9 Beautiful Indoor Plants for Beginners
People are spending more time inside at home these days because of the coronavirus.
While that certainly comes with challenges for most people, it also means you can spend more time creating a lovely place to live, work, and play.
Having indoor plants evokes a serene, welcoming atmosphere.
Plants help lower stress and spruce up your rooms to make them feel homier.
But not everyone has experience caring for plants.
A lot of beginner plant parents or gardeners quickly realize that buying a plant is easy. Keeping that plant alive is the hard part.
Don’t be fooled by the, “just give them water and sunlight and they’ll be OK” advice.
If you water them too much or they get too hot in direct sunlight, they won’t last long.
The type of plant you buy for an indoor space also matters a lot.
Different plants have different needs when it comes to their care and upkeep.
Some are tough to care for, and some are more on the simple side.
If you’re a beginner and don’t have a lot of experience caring for plant life, here are 9 beautiful indoor plants to start with.
You’ll learn as you go and it will surprise you how fulfilling it is seeing your plants thrive.
Table of Contents
1. Devil’s Ivy
Devil’s Ivy is the common name for Epipremnum aureum.
This plant earned its name from gardeners who discovered that it’s incredibly hard to kill.
This is a plant that can thrive in most environments and is a great starter plant for beginners.
In some places, Devil’s Ivy is considered a weed.
In hot and humid climates, it grows very fast, and can quickly overcome other plants in a garden.
However, as an indoor plant, this can add a lot of flavor to your interior design and it doesn’t need a lot of intensive care.
All you have to do with Devil’s Ivy is water it when the soil is looking and feeling dry.
It likes sunlight, but will even do well in places without a ton of sun.
They look great in a hanging pot or on a shelf where the vines can droop down gracefully.
2. Monstera deliciosa (Delicious Monster)
Homeowners and designers love the big, lush leaves on this hearty plant.
The delicious monster is a fantastic way to add a little tropical jungle right to your home.
The Delicious Monster is known for the large, distinctive holes in its leaves.
They are always in high demand, so you may have to pay a higher price to get this from a nursery or order them online.
As a beginner, you can expect these to grow rather quickly, so be prepared to do a bit of pruning if things get out of hand.
They’re great in a large corner pot or next to a sitting area.
3. Pink Anthurium
This is a very popular plant because its blossoms are colorful leaves instead of more fragile flower blossoms.
If you are someone who loves color, then you’ll love the bright pink blossoms that are thick and glossy.
They’ll stay on the plant for longer than a normal flower and require less maintenance. Sometimes the blossoms stay on for up to eight weeks.
When they aren’t in blossom, Pink Anthurium plants have attractive leaves that look like something out of an interior design magazine. They look like big hearts.
The sharp points on the end look nice and tidy, and they’ll go lovely in a sleep pot on a shelf or table.
4. Sansevieria
Sansevieria comes in different strands. The most common varieties are called Mother-in-Law’s Tongue and the Snake Plant.
The difference in the strands is the bands and the border that are slightly different colors than the prominent green that runs up these narrow leaves.
These plants do best in a lot of sunlight, but they won’t die if they aren’t exposed to the sun all day, and they don’t need too much water.
Just don’t overdo it and you should be good. People love to put these plants in offices and formal sitting areas.
5. Give Some Cacti a Try
See what I did there? Desert cacti and other low-water plants have become a lot more popular in recent years.
People love these plants so much that they almost become pets.
The great thing about cacti and similar plants is that they come in a large variety. You can get short and squat plants or thin and tall.
Cacti come in a range of colors as well.
If you’ve got kids around the house, try going for a cactus with no spines. They do exist.
Find an interesting leaf pattern you like and stick them on a kitchen counter indoors.
They grow very slowly, so don’t expect a lot of changes in weeks or months.
Even then, most of the time, changes are barely noticeable.
Give them some sun and only give them small amounts of water in pots that drain well.
6. Mini Money Tree
The Mini Money Tree looks like something that should be on the front of a plant catalog.
It’s extremely sturdy, has luscious green leaves, and the color of the leaves goes well against the darkness of the wood.
These plants can last several years and are easy to find online at an affordable price.
They do best in humid climates, so if you live in Arizona or other dry states, it may not thrive as much as you’d like.
This is a plant you want to buy if you’ve got kids or animals running around the house and brushing up against it several times a day.
Just make sure it’s got good sunlight and water only when the soil looks or feels a bit dry.
7. Aloe
You may not know this, but there are different varieties of Aloe plants. One, in particular, is great as an indoor plant for beginners.
Hedgehog Aloe is a good place to start. It can still grow well in areas without a lot of sunlight because it is very adept at holding on to what little resources it gets.
This plant sometimes sprouts flowers, but it also looks great with just the leaves and gives off a very zen feeling.
It’s got spikes, though, so watch out if you’ve got little kids in the house.
Stick this plant next to a window and only water it when the soil feels dry.
Don’t be worried if you see the bottom start to get a bit brown. It’s called a brown skirt and is common with Aloe plants. This is normal.
However, if you see brown spots starting to grow in the leaves, use a knife and cut out the spots at the root. Left alone it could spread to other leaves and kill your plant.
8. Dracaena Warneckii
Dracaena Warnecki, or Dracaena deremensis, is the perfect indoor plant if you want something a bit taller to fill out a room.
These can grow several feet high, so you’ll need a sturdy pot to house them in. You’ll likely get a thin, tall stem with long, rich green leaves.
This one needs a bit more water attention than most of the other plants on this list. For instance, it doesn’t do well with hard water.
Wait until the topsoil is fairly dry before you water it. You can poke some holes in your soil with a chopstick to get water deeper into the soil when you do.
Also, don’t let this plant get too hot if you want it to survive long. While it does enjoy sunlight, it will wither if it heats up too much.
9. The Zanzibar Gem
The ZZ plant grows amazing, oval-shaped glossy leaves on stiff upper limbs.
They’ll elevate your indoor space with an elegant look that goes wonderfully in a nice pot.
These are low-light plants, so you don’t need to give them too much sun. Keep them somewhere bright but not hot. The stems should be relatively stiff, so if they start to look a bit limp, give them more sun exposure.
ZZ plants are thick, so you don’t need to water them much. Overwatering damages these plants more often than not.
To keep the leaves looking their shiny best, wipe off the dust with a cloth from time to time.
You’ve probably seen Zanzibar gem plants in offices around the country or in malls because they are so hearty and will last a long time.
Beginners love this plant because it can make you look like a pro with very little effort.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the best indoor plants for beginners.
Go and buy a few and give them a try. It may take you a while to get the hang of how much sun and water is best for your plants, but eventually, you’ll get it and your house will be the zen palace you’re looking for.
Plants make any home or indoor space better. You’ll work more effectively and reduce stress from a hectic schedule!
