The benefits of plants are numerous, but not everyone has the inclination to take on a complicated schedule of watering and fertilizing the household greenery. The good news is that there are many low-maintenance plants that actually seem to thrive on neglect. Here are just a few.
- Spider: The long, striped leaves of the spider plant look fantastic in hanging pots, and they’re easy to keep happy. They love to get lots of sunlight and a moderate amount of water, and if they’re really happy you’ll get tendrils of baby plants known as “pups” that you can cut off and plant.
- Aloe: This succulent with famous healing powers does well on a scant amount of water as long as it gets lots of light.
- Snake Plant: The spiked leaves of this succulent give it one of its nicknames (mother-in-law’s tongue), but no matter what you call it it’s incredibly hearty. Snake plants tolerate both high and low light. Water only when the soil feels absolutely dry.
- Pothos: Viney pothos is a staple of offices and rooms without much light—these plants can even survive with only fluorescent light, though the variegated varieties do need sunlight for the colorful leaves to show. This is another plant that prefers to be watered only when completely dry.
