up in no time.
Pro Tip: Heart Leaf Philodendrons are fantastic plants to propagate. You will notice tiny little aerial roots coming out of the stems, usually near a leaf stem. Take a cutting from your plant, snipping the main stem just before an aerial root (make sure your cutting has 1-2 leaves) and simply pop that into a moist potting soil or use a propagation vase filled with water. Pot the rooted cutting into soil once the roots have reached 2-3cm in length.
BIRDS NEST FERN (Asplenium sp.)
Unlike some more delicate ferns (we’re looking at you, Maidenhair Fern!) the Bird’s Nest Fern is an easy-care, uncomplicated Indoor Fern that is just right for the Beginner Plant Parent. These vibrant ferns get their name from the rosette of foliage in the centre of the plant that looks distinctly like a Birds Nest.
New leaves will grow out of this centre rosette, slowly unfurling to create the much prized Bird Nest look. Birds Nest Ferns are great options for a bathroom window sill as they love a serving of humidity and, as they get larger, they are amazing stand-alone pieces due to their diameter reaching as much as 40-60cm, depending on the variety.
They are great Beginner Ferns due to their ability to handle short dry spells of non-watering and are also tolerant of medium lit spaces as well as air-conditioning. Look out for the little seed spores that appear on the underside of the leaves in a striped pattern #funfact alert and make sure not to water the plant in the centre rosette, as this can cause rot. Rather, water the plant on the outside soil that surrounds the foliage.
For more Beginner Bathroom Plants, Check out our Blog: 5 Best Houseplants for Bathrooms.
MOTHER IN LAW'S TONGUE (Sanseveria Sp.)
Known around the internet as the Snake Plant, it is near impossible to make any mistakes with with plant. It can handle the darkest corner (it can even grow in artificial light) to the brightest of light, including hours of direct sunlight too. Because of this, they are great for those hard to fill places, such as offices, windowless bathrooms, dark corners and sun-filled balconies. They are beautifully elegant and architectural and are prized for their air-purifying abilities and low watering needs.
Fun Fact: Mother in Law’s Tongues can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and even colours to suit any interior colour scheme.
For more Low light Bathroom Plant options, read our blog: 8 Best Houseplants for Low Light and No Light Bathrooms.
BONUS BEGINNER HOUSE PLANT: Dragon Trees!
We couldn’t have a beginner plant list without a favourite easy-care plant, the Dragon Tree. Very much the ‘get and forget’ type of plant, Dragon Trees have very low watering needs and can handle low/medium light levels all the way to bright, indirect light.
You’ll find Dragon Trees in all sizes from small, compact tabletop plants to tall trees that’ll reach heights of 2m (and more) indoors. As they are slow growers indoors, you can get the exact size you want and prune it to stay the same size, or if you’d like a long term growing project, steadily graduate the nursery pot every two years or so and watch it grow and grow. Their variation of leaf colours and shapes means that you have lots of choices to suit your taste, from deep green leaves to pink-edged leaves and neon yellows as well.
Top Tip: Dragon Trees appreciate a little bit of humidity - you can mist their leaves with a spray bottle weekly to keep up their foliage looking fresh.
If you’re looking to start your instant Urban Jungle with some fabulous houseplant staples, check out our Jungle Starter Pack, which features 4 of our Top 5 Beginner Plants :)
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