9 Hard-to-Kill Houseplants for Beginners
A shortlist of genuinely forgiving houseplants for people who have killed a plant or two: nine low-maintenance picks that survive low light, forgotten waterings, and beginner mistakes. Pet-safety status is noted for every plant.
Some plants are forgiving enough for someone who swears they have a black thumb, and the list is shorter than you'd think. Most "easy" plant lists are written by people who clearly water on time and have a south-facing window. This one isn't. Every plant below can handle being forgotten for a week or two, and a couple can handle a lot worse.
A quick note before the list, because it matters: "hard to kill" almost always means "hard to kill by neglect." The fastest way to murder every plant here is to love it too much, mostly by overwatering. If there's one habit that saves more beginner plants than any other, it's checking that the soil is actually dry before you reach for the watering can.
One more flag up top, since a lot of people ask: most of the toughest houseplants are mildly toxic to pets. Each one includes its pet-safety status. If you have a cat that chews everything, skip to the Parlor Palm, Peperomia, and Spider Plant.
1. ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
If you only buy one plant as a self-described plant killer, make it this one. The ZZ stores water in thick underground rhizomes, which is a fancy way of saying it carries its own canteen. It genuinely prefers being forgotten.
Light: low to bright indirect; tolerates a north-facing room or a dim office corner. Water: every two to three weeks, and that's not a typo. Let it dry out completely first. Honest caveat: it's so drought-adapted that overwatering is the one real way to kill it. Yellow, mushy stalks mean too much water, not too little. Pet safety: contains calcium oxalate crystals and is widely treated as toxic to pets, so keep it out of reach.
The ZZ plant anchors our hard-to-kill and low-water collection for exactly this reason. It's a smart pick if you travel a lot.
2. Snake Plant 'Laurentii' (Dracaena trifasciata)
The other near-guaranteed survivor. Stiff, architectural, and extremely tough. 'Laurentii' is the classic variety with the yellow leaf margins.
Light: anything from low light to bright indirect; one of the few plants that genuinely tolerates a dark corner. Water: every two to three weeks in summer, less in winter. It rots if it stays wet. Honest caveat: it grows slowly. It rewards patience, not impatience. Pet safety: toxic to cats and dogs (saponins, causing nausea and vomiting). Not a pet-room plant.
Snake plants reclassified from Sansevieria to Dracaena a few years back, so you'll see both names around. Same plant. The Snake Plant 'Laurentii' is a reliable first buy.
3. Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
The vine that taught a generation of people they could keep a plant alive. Pothos trail happily off a shelf, root in a glass of water from a cutting, and tell you clearly when they're thirsty by drooping, then perk right back up after a drink.
Light: low to bright indirect; variegation gets stronger in brighter light but it survives dim spots fine. Water: when the top inch or two of soil is dry. Forgiving in both directions. Honest caveat: the most common pothos mistake is overwatering on a schedule, which turns the lower leaves yellow. Pet safety: toxic to cats and dogs (calcium oxalate crystals).
4. Heart-Leaf Philodendron 'Cordatum' (Philodendron hederaceum)
If a pothos and a snake plant had an even more forgiving cousin, it'd be the heart-leaf philodendron. It's a trailing vine with soft heart-shaped leaves, and it's slightly more tolerant of low light than pothos, which is saying something.
Light: low to medium indirect; handles a north-facing room. Water: when the top inch of soil dries out. Droops to tell you it's thirsty. Honest caveat: people mix it up with pothos constantly. The leaves are thinner, softer, and more heart-shaped, and the care is nearly identical, so the confusion is harmless. Pet safety: toxic to cats and dogs (calcium oxalate crystals).
5. Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
The first genuinely pet-safe plant on the list, and a good one. The parlor palm brings soft, feathery, tropical height without the fuss most palms demand.
Light: low to medium indirect; it evolved on shaded forest floors, so it actively dislikes direct sun. Water: keep the soil lightly moist, not soggy. A touch thirstier than the succulent-type plants above, but still forgiving. Honest caveat: it's the least drought-tolerant plant here. If "I forget to water for three weeks" is your reality, the ZZ or snake plant is a safer bet. Pet safety: non-toxic to cats and dogs. One of the few palms that's truly pet-safe. Don't confuse it with the sago palm, which is not a true palm and is severely toxic.
The Parlor Palm is a flagship pick if a chewing pet is your main constraint. Browse the rest of our pet-safe collection if that's the deciding factor.
6. Aloe Vera (Aloe vera)
A succulent that doubles as a first-aid kit. Aloe is built for neglect: it stores water in those fat leaves and would rather you ignore it than fuss.
Light: bright light, ideally a few hours of direct sun. This is the one plant here that wants a sunny windowsill, not a dim corner. Water: deeply but rarely. Let it dry out completely, then soak it. Every two to three weeks is plenty. Honest caveat: in a dark apartment it stretches, pales, and flops. Give it your brightest window or skip it. Pet safety: toxic to cats and dogs (saponins and anthraquinones in the leaf latex cause vomiting and lethargy). The gel humans use is the safe part, but pets chew the whole leaf, so keep it out of reach.
7. Dracaena 'Janet Craig' (Dracaena fragrans)
If you want a floor plant with height that won't die in a corner, this is the one. Glossy dark-green strap leaves, grows upright, and shrugs off low light.
Light: low to medium indirect; handles dim rooms well, which is rare for a plant this size. Water: when the top inch or two of soil is dry. Don't let it sit in water. Honest caveat: it's sensitive to fluoride and salts in tap water, which can brown the leaf tips. If your tap water is heavily treated, let it sit out overnight or use filtered water. Pet safety: toxic to cats and dogs (saponins). Same family as the snake plant, same caution.
8. Peperomia (Peperomia spp.)
A whole genus of small, slow, charming plants that are nearly impossible to outgrow your space, and the common ones are pet-safe. Whether you get a ripple-leaf, a marble, or a trailing string-of-turtles, the care is forgiving, and the common peperomias are non-toxic.
Light: medium to bright indirect; they like more light than the snake plant but don't need direct sun. Water: when the top inch is dry. The semi-succulent leaves store water, so under-watering beats over-watering. Honest caveat: different peperomias look wildly different, so "peperomia care" is a loose generalization, but the light and water rules above hold across the genus. Pet safety: the common peperomias are non-toxic to cats and dogs. A great pick for a pet household.
The Peperomia 'Marble' is an easy, compact place to start.
9. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
The plant that refuses to quit, and it's pet-safe too. Spider plants throw out arching leaves and dangling baby plantlets you can snip and replant, so one plant slowly becomes several.
Light: bright indirect is ideal, but they tolerate lower light and just grow slower. Water: keep lightly moist in summer, drier in winter. Forgiving if you forget. Honest caveat: they can get brown leaf tips from fluoride in tap water or from getting too dry. Cosmetic, not fatal. Pet safety: non-toxic to cats and dogs. Cats are weirdly drawn to chewing the leaves, but it won't poison them.
The Bonnie Curly Spider Plant is the curly-leaved variety.
How to pick from these nine
If you want the absolute most forgiving, start with the ZZ plant or the snake plant. If you have a pet that chews, your shortlist is the parlor palm, peperomia, and spider plant. If you want something that trails off a shelf, pothos or the heart-leaf philodendron. And if you have one genuinely bright window, aloe earns its spot.
Most of these live on our easy-care plants collection, the place to start if you've killed a plant or two and want to break the streak. The whole point of starting here is that you get to feel like a plant person before you've technically earned it, and these nine make that easy.
Break the black-thumb streak
These are the plants for anyone who's killed a few. Start with one you can't overthink.
Shop easy-care plantsQuick questions, honest answers
What is the hardest houseplant to kill?
The ZZ plant and the snake plant are the two toughest. Both store water, tolerate low light, and want to be watered only every two to three weeks. If you travel or forget to water, start with one of those.
Which hard-to-kill plants are safe for cats and dogs?
On this list, the parlor palm, the common peperomias, and the spider plant are non-toxic to cats and dogs. The ZZ, snake plant, pothos, philodendron, aloe, and dracaena are toxic, so keep those out of a chewing pet's reach.
How do I avoid killing an easy houseplant?
Overwatering, not neglect, is what kills most beginner plants. Check that the top inch or two of soil is actually dry before watering, use a pot with a drainage hole, and never let the plant sit in a saucer of water.
