Senior Home Editor, Good Housekeeping
Don t let those fickle fiddle leaf figs fool you. Not every houseplant requires a natural green thumb and extensive gardening expertise. These hardy indoor species can survive and even thrive despite serious neglect. Buy something that likes to live the way you do, advises Gwenn Fried, manager of the horticulture therapy program at NYU Langone. When you re working with a dark room, give low-light options like pothos, prayer plants, and dracaena a go. If too many rays has shriveled your plants in the past, opt for sun lovers like yucca, jade, and ponytail palm. Peace lilies and Chinese evergreen can handle the well-meaning over-waterer. If you re the set-it-and-forget-it type, ZZ plant, kalanchoe, and philodendrons might be more your speed.
Searching for a plant to brighten up a particularly dark corner one that doesn t see (much) light of day in your home? Believe it or not, this isn t an impossible task. Some varieties
can thrive sans plentiful sunlight. Simply look for ones with hearty green leaves, which photosynthesize like champs. Rather than going the flowering route, focus on great foliage, says Tovah Martin, author of The Indestructible Houseplant
($13.49, amazon.com). Then, to keep them healthy in winter, up the humidity, advises Joyce Mast of houseplant company Bloomscape, particularly if the soil feels dry to the touch (test it with a finger). Mist them regularly, group them so they share naturally released moisture, or keep them on water-filled pebble trays. Here, a few shade-loving options.