Easy Potted Plants for Renters

Welcome back, UGA students! The Fall semester is upon us, and it’s time to settle back into your dorms, apartments, and houses. You’ve probably heard of the benefits of keeping plants inside, both for the air you breathe and your state of mind—and with exams and homework and extracurricular activities rearing to pile up, having a plant in your house might just be the de-stressor you need!

We know not all of you have the luxury of a backyard where you can keep a garden to plant some of the flowers or herbs we’ve listed in other articles (like which plants to grow to attract pollinators, or keep pests away, or plants you can start late in the fall). But just because you can’t plant things outside in the ground doesn’t mean you can’t plant things inside, in a pot! We’ve compiled a list of plants that will thrive in pots indoors to help make your house a home. 

And before you worry—every plant on this list is low-maintenance and easy to care for, so you can keep your focus on getting to class, doing your homework, and spending time with your friends. There were dozens to choose from, so we picked our favorite 10; follow the links at the end of the article to read about more species perfect for apartment living!

​Devil’s Ivy

​This vine with the spooky name is also known as pothos, and is so good at growing inside, lots of people call it the cubicle plant. You can grow it in dirt if you want, or in a vase with just water. It grows pretty quickly, and you can cut off longer vines and stick them in their own vase of water to make more pothos! They’re fine with the shade of being inside and only need to be watered maybe once a month, when their dirt is officially bone-dry (assuming, of course, you’re growing them in dirt. If it’s in a vase with water, you can quite literally just forget about it!)

​ZZ Plant

​The Zamioculcas zamiifolia (hence ZZ) plant has smaller oval leaves and is low-maintenance enough you could go on vacation for a year and come back to find it happy and healthy. It needs such little water, and does well in any level of light, so whether or not you’ve got window space available, the ZZ plant will be fine. The only downside to this miracle plant is the fact that it grows pretty slowly, so be prepared for it to stay small for a long time.

​Aloe Vera

​Not only is aloe vera easy to grow, but it’s super useful! Whether you want to make a nourishing face mask or cool off the weekend (or gameday!) sunburn, aloe has intensive healing properties and also is a great air purifier. Aloe plants do like bright sun, so make sure to leave it by the window. Let the soil get really, really dry before you water it again (think maybe once a month), and watch it grow.

​Snake Plant

​The name sounds a little unattractive, but Dracaena trifasciata is actually … well. Pretty. It likes bright light best, and would prefer to sit by a window, but won’t die if your apartment sits more in the shade than the sun. It also doesn’t much care for water, and is great at surviving droughts—so don’t panic if you forget to water it!

​Spider Plant (pet friendly)

​This jungle-looking bush will bring some lighter green tones to your home, but keep in mind that the spider plant prefers lots and lots of light. Not direct sun, mind you, but just brightness. It’s great at cleaning the air and doesn’t need much water to provide you with “baby spiders” (spiderettes), which are basically mini-me versions that can easily be put in another pot to give you more spider plants!

​Philodendron Green

​This vine grows similar to pothos, but with heart-shaped, uniformly-colored leaves. It can’t grow in just water, like pothos can, but it’s fine with little to no sunlight and needs minimal watering. You can also propagate it just as easily as the pothos, which means even more plants for you.

​Dracaena Lisa

​This hardy, leafy plant can get pretty big—more like a small tree than a potted plant. But if you’ve got the space for it (maybe an empty corner?) it’ll clean your air better than almost anything. Like other Dracaena species, Lisa can adapt to most any environment, so whether the corner is sunny or shady, as long as you give her water every couple of weeks, she’ll be happy as a clam.

​Bird’s Nest Fern (pet friendly)

​With it’s bright-green, rippled fronds, and moisture-loving tendencies, this fern will bring some much-needed color to your bathroom or shower! As long as you’ve got a window to let a medium amount of light in, you’ll have clean air for your morning and/or nightly routine. The bathroom is usually where you use the most chemicals, like hair spray, bleach cleaners, and aerosol shaving creams, so having a Bird’s Nest in there will really help your long, de-stressing showers purify your lungs, too!

​Kalanchoe

​If you’re looking for something with pretty flowers to bring into the house, look no further than kalanchoe. The gentle red, orange, or pink flower bundles that will even bloom in wintertime. Give it a medium amount of light and water thoroughly only once the soil has completely dried out, and you’ll have a colorful addition to your living room all year long!

​Moth Orchid

​We know what you’re thinking—it’s an orchid! How can it be on the list? While most orchids are pretty finicky, the moth orchid is the exception. As long as you’ve got some medium levels of light (it also likes extra-bright light, and can tolerate lower light as well), and you water it every so often, the moth orchid will be just fine. The flowers last for a long time, and once the fall comes in and the nighttime temperatures start cooling off, you may even get a second bloom! 

​So there you have it! Be sure to look at the links below for some other low-maintenance houseplants, and for tips on growing the ones we listed here. ​

Author

Emily Casuccio is sister and sister-in-law to Rebekah and Scott Rushing, and has over half a decade of experience in copywriting, copyediting, proofreading, and developmental storyboarding. She's worked with both published and undiscovered authors on both fiction and nonfiction, and takes pride in supporting local businesses. Her passion lies in the written word and helping authors of all capacities realize their dreams and achieve their fullest potential. To learn more about her, read samples of her work, or contact her, visit her online portfolio.

Sources:
The 10 Best Indoor Plants to Purify the Air in Your Home
20 Forgiving Houseplants