Nothing adds more to a room than a houseplant. Plants add color, life, comfort, and beauty to your home. However, keeping a vase of flowers from drooping after two days is hard enough, not to mention keeping a potted plant alive long term. That said, not all plants are created equal. Some require hard work and constant maintenance, but some are far less demanding. Adding plants to your home doesn’t need to be difficult, you just have to choose wisely.

Air Plant

The air plant is just about as easy as they come. In this case, there is no need to worry about soil because the air plant grows, well, in the air. All you have to do is mist it with water every couple days, or submerge it in water every couple weeks. Easy!

African Violet

African violets are popular houseplants because of their beautiful blooms. But just because it’s pretty, doesn’t mean it’s high maintenance. All this lovely flowering plant needs is bright, indirect sunlight and frequent water.  African violets are pretty hard to kill, so even if you forget about it every once in a while, after a bit of water, your African violet should perk right back up. And they bloom multiple times per year, so you get the benefit of flowers more than once!

Succulents

Succulents and cacti are pretty trendy right now, and for good reason. They come in all sorts of fun shapes, sizes and colors, and they’re some of the most low maintenance plants you can purchase. They require a fair amount of sunlight and water once every one or two weeks, but other than that, they’ll take care of themselves. Heck, I’ve forgotten to water one of my cacti for months and it’s still thriving today. Plus, succulents can be propagated, meaning if you take off one leaf and plant it, another whole plant will grow! Pro tip: the thicker the succulent or cactus’ leaves, the less water it requires.

English Ivy

English ivy is a gorgeous addition to a home. Its long tendrils covered in lovely dark green leaves add color and class to a room. English ivy doesn’t require much sun, so it’s ideal for those less sunny rooms that other plants might not survive in. It has to be watered enough to keep the soil moist, but it can tolerate dry environments occasionally.

Rubber Tree

Rubber trees are fun, unique plants that can grow to be pretty large, depending on the pot you plant them in. If you want your rubber tree to be a tabletop plant, place it in a smaller pot and prune it regularly. If you want it to be a living room tree, transfer it to a large pot and let it grow to your desired height. Rubber trees prefer indirect light and moist soil.

Dragon Tree

This is a lovely plant, but it can be toxic to cats and dogs, so think twice about it if you’re a pet owner. Dragon trees like low light, so they’re great for darker corners. They need water when the soil is dry, but other than that, they aren’t too picky.

If you’ve had a tough time keeping plants alive in the past, don’t give up! There are plenty of plants out there that don’t need too much care.