Houseplants are not only a great way to brighten up our homes but they can also help to improve mood, focus and air quality among other things – the only trouble is they can often be tricky to look after, particularly if you’re a beginner.
Thankfully, there are plenty of plants out there that are relatively easy to maintain and gardening guru, Tanner Mitchell, known as @tannertheplanter on TikTok and Instagram, has shared a video revealing five of the best houseplants you can get, saying, “If you’re brand new to plants, this is a great place to start.”
Snake Plant
Also known as Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, these hardy houseplants can tolerate plenty of conditions and also look great with their sword-like leaves, making them a great choice for any beginner.
“There’s no plant on the market that is [closer] to a fake plant that is actually real,” Tanner says as he begins the video.
“You can put them in bright light, medium light, low light [and] let them dry out 100% between watering so they’re very low maintenance,” he explains.
ZZ Plant
With a scientific name like Zamioculcas Zamiifolia, it’s easy to see why this houseplant’s name is shorted to just ‘ZZ.’
“Around here, we say ZZ is easy,” begins Tanner as this plant has a reputation for being hard to kill.
“ZZs are very similar to a Snake Plant,” he continues. “They can do bright light, medium light, low light and you let them dry out 75-100% between watering, so they’re very similar in that respect.”
“The nice thing about ZZ Plants as well is if you wait too long to water, this little potato-looking thing right at the top of the soil is going to pucker,” he explains while showing off the plant in the video. “It’s going to wilt, it’ll get a little wrinkly. That way you know that you’ve [gone] too long without watering. Give it a good soak and when it plumps up, that’s a good sign that the plant is hydrated.
Choosing your first houseplants can be intimidating! Here are 5 that we have found to be very friendly to beginners, but are also just great plants to have around the house regardless of expertise! #houseplants #planttips #plantpeople
Aglaonema
Also called Chinese Evergreen, Aglaonema comes in multiple varieties and the one Tanner demonstrates in the video is Red Siam.
“They’ll do well in bright light, medium light or low light. We let them dry out about 25-50% in between watering,” the TikToker explains.
“However, if you let them go 100% dry, they’re not going to die on you,” he says. “Give them a good soak and they’ll perk right back up into this form that you see right here.”
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Peperomia
Peperomia are also known as Radiator Plants as they tend to enjoy warm drafts of air.
The plant Tanner demonstrates is a trailing Peperomia known as Peperomia Hope.
“These guys have a huge tolerance for neglect, one of our easiest-going plants,” explains Tanner.
“This plant requires bright light, you can get away with medium light as well but it just won’t grow quite as quickly and it won’t be quite as compact,” he says.
“The reason this is beginner friendly is because it’s tolerant to many conditions, both in terms of light and in watering,” Tanner adds.
“We like to let these dry out about 50% between watering. Even if you let them dry out 100%, they’re not going to die on you, they might wilt a little bit” he says. “Give them a good soak and they’ll plump right back up.”
Air Plants
And finally, the last of Tanner’s beginner houseplants is one for anyone who might not necessarily want to deal with soil in their house.
In the wild, Air Plants such as Xerographica typically attach themselves to branches or cliff faces instead of rooting themselves in soil, meaning you won’t have to worry about big cumbersome plant pots filled with messy soil.
Xerographica may only work for some as “It is a bright light plant,” explains Tanner, “but it’s also quite drought tolerant as well.”
To water these plants, you’ll need to soak or mist them with a spray bottle instead of watering a pot.
“I like to soak these or mist them about every 14-15 days,” Tanner says. “Oftentimes, repotting plants is where people go wrong, so when you take away the soil, there’s only light and watering to consider, so there’s one less factor to worry about.”
