7 EASY CARE FLOOR PLANTS FOR BEGINNING HOUSEPLANT GARDENERS

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These 7 tried and true indoor floor plants include quick care tips and are easy to care for.

I consider houseplants to be a necessity, not a luxury. If you’re a new gardener, this list of easy-to-grow floor plants is a good place to start.

If you’re going to have more than one plant, I recommend starting small. Try a few tabletop plants, they’re much easier to care for.

7 EASY CARE FLOOR PLANTS

People typically place floor plants on the floor since they are larger and taller. Plant stands also elevate plants even higher.

As you can see, some are tall and narrow, while others are shorter and wider. These are usually grown in 10′′, 12” and 14′′ pots.

A specimen houseplant comes in a larger pot, and you’ll need to have a lot of spare room for it.

I have listed 6 runners-up along with the 7 picks below.

Several of these plants were chosen not only by my own horticultural experiences but also by comments and questions I have received from viewers and readers.

The plants below can be used on a tabletop in the 6′′ or 8′′ pot, or they will eventually grow into floor plants.

Snake Plants

Low to medium light levels (see light levels explained in a nutshell below). It’s hard working & easy to care for snake plants (Sansevierias, Mother-In-Law Tongues). They come in a wide range of leaf patterns, shapes, sizes & forms. Generally, the tallest are S. trifasciata laurnetii and S. trifasciata zeylanica.

ZZ PLANT

Medium light. ZZ Plants (Zamioculcas, Zanzibar Gem) are quite popular in the last five to six years and have beautiful foliage. When grown as a floor plant, this plant spreads and the leaves arch out as it ages. There is a variegated form but it is much harder to find these days.

DRACAENA LISA (& JANET CRAIG)

A low to medium light plant. I used to see this plant in almost every office & lobby in town as one of the ultimate low light plants. Janet Craig was the variety of choice in those days, but now Dr. Lisa & Dr. Michiko have appeared on the market. Dr. Lisa is great for places where you want some height, but you’re short on width.

RUBBER PLANT

Ficus elastica. Best suited to light conditions. If you have lots of space and sunlight for the plant to grow, then this is the perfect indoor tree for you.  The Rubber Tree is a great value – it’s relatively inexpensive compared to many floor plants and it grows fast, so it’s much easier to grow indoors than the Ficus benjamina & the Ficus lyrata.

KENTIA PALM

The Kentia Palm is an elegant plant to liven up a room with low light levels. If you have a home with lower light, it’s the one you’ve been looking for.  The plant arcs gracefully and fans out, so it’s not best in tight corners, but if you have the space, you’ll love it. One drawback: you’ll have to pay a lot for this plant.

CORN PLANT

Dracaena fragrans massangeana. Medium light. This perennially popular houseplant loses its variegation to become solid green if the light is too low. Its leaves look like the green leaves of corn, which would be found in a vegetable garden.

SPINELESS YUCCA

High light. Yucca elephantipes. This isn’t a soft and fluffy plant, but it works well with modern decor. It is very tough, and well suited to high light, warm environments. Spineless Yuccas are ideal for travelers of any sort because of their low maintenance needs.

BONUS PLANTS

I simply had to! These plants have been running very close. Maybe I should have done 13 instead of 7, but sometimes too many options can be confusing. Overwhelm prevents us from doing anything.

These six plants are easy to grow and care for: Dracanea Art, Dracaena Lemon-Lime, Cast Iron Plant, Ponytail Palm, Song Of India & Song Of Jamaica.

LIGHT LEVELS

My experience with artificial light is limited, so what I am referring to here is natural light. Be aware that light levels will fluctuate throughout the year, which means you may have to move your plants closer to a light source during the winter months.

A few houseplants are unable to take direct heat and should be kept away from heat-producing windows.

However, some of the plants above will tolerate low light levels, but they will not produce as much if any growth. Medium light levels are better.

Low light isn’t the same as no light because of the northern exposure.

The light is medium with 2-4 sun rays coming in the windows on a regular basis.

A high light is typically a west or south exposure with the sun coming in for at least five hours a day.

I use my instincts when it comes to light and houseplants with low light plants. You can have one in a high-light room as long as it’s at least 10-15’ away from the windows.

A GUIDE TO GROWING FLOOR PLANTS

Read these tips before purchasing any floor plants, so you’ll know how to properly care for them.

Begin by starting small.

Begin by growing a few smaller hanging or tabletop plants. You can always experiment with bigger potted plants later on.

Make sure to do your homework

Before buying the plant, make sure you know what it’s used for & where it will go.

You wouldn’t put a Kentia Palm in front of a hot, sunny sliding glass door. Conversely, a Spineless Yucca in a dimly lit room would become very thin & spindly over time.

Purchase a healthy plant

A lot of my plants come from independent nurseries and garden centers where I trust that the plants are in good hands.

I’ve purchased a few plants at Home Depot & Lowe’s, but rummage through the inventory to make sure it’s a healthy one.

Rotate Them Around

A floor plant will grow towards light. A floor plant should be rotated every couple of months so that it will get even light exposure on all sides. That way it won’t fall over!

Most of these floor plants, except the Kentia Palm, are available in smaller 6” & 8” grow pot sizes & are sold as tabletop plants. I don’t think they’ll be growing 6 feet tall soon.

If you want a 6′ Dracaena Lisa for that spot in your family room, you should buy a plant that’s at least 5-6′ tall; not one that’s only 3′.

Don’t overwater

There are a lot of reasons for a houseplant to die, so you should keep most of your houseplants dry.

Root rot will also kill them, so be careful not to over-water them.

These easy to maintain floor plants have been great for me. I hope this list is helpful to you and you will at least try one of these houseplants. You’ll be living with a gorgeous green jungle in no time!

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