25 Best Low-Maintenance Garden and Houseplants Every Gardener Can Grow

Beautiful flowering Hostas are a perennial that can handle both shady and moderately dry conditions.

They come in a variety of colors, from dark green to variegated, and can grow up to 16 inches tall and 30 inches wide.

They grow best in zones 2 through 10 and benefit from a little morning sun. Hostas are very easy to propagate – in the fall or early spring use a shovel to dig up the plant. Divide the plant in half or thirds and plant in a desired spot.

Watering: Every one to two weeks
Sunlight: Shade with some morning sun if possible
Take note: Deer love to nibble on hostas so be sure to plant them in a location where deer don’t roam.

Learn More with These Hosta Plant Care Tips.

While there are several different plants with the money tree moniker, we're partial to Pachira aquatica, with it's long, almost translucent leaves and braided trunk. All it needs is comfortable place to hang out, and a little water. Pretty money, right?

Watering: Let it dry out between waterings, or use a self-watering planter
Sunlight: Bright light is best, but moderate light is fine. In dim light, it may get leggy.
Take note: Rotate the plant occasionally to keep it growing evenly on all sides. If you bring it outdoors, place in indirect or dappled light.

How to Care for a Money Tree.

There are thousands of varieties of this spring blooming perennial.

It’s large, showy flowers produce the most blooms when grown in full sunlight, at least 6 to 8 hours a day. They are hardy from zones 3 to 9 and prefer well drained soil. Peonies don’t transplant well so make sure you pick the right spot the first time around.

Watering: 1 to 2 inches a day
Sunlight: Full sun, at least 6 to 8 hours a day
Take note: Peonies need some winter chilling time to form buds so be sure to check varieties for your growing zone

How to Properly Grow and Care for Peonies.

This gorgeous houseplant, with the distinctive hole-y leaves, is also quite happy to be left alone for periods of time! It's eye-catching and easy to care for.

Watering: wait until the top inch or two feels dry before watering
Sunlight: Avoid direct sunlight, but moderate to bright indirect light will work fine!
Take note: Keep away from kitties or pups! Monstera is not edible and will make pets sick.

Monstera 101: Guide to Healthy Swiss Cheese Plants.

Also called summer lilac, this fast-growing shrub can grow up 6 to 12 feet tall and be equally as wide. If you want a more compact plant, there are dwarf versions available. Plant in well drained, fertile soil in a spot that gets loads of sun. The plant will grow in partial sun but won’t bloom as profusely. Expect flowers for many months starting in the summer and deadhead any spent blooms to encourage continued blooming.

Watering: 1-inch per week during periods of drought
Sunlight: Full sun, at least 6 to 8 hours a day
Take note: Some varieties are considered invasive! Look for non-invasive cultivars for your area. While butterfly bushes are not disease prone, they sometime get fungal infections or munched on by caterpillars. Avoid using pesticides as they will hurt butterflies, bees or hummingbirds visiting the plant.

29 Flowers That Are Sure to Attract Butterflies to Your Yard.

This tropical evergreen will stay pretty small, making it great for a bookshelf or nook! The glossy leaves look gorgeous and the plant itself is very disease resistant.

Watering: Let it dry out before watering, but don't let it get bone-dry.
Sunlight: Moderate to low light is just fine! Keep away from direct light, which will burn the leaves.
Take note: Pet lovers take note! This plant gets along well with pets, being nontoxic.

These Houseplants Are Pet Friendly.

This no-fuss plant, also called lilyturf, is popular throughout the South as a border edging for gardens or a ground cover for shady areas. Once established, it largely cares for itself, and blooms with delicate purple flowers in early fall.

Watering: Water after planting to establish, and then ignore!
Sunlight: This does fine in part sun to full shade!
Take note: Once established, it's largely maintenance free, though a once-yearly trim in late winter will keep it looking fresh.

25 Best Garden Edging Ideas for Beautiful Landscaping.

This lovely plant has both stunning leaves and lovely five-petaled flowers! When full, it will fill a planter with abundance, and takes very little effort on your part. Do keep it away from pets, though.

Watering: Let the soil dry out between waterings, and make sure it drains well! Or use a self-watering planter.
Sunlight: Bright, indirect light is best, though it can handle lower light.
Take note: Most species will go dormant a few times a year, so if it starts to lose leaves, don't lose hope! Stop watering and put it in a cool, dark place until it starts to regrow.

Here's How to Grow a Shamrock Plant.

This ornamental grass needs little more than a sunny spot and some moist soil to sprout up high and show off its feathery tops! The long-lasting blooms will hang around well into winter, making it a great addition for adding color to your winter gardenscape.

Watering: It does like moist soil that doesn't dry out, so plant this near water, in rainy areas, or plan to water accordingly.
Sunlight: Full to part sun.

11 Best Ornamental Grasses to Add to Your Garden.

Not only is this a low-care (practically no-care) plant, but it's also got some amazing benefits! One of the big ones: the gel inside the leaves is great for your skin, and can be used to treat sunburns among other ailments.

Watering: As with most succulents, you want to avoid overwatering; let the soil dry completely before watering.
Sunlight: Bright direct or indirect light will work great for an aloe plant.
Take note: Though the gel can be good for your skin, avoid ingesting, and keep away from pets!

How to Care for an Aloe Vera Plant.

These flowering shrubs make great border plants or as a pop of color behind rows of flowers. They're cold-hardy, can tolerate humidity, or drought, and also attract butterflies and pollinators! What more could you want?

Watering: Water deeply but not frequently to establish. After that, it's drought tolerant!
Sunlight: While the plant likes full sun, it will tolerate shade pretty well. Too much shade, and it will become leggy.
Take note: Flowers appear in the spring and last for a few weeks.

10 Great Plants for the Shady Spots in Your Garden.

This is truly a fuss-free plant, and one of the best choices if you're a new plant parent, or travel a lot, or have a hard time remembering to water things. It's fun, and pretty, and will add green to any space!

Watering: Water ever few weeks—less if it's in a low-light environment. Don't water until the top two inches of soil feel dry.
Sunlight: Anywhere from bright light to low light will be fine! As long as there's a window in the room, your ZZ plant will be ok.
Take note: The one thing this plant is not great for, is pet-parents. Keep away from cats and dogs!

How to Care for a ZZ Plant.

This shade-loving perennial, native to North America, is often grown for its colorful foliage, which comes in shades such as bright lime green, dark purple, red, and orange—but it also offers up these small spikes of beautiful flowers, reminiscent of little bells, that hummingbirds enjoy!

Watering: These will need to be watered during dry periods, but are otherwise hands-off.
Sunlight: Part shade is best. Heuchera prefers morning light, which is less harsh.
Take note: Not every species flowers, and many are grown solely for their foliage.

21 Flowers That Hummingbirds Adore.

With its thick, water-trapping leaves, jade is clearly an easy-to-care-for succulent, but it's one that can get a little taller and more impressive looking than some succulents.

Watering: Because, like other succulents, they hold onto water, they can go a week or even two between waterings. However, don't let them dry out completely.
Sunlight: Bright, indirect light is best, such as a south-facing window.
Take note: Keep away from pets! Jade plants are mildly toxic to animals and humans.

How to Care for a Jade Plant Like a Pro.

When it comes to flowers, it's hard to get more low-maintenance than coneflowers! Drought-tolerant, heat tolerant, shade tolerant, adaptable to most soils, this perennial is also self-seeding and salt resistant! It looks beautiful, and the dried petals even make a calming herbal tea!

Watering: Water seeds well to establish. Plant is drought-tolerant after that.
Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
Take note: This native plant is also great for attracting pollinators.

30 Best Perennial Plants for Year After Year of Beauty.

This slow-growing low-maintenance fern gained wide attention a few years ago when Joanna Gaines installed one at her market. The hornlike fronds make a stand-out addition to a home, and because they typically grow on the trunks of trees, you can hang them like a plant-version of actual elk horns!

Watering: Keep soil moist using filtered water (avoid chlorinated tap water) to establish. Plants are drought tolerant after.
Sunlight: Bright, indirect light from a large east-, west-, or south-facing window is best.

Expert Staghorn Fern Care Tips.

Beautiful, fragrant, and of course delicious, rosemary has long been loved by home cooks for its ability to transform chicken or flavor desserts. But it's also a lovely low-maintenance houseplant or garden plant! You can grow it in your bedroom or garden with little fuss.

Watering: Allow top inch of soil to dry between waterings, or use a self-watering planter.
Sunlight: Indoors, bright, indirect light from a south, east, or west facing window is best. Outdoors, it'll handle full sun to partial shade.
Take note: Research shows that simply smelling this therapeutic herb can clear the mind and elevate your mood.

Everything You Should Know Before Starting an Herb Garden.

There's a good reason you'll often find the sword-like leaves of a snake plant sticking out of planters in office building entrances, framing elevators, or in waiting rooms: They are pretty hard to kill.

Put one in a distinctive planter in your home, and enjoy the low-maintenance greenery it offers!

Watering: Water only when soil is very dry, and don't give it a lot of water.
Sunlight: Nearly any light level will work, from bright indirect, to mostly artificial light.
Take note: Keep pets away! These are, unfortunately, toxic.

How to Care for a Snake Plant.

For a long time, this lavender-like plant, with beautiful edible flowers, was thought to be not related to culinary sage, but it has recently been reclassified as an actual sage plant.

Either way, it's easy to grow, smells wonderful, and flourishes in hot, dry conditions.

Watering: water deeply to establish, then it's drought tolerant.
Sunlight: Full sun is best, though it can tolerate some shade. It will droop with too much shade.
Take note: While the flowers are edible the leaves, unlike culinary sage, are not. Enjoy the fragrance, but don't cook with them!

Learn More About Planting Russian Sage.

With beautiful heart-shaped leaves, this widely available plant looks great in a hanging planter or spilling out of a pot on a bookshelf or end table.

Watering: Use a self-watering planter or water when first few inches of soil are dry to the touch.
Sunlight: Give bright, indirect light from south-, east-, or west-facing windows.
Take note: Most philodendrons are not pet-safe, so keep them away from nibbling cats and dogs!

These Fool-Proof Philodendron Care Tips Will Have Your Plant Thriving.