The Ultimate Guide to Houseplants for Beginners (2021 Edition)

This article will be about the best houseplants to grow for beginners. You are going to learn the benefits of having houseplants, and what are the top five houseplants for beginners.

Let’s begin!

Houseplants can be great for decorating your home and healing your mental health, skin, and anxiety. Having plants all over your area can benefit you greatly, and it’s not hard to raise plants either!

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Several plants are great to have if you’re a beginner and don’t know much about houseplants.

What are the benefits of houseplants?

Let’s start by discussing the benefits of houseplants, shall we?

There are multiple benefits to having houseplants around your home area and work area. Keeping plants around you helps the air quality improve greatly as toxic substances are absorbed and dust decreases.

Additionally, plants release water vapor in the air, thus increasing the humidity around them. This helps your respiratory and skin health.

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Another great benefit of keeping plants around you is they help your mood increase and reduce your fatigue.

With your mood increased, it also leads to improving focus and performance in work. Simultaneously, with plants around, you end up feeling less stressed and less anxious over time.

What are some good starter plants?

We talked about the benefits of houseplants now we are going to cover what are some starter plants.

There are several good starting houseplants. Among them are golden photos vine, a hanging plant that will grow aggressively, yet with good care, it will have mature mottled leaves and spider plants, which grow easily in baskets.

Snake plants and mother-in-law’s tongue are good starter plants as they can live without much lighting and watering. However, they must be repotted on occasion over time, separating the snake plant from the mother-in-law’s tongue.

Dracaena species are also a nice starter plant, for they tolerate a wide variety of conditions and thrive through it all.

Like them are succulents, cacti, and lucky bamboo, as they all can thrive in unpretty conditions, making them easy to look after. Therefore, they are all good starter plants.

What are the best low maintenance houseplants?

Some plants do not require much maintenance and can be taken care of easily. One such plant is pothos, which can handle nearly pitch-black conditions as well as it can handle over-watering.

Another plant is the aglaonema, which can be over-watered and still be fine. It also can handle excess water.

The Jade plant is also a low maintenance plant as it retains water in its leaves. Therefore, it can survive a month without water.

Another plant is the asparagus fern, as it adapts to its location. If you place it on a bright spot, it will adapt. It will also adapt to a darker spot.

What is the fastest-growing indoor plant?

The spider plant is among the fastest-growing indoor plants. It may resemble a spider, but it can grow up to three feet.

It can live perfectly in areas that aren’t high light conditions, as well as they can prosper in indirectly light.

What is the hardest houseplant to kill?

Among the hardest plants to kill are the Photos, which is known as the devil’s vine. It is also among the easiest to take care of.

They can thrive in super low light and artificial light and enjoy being in basic potting. Even if they aren’t watered, the soil keeps the water for a while. As a result, it can take a while to kill.

What are the top 5 houseplants for beginners?

Below are our top five houseplants for beginners. We recommend that you start with one.

Monstera

The Monstera is a species of evergreen shrubs that are native to Central America. They have natural leaf-holes, thus having the nickname ‘Swiss Cheese Plant.’ The leaf holes later grow towards the edge and open up as they mature.

How to care for the Monstera?

They thrive in bright to medium indirect sunlight, though they can withstand the direct sun.

The Monstera plant needs to be watered every one or two weeks, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.

They can be watered more under more light and less water in less light. Monstera prefer humid conditions, but they can live in normal room humidity

Before you go rushing to buy a Monstera, here is some important information you should know. This plant could irritate cats, dogs, and humans if the foliage is consumed.

Aloe Vera

Let’s talk about the Aloe vera plant next.

The aloe vera is one of the oldest plants on record due to its medicinal properties and health benefits. They have been used to treat burns, wounds, and fever.

To care for an aloe vera plant, know that they need a location that offers bright, indirect sunlight, and it doesn’t like direct sunlight as they dry out too much and turn the leaves yellow.

One tip to know is to keep the plant in a pot near the kitchen window periodically to avoid getting direct sunlight.

A good thing to know about Aloe Vera that, like the Monstera, it can make pets and humans ill. The gel from this plant can make you sick from your stomach, so please do not digest it.

Cactus

Did you know that tiny evidence suggests that cacti came from South America and ended up in North America after the Old Age period?

Now you know!

To care for this plant, cactus need good light, heat, and a proper watering technique. Also, know that they don’t outgrow in their pots quickly. Cacti can grow on any container as long as water can be drained at the bottom.

You should also know about cacti because they can be dangerous and should be placed away from pets and children to prevent them from getting spines.

Snake plant

Snake plant or Dracaena trifasciata have been treasured in Chinese, African, Japanese, and Brazilian cultures. They release oxygen and absorb toxins and are said to benefit people that suffer from allergies.

Snake plants need watering, but not too much of it. Soil should be dry completely before watering again. They prefer medium light, though they tolerate low and high light. They don’t mind dry or stale air as well.

Another important thing to know is that snake plants have a slow to moderate growth rate.

Pilea Peperomioides

Pilea Peperomioides it’s known by many names, including Chinese Money Plant, UFO plant, and missionary plant.

They are a low maintenance plant that thrives in a bright spot near a window. They should be kept away from direct sunlight to prevent leaves from being burned.

Too little light leaves the leaves to fade. Water the plant if it isn’t moist. Soil should be allowed to dry before watering again.

Pilea Peperomioides' problems might be the pest that attacks it, such as mealybugs, spider mites, and fungus.

This plant might also require more care due to conditions, such as temperature and lights, that might require you to move it around your home, change fertilizers, and change the amount of water it is given.

You have learned about the benefits of houseplants, the low maintenance plants, and the top five house plants for beginners.

One important thing to mention is that if you want to start caring for houseplants, start with one houseplant—no need to get all five of these plants mentioned if you have never cared for plants before.

These plants can be managed very easily, and there won’t be much consequence if you forget to water them or put them in the right lighting for one day. The houseplants can not only make your area lovely to the sight, but they also will help with your mood and your health.