Heather’s Gardening Service

Top 3 Low Maintenance Indoor Plants

Written by Heather Morren

The winter months can be very difficult for people who enjoy caring for their little green plant friends out of doors. Chances are, that if you are a gardener, you likely already have a few house plants. However, not everyone who gardens has yet to discover the joys of having a variety of plants around your home that you can care for during this long, cold season. 

This is a beginners guide of top three low maintenance indoor plants that will thrive in almost any home. Read on for more information about each plant as well as some care instructions to make your first foray into indoor plant care more successful.

1) Spider Plant (chlorophytum comosum)

The Spider Plant is a tropical plant that has long green, sometimes white striped, leaves resembling the hair of The Muppets Animal. This plant enjoys bright, indirect light and likes to be watered approximately once a week. You will easily be able to tell that your plant is happy in your home because it will start sending out “babies”. The mother plant will form long stems that soon will develop white flowers and, eventually, miniature “spiders” will form. In nature, these “babies” would root themselves directly into the soil. In your home, they are content to remain on the stems or they can be removed and placed in water to grow roots so you can keep expanding your plant army.

Spider Plant

2) (Silver) Inch Plant (tradescantia zebrina)

The (Silver) Inch Plant, formerly known as a Wandering Jew or Dude, is native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia. This beautiful plant has distinctive purple and green striped leaves with a hint of silver. Like the Spider Plant, the Inch Plant does best in bright, indirect sunlight and enjoys a healthy watering once a week. The Inch Plant can be grown and enjoyed in two different ways: 

1) Leave it in its natural state, allowing its stems to grow long and wild. 

2) Trim the stems frequently, sticking their cut ends directly into the damp soil or place them in a cup of water to begin rooting again so your plant appears more full bodied. 

(Silver) Inch Plant

3) Golden Pothos (​​epipremnum aureum)

Golden Pothos is a sub tropical trailing plant that comes in both “regular” and “giant” varieties. This plant also enjoys bright, indirect sunlight but likes to be watered every 10 or so days. Pothos, and their commonly mistaken cousin, philodendron, are best kept in pots with good drainage and are more resistant to drought than over watering. Yellowing leaves is the first sign that your pothos plant is getting too much moisture.

Golden Pothos

A few more things to know about indoor plant care in the winter months:

Although your house plant will be much happier indoors than out, there are still some factors that will affect the growth of your indoor plant during this cold time. Some indoor plant go through a dormancy stage (stay tuned for a future article on this topic). Running your furnace constantly often changes the humidity level in your home. Plants that are in too near a window may freeze while others that are too close to a heat vent may burn. Don’t be discouraged if your plants take a bit of time to get used to the winter even from the comfort of your house.

All photos in this article were taken by Heather Morren. Information was sourced from a wide variety of online resources. Please ask, should you wish to see a full list.