The best houseplants for beginners share one quality: they forgive your mistakes. They cope with a missed watering, adapt to imperfect light, and recover from the odd wilt without drama. If you have killed a plant or two and assumed you have no green fingers, the truth is you probably just picked something fussy. Start with the six below and the odds tip firmly in your favour.
How we chose
We chose species with a genuine, well-documented reputation for being hard to kill: plants that tolerate low light, irregular watering and general beginner neglect. We also cared about honesty on safety, so each pick carries a factual pet and child note based on the ASPCA plant lists and RHS guidance, because a beautiful plant is no good if it worries you around a curious cat or toddler. These are real, widely available species, not rare collector plants. For more on styling a calm home around them, browse our home & living guides.
1. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Often nicknamed devil’s ivy for how stubbornly it survives, pothos is the plant that made countless people believe they could keep something alive. It trails happily from a shelf, tolerates low to bright indirect light (just not harsh direct sun, which scorches the leaves), and shrugs off the occasional forgotten watering. It also roots in a glass of water in days, so one plant quickly becomes several. Safety note: pothos is toxic to cats and dogs per the ASPCA, so position it out of reach. The Sixated take: the single most forgiving plant on this list, and the one we recommend first.
2. Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
With its upright, sword-shaped leaves, the snake plant brings sculptural structure to a corner and asks almost nothing in return. It genuinely thrives on neglect, handles low light, and can go two to four weeks between waterings. Its one real weakness is overwatering, which causes root rot, so err on the dry side and use a pot with drainage. Safety note: mildly toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA). The Sixated take: the best pick for busy people and frequent travellers.
3. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
Glossy, deep-green and almost artificially neat, the ZZ plant stores water in underground rhizomes, which is why it can survive months of forgetfulness and still look immaculate. It accepts low light without complaint and prefers its soil to dry out completely between drinks. As with the snake plant, the golden rule is to underwater rather than over. Safety note: toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA). The Sixated take: the most polished-looking survivor here, ideal for offices and dim hallways.
4. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
The spider plant earns its place for a special reason: it is listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs by the ASPCA, making it our standout choice for pet households. Beyond that, it is wonderfully easy, with arching striped leaves and dangling baby plantlets you can snip off and pot up for free plants. It likes bright indirect light and regular watering but tolerates a fair amount of variation. The Sixated take: the beginner plant to buy if you share your home with pets.
5. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
If you want a little more than foliage, the peace lily is one of the few easy plants that reliably flowers indoors, sending up elegant white spathes above glossy leaves. It is happy in indirect light and even copes in a bright bathroom, and it is refreshingly honest: when thirsty it droops dramatically, then perks up within hours of a drink, so it more or less tells you what it needs. Safety note: it belongs to the arum family and is poisonous to pets and children (RHS), so keep it well out of reach. The Sixated take: the best pick for beginners who want flowers, not just leaves.
6. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum)
Soft, heart-shaped leaves on a fast-trailing vine make the heartleaf philodendron a close cousin to pothos in both looks and easy temperament. It adapts to low and medium light, tolerates irregular watering, and drapes beautifully from a high shelf or hanging pot. Like pothos, it propagates readily from cuttings, so it is a rewarding one to grow your collection with. Safety note: toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA). The Sixated take: a lush, cascading choice once you have one plant under your belt.
Simple care that keeps them alive
Nearly every beginner plant is lost to kindness, specifically overwatering. The safest habit is to check before you pour: push a finger a few centimetres into the compost and only water when it feels dry. Always use a pot with a drainage hole so roots never sit in water, and tip away anything that collects in the saucer. When in doubt, wait a day; these plants would far rather be a little dry than soggy.
Light is the other lever. Most of these prefer bright, indirect light near a window but out of scorching midday sun, and the snake plant, ZZ and pothos will also tolerate genuinely dim corners, just with slower growth. Wipe dust off the leaves now and then so they can breathe, feed lightly during spring and summer, and repot every couple of years once roots fill the container. That really is most of it.
Start with one or two, learn their rhythm, and let confidence build before you expand. Plants also do quiet work for a room, softening hard corners and warming up shelving, so they pair naturally with our guides to small-space storage solutions and making a small bedroom feel bigger. Explore more calm, considered home ideas over on Sixated.