Skip the hardest plant to grow — these six houseplant picks are far easier than their more difficult, frequently finicky counterparts.
6 Hardest Houseplants to Grow (and 6 to Grow Instead)
Published on Nov. 13, 2024
Grow This: Bird’s Nest Fern
Bird’s nest fern is more adaptable than other ferns. “Its thick fronds hold up better to dry air and missed waterings—and it has a fun architectural form,” says Justin Hancock, horticulturist at Costa Farms, one of the largest horticultural growers in the world.
With thick, glossy, leatherlike fronds, bird’s nest fern is drought tolerant and can go one to two weeks without water. It can also put up with low light conditions, although it prefers bright, indirect lighting. This fern is a slow grower, but over time it can reach more than 2 feet across.
Not That: Boston Fern
Boston fern is not necessarily a hard plant to grow, but it is hard to keep in good shape. The plant is sensitive to lighting, so it’s not uncommon to see some of Boston fern’s fronds shrivel up and the root ball dry out if watering is forgotten. Once the spent fronds are removed, the plant’s handsome shape suffers. Before you know it, you’ve got a sad sack plant to hide in the corner whenever company is expected.
Psst—these indoor plant hacks will keep your plants happier.
Grow This: Anthurium
“If you want a steady show of flowers indoors, you can’t beat anthurium,” Justin says. “Newer anthurium varieties have flowers that can last a month or more in good growing conditions and appear on and off throughout the year,” he says.
The blooms come in a wide range of colors including red, pink, purple, white and orange. Anthurium won’t put up a fuss if you miss a watering and it grows fine in average indoor temperatures and humidity levels. It prefers medium to bright light and grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide.
Not That: Miniature Rose
A miniature rose plant can be fussy. It looks beautiful when you bring it home from the store, but after the blooms drop, it can be an ordeal keeping the foliage looking healthy.
Chances of reblooming are directly proportional to the amount of light the plant gets. It wants six hours of sunlight, but there aren’t many indoor locations short of a greenhouse that offer that amount of light.
Grow This: Peace Lily
Peace lily is popular for its dramatic look, featuring large leaves and white flowers that look like calla lilies. It’s fairly easy to grow if you keep it watered. Peace lilies wilt as soon as the soil starts to dry out but can bounce back quickly. However, peace lily may not recover if you often forget to water it.
Plants can bloom throughout the year if there’s enough light. In low-light conditions, grow it as a foliage plant. Peace lily grows up to 3 feet tall and wide.
Not That: Orchid
Finicky houseplants are those that just aren’t suited to the conditions at hand. Think of a tropical plant that doesn’t like the dry air in your house or is sensitive to cold drafts. Orchid is a good example.
Phalaenopsis orchids may hold on if you give them any amount of attention—but getting them to rebloom can be tricky. They’re very particular about lighting and drainage, so you may be able to keep orchids alive, but it takes extra effort to get them to rebloom. They can be one of the hardest plants to grow.
Grow This: White Bird of Paradise
White bird of paradise is a striking plant with a lush, tropical look similar to a banana plant. However, white bird of paradise grows slower and is more forgiving if the soil dries out.
Grown for its foliage, the plant has thick leaves that are less susceptible to physical damage and browning from humidity or other environmental conditions that can mar big banana leaves. It likes direct sunlight and consistent watering whenever the top 2 inches of soil are dry and can grow to be 8 feet tall or more indoors.
Not That: Banana Plant
A banana plant is a great houseplant to grow—if you have a warm and humid greenhouse attached to the house. It needs full sunlight and 50% humidity to look its best. While those conditions are common outdoors in the tropics, they’re not easily recreated by homeowners with arid, heated indoor air in winter. This sensitivity to cold makes banana plant one of the hardest plants to grow in colder conditions.
Grow these small indoor trees as houseplants.
Grow This: Dwarf Bromeliads
“For something a little more out of the box, give dwarf bromeliads a try,” Justin says. “Bromeliads produce colorful flowers and offer an exotic look, but are more forgiving about light, water and humidity levels.” The plants have large, shiny, dark green leaves and fountain-like flower structures with brightly colored bracts that last for months. They prefer bright light and grow up to 3 feet tall.
Not That: Streptocarpus
Streptocarpus is a popular houseplant, valued for its textured leaves and bright blooms. But it’s a bit fussy when it comes to moisture, and people often push it to the edge by overwatering the plant, not giving it proper drainage, or a combination of the two.
Some varieties experience annual leaf dieback, where leaves turn brown. The plants are also often attacked by mealybugs.
Grow This: Aglaonema
“If you’ve not had a lot of luck with other foliage plants, try Aglaonema,” Justin says. “It’s one of the easiest houseplants to grow, with outstanding drought tolerance and better tolerance to low-light, and they hold up better to low relative humidity.”
Also called Chinese evergreen, Aglaonema is known for its attractive variegated leaves in different colors and patterns. It can grow in very low light but does best in medium to bright light and with watering only when the soil dries out. Aglaonema reaches 1 to 3 feet tall and wide.
Not That: Calathea
Pinstripe calathea is a lovely foliage plant with distinctive markings. The trouble is that it is sensitive to cool and dry conditions—which happen to be prevalent in many homes in winter. A warm, humid environment and bright, indirect light will help keep the foliage looking good—but it also needs evenly moist soil and regular fertilizer. In short, there are easier houseplants to grow.
About the Expert
Justin Hancock is a horticulturist at Costa Farms, one of the largest horticultural growers in the world. He has gardened in a variety of climates throughout the country; as his Costa Farms bio lists, “from northern Minnesota to Miami.” He currently resides in Florida.
