Ready to Be A Plant Parent? Here Are the Best Plants for Beginners

o you’re ready to be a plant parent! Maybe you’ve seen the absolute gorgeousness that is your best friend’s mini forest in their apartment, or you’ve seen the super artsy photos of boho-aesthetic homes riddled with live plant accents. You might have even been intrigued when you learned that having indoor plants is shown to have health benefits, like reducing stress levels. Regardless of your plant enthusiast awakening story, you’ve arrived at the conclusion that yes, you’re ready to be a plant parent. 

First of all, congratulations! Being a plant mom or dad really pays off, even when the plant children you’re having require next to no effort. It’s awesome to water your plant baby, nurture its personal preferences, and then in a few weeks notice some new baby leaves or the plant growing out of its first pot! It’s exciting and rewarding. 

But there is one challenge in starting off, and that is, which plant should you begin with? No matter what your experience is, even if you have a green thumb already or have a completely black thumb, there are so many gorgeous indoor and outdoor plants that are perfect for any expertise and any apartment or home, small and large. 

It can be difficult to know which plant is good to start with, or which plant is the ideal one for the space you’re occupying. Leave the stress of having to research what may feel overwhelming to us! Here you can find:

• Pro-tips for getting started with plant parenthood
• The best plants for low light living spaces
• The best plants for high light living spaces 
• The best plants for the most careless of plant parents

Pro-Tips Before You Commit to Plant Parenthood

There are a few good things to know before getting started. 

While there are several plants that don’t require a lot of maintenance and can be left behind and forgotten for weeks on end and still survive, there are a few important things to know and consider before you buy your first plant. Every plant is different and requires its own set of light, water, and air preferences. Before you choose which plant(s) are perfect for you and your space, know a few tips beforehand so you look like a bit of an expert.

• Know your space! Each plant needs different lighting and sun time, so consider the lighting in your space to know which plants to look for
• Make sure that your pet isn’t sensitive to any plant
• Know if the plant you want to buy is friendly and safe for your furry friend
• Familiarize yourself with your plant’s personality, they’ll let you know when they’re not feeling well and need some special care
• Know how fast they grow! 
• Have some bigger pots on hand for their repotting time down the line, which is a sure sign that your plant child is thriving!
• Be sure you have ample and appropriate space for your plant or plants!
• Know if you need to buy shelving or rearrange your space to make room for your new plant babies
  

Save yourself any future hassles, confusion, or even emergency pet visits by knowing and using these pro-tips. Starting off as a plant parent is definitely an exciting time, but it can be more than just deciding on a whim to buy the pretty inexpensive plant you saw in the Lowe’s greenhouse. Being armed with some solid knowledge about the space you’re working with and how it might affect your housemates is pretty important and often overlooked, so consider yourself well prepared to start considering and browsing around for the best plant to call yours!

Best Plants for Your Low-Light Place

Contrary to popular belief, not all plants need plenty of sunshine!

If you have found yourself in a cute and quaint albeit a little bit dark place, you could probably use some greenery to freshen up the space. You might be thinking that no plant could ever thrive in the dungeon-like corners of your place, but some plants actually prefer it! Besides, what you may feel like is a dungeon-y looking apartment may just need to be spruced up a bit with some plants and weird antiques. 

ZZ Plants

Also known by their much longer name, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, hence the nickname “ZZ,” these super tough plants are also the best for beginners because they are nearly impossible to kill. These plants have beautiful glossy and waxy green leaves that spread out on a little stem. They originate from East Africa and are able to tolerate neglect and forgetfulness. ZZ plants are pretty forgiving to even the worst owners! 

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: mid to low
• Water: when the top few inches of soil are dry
• Soil: optimized for draining
  

Snake Plant

Similar to the ZZ plant, snake plants have long and glossy textured leaves, and are green and gold tipped. They are incredibly stiff and stand super tall, exaggerating the fact that they are virtually indestructible. Snake plants don’t need nearly any attention at all, and prefer to be left alone most of the time. They are the perfect solution to any dark corner in your home. And, a fun bonus, they naturally purify the air while you sleep, removing formaldehyde and benzene, doing some housecleaning for you! 

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: low
• Water: rarely, only when soil is thoroughly dry
• Soil: optimized for draining
  

Best Plants for Your High-Light Place

If you’ve been lucky enough to score a high-light home, there are so many plant options for you!

Before you read on to find out what plants love sunlight and are great for beginners, pat yourself on the back for scoring a place that is loved by the sun! Having house plants is pretty much a necessity and a staple to any high-light place. How could you not grace your space with some happy, sun-soaked greenery? Look no further than these forgiving and sunny plant babes below!

Aloe Vera

The essential ingredient to any pool day or summer vacation, you can grow your own aloe vera right on your windowsill! Aloe plants thrive in high sunlight and can tolerate some forgetful watering habits. They are known pretty well for their medicinal benefits, like healing scars and relieving burning from burns, cuts, and sunburn. You can easily have your own little medicine plant in your high-light space as they are easy to get and super cheap. 

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: full and high light
• Water: keep pretty dry but water occasionally 
• Soil: loose and well draining
  

Hibiscus Plant

The beautiful hibiscus plant is a wonderful way to bring some pops of color into your plant collection or to have a taste of an indoor garden. They produce rich colored and large flowers, like the classic pink hibiscus flower but can also produce orange and white ones too! Surprisingly, these beauties don’t require a lot of tender love and care. They do appreciate frequent fertilization and some trimming to keep them prim and proper, but they don’t need water every single day and can cope with a few days of no attention. 

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: full and high light
• Water: regularly, keep pretty moist
• Soil: optimized for draining
• Fertilize regularly!
  

Plants for the Most Forgetful Parents

You’re not at a total loss even if you have a pretty black thumb!

Say you’re often away and don’t want to nag someone to take care of your plants, or maybe you’re always home but just can never remember to water those plants on your windowsill. Maybe you’re even the kind of person who forgets that the live plant in the corner of your room is living and needs some water. Don’t fear that the plant parenthood life isn’t for you, because there are plenty of low maintenance plant babes out there who would find you to be the best fit for them!

The Pothos Plant

One of the most familiar of houseplants, the pothos plant, also considered “devil’s ivy” can thrive even in a pitch-black closet. They are heartier than most plants and can even go a few weeks with any water at all and still live on. Their tumbling and ivy-like leaves trail below them in a hanging basket or hung up somewhere in a bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen. A rich green colored leaf like the ones on a pothos plant are also warm and inviting to any space. 

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: mid to low and indirect
• Water: when the top 2 inches of soil are dry
• Soil: optimized for draining
  

Peace Lily

Peace lilies are similar to the hibiscus plant in that they produce colored flowers and thrive indoors. Their white, long flowers are beautiful and smell divine. Peace lilies don’t require a ton of attention to produce their flowers, and they are natural air purifiers too. They are picky about overwatering, so being forgetful about watering actually helps this plant!

Here’s what they need:

• Sunlight: medium light
• Water: sparingly
• Soil: optimized for draining
  

Deciding to be a plant parent is definitely an exciting time! If you are a little weary of becoming responsible for a plant, never fear! There are endless plant options and they can be tailored to your parenting style, whether you’re on the dot with the fertilizing and watering or neglectful and forgetful. You can easily brighten up your space, purify the air, and relish in the fruit of your labor, even if the labor was doing nothing at all!