My Houseplant Care Guide for Beginners

This beginner houseplant care guide has been long in the making. Most of these plants have been with me for several years and man were those some formative years. Houseplants to me are the best way to bring a home to life and bring in texture and character instantly.

The beautiful thing about plants is you can’t force them to grow. They go at their own pace. There’s not a lot you can do besides give them their core needs and tell them they’re pretty. No matter how much I want them to have the look of 10 year old plants, I know I have to care for them for 10 years. They embody a saying I’ve held closely, “Good things take time.”

So whether you’re a seasoned plant mom or a beginner houseplant care guide person, my plant heart has poured into making this as easy to understand as possible!

Monstera Deliciosa
(Swiss Cheese Plant)

This is my favorite plant that I’ve raised. His name is Philly (philodendron) and he just makes me happy because he’s chill, does his thing and adapted super well when I moved. This plant looks amazing in a pot inside of a basket that you can find at a vintage market. They love to show off so give it plenty of room to grow and impress people.

Difficulty: Easy
Instagramability: High
Light Needed: Soft, diffused bright light, do not place directly in sun as the leaves can be burned and cause damage.
Size: This dude can get big. Like, really big, so if you want to keep this plant for a long time, make sure you have a space for it to have lots of room to grow and be a showpiece!
Humidity: This plant loves humidity so during the winter I make sure I run a humidifier in the same room as it. I use this one, it’s extremely affordable and has a timer and remote! You can also spray down the leaves if you don’t want to buy one.
Care Notes: You will need to train this plant when it gets a growth spurt as the stems can weigh it down and you’ll want to help shape it before it gets out of control. The roots on this plant are exposed and the top can get quite heavy. When you re-pot this, make sure you give it rich soil and give it lots and lots of room for drainage by doing a few layers of rocks. You will want to rotate it every time you water it because it can quickly grow more on the sunny side and take a while to even out. I say this with a LOT of experience.

Olive Tree

Okay I have a story with this one. When I was engaged I was obsessed with the idea to give guests olive trees (despite thinking wedding favors are dumb) but they are SO expensive. I was at Home Depot and found this seedling and thought it would last for two weeks. Joke’s on me. I fell in love with that olive tree and my relationship died and the tree didn’t. (It’s fine, I can make that joke!) Oh and in keeping with the theme, his name is Ollie for obvious olive reasons. I don’t claim the names are amazing, they just come to me in the most obvious ways and they stick.

Difficulty: Medium (It would be easy if I was in a warmer climate)
Instagramability: Super Low
Light Needed: Bright light, like, really bright (Mine loves west-facing sun in the terrible summer heat)
Size: Well it is a tree, but they don’t get incredibly tall, most homes can easily house an olive tree and it takes them so long to get to their full height.
Humidity: This tree wants to be outside and hates being inside. It does not love living this indoor winter life and loves the outdoor summer life. They tolerate dry heat really well.
Care Notes: This tree has tested me. First, you will want to make sure you stake it or have some sort of training for it to grow straight. Water it thoroughly and check if it needs more by feeling the soil about an inch below the surface. If it’s dry, water again. It’s important to make sure it has plenty of time to dry to avoid root rot. When it comes to bringing it indoor/outdoors do a sort of “exposure therapy” way of leaving it out for periods of time and then bringing it in. Yes, it sounds tedious, but it’s easy and will be much better for it to be gradually exposed. You won’t get fruit from most indoor olive trees so it’s purely for the beautiful greenery! It’s a tree so you need to pay more attention to the waterings/feedings than most plants in order to keep it looking healthy!

Birds of Paradise

I don’t have a cute name for this guy. Nor do I know why all my plants are dudes but that’s something I can bring up in a therapy session. This is probably my most slow-growing plant that I have, but I finally figured out why! (Read below under care notes) I think I am most excited to keep this plant around with the goal of being able to have a home with a natural-light filled library or den in a home.

Difficulty: Medium
Instagramability: High
Light Needed: Bright to full sun
Size: This dude gets tall. Make sure he has plenty of room to spread his wings.
Humidity: Normal house humidity is fine for this plant, but Birds of Paradise prefer to be on the more humid side of things so it’s another great one to run your humidifier by.
Care Notes: Mine is slow growing because it was planted in too big of a pot and these really prefer to have tight roots. Do NOT replant unless the roots are truly cramped and only go with a slightly larger pot when you do. They need a lot of food so be sure to feed them consistently, especially during their growing season of spring/summer. I’ve found they take quite a while to get large so don’t get discouraged if you get a small plant. It can take years to get into recognizable form of a Birds of Paradise.

Macho Fern

I refuse to buy ferns from anywhere else but the $15 ferns grocery stores have during the summer. I typically only try to make them last a season since Kansas is not ideal for them. For some unknown reason though, I’ve gotten attached this to Macho fern. They are huge but don’t look like most ferns you see. I love putting them into a corner to make a statement and bring in cool texture.

Difficulty: Easy
Instagramability: Low
Light Needed: Outside shade to diffused bright light, do not place directly in sun as the leaves can be burned and cause damage. (I did this, you can see it in the photos, it is just now starting to forgive me.)
Size: Massive. Macho.
Humidity: It really prefers a more humid climate. During the winter I make sure I run a humidifier in the same room as it and Philly (see above). I use this one, it’s extremely affordable and has a timer and remote! You can also spray down the leaves if you don’t want to buy one.
Care Notes: You will need a massive container for this one. Pro tip, to fill it up without making it easier you can use pool noodles and other items to fill the bottom to create a good drainage area and then do a layer of gravel and soil. If you’re in a cooler climate be sure to bring it in as soon as it starts dropping into the 40’s.

Fiddle Leaf Fig

This tree used to be an Instagram star until everyone started trying to grow them. Then we realized they are incredibly temperamental and they aren’t for the faint of heart. This was my original Fiddle Leaf Fig that survived every possible mistake I could make when growing it. I mean, I under-watered it, over-watered, gave it root rot, didn’t rotate it, etc. Then I made the mistake of leaving it outside one day and it got too much sun and literally turned black.

Difficulty: Hard
Instagramability: High
Light Needed: Bright light, prefers being by a non-drafty window
Size: Varies but can get very large
Humidity: Fiddle Leaf Figs really like high humidity (Every time I go to Florida I get insanely jealous how easily they thrive there.) so using the humidifier I’ve talked about will really help.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Care Notes

Out of all the plants I’ve grown, this is the one that has caused me to do the most research and there are millions of articles about this tree, all warning you that it’s not as easy as it looks.

• Fiddle Leaf Figs need to dry out before you water them. I often lift mine into my shower to give it a good soaking, let it drain and then put it back into the basket. Do not over-water this plant, it can get root rot very quickly (learn from my mistake!). You can use this moisture meter to help make sure you aren’t over-watering.
• If you re-pot this plant, do not do it in the winter when it is dormant. You may see it have some shock in general when you re-pot it which is why you need to make sure you put it in a pot that isn’t much larger than the one its currently in so the roots can remain tight.
• Rotate it weekly so it gets even light and doesn’t lean too much in one direction.
• Wipe down the leaves with a soft, damp cloth so the leaves can breathe! Then spray them to help them feel like they are in a tropical climate.
• You will need to give it some support to make sure it grows straight, especially when young. I use these plant stakes.
• Do NOT plant this in a pot that doesn’t have a large drainage hole. DO NOT.
• If the leaves are no longer upright, it needs a good soaking IMMEDIATELY.

Zanzibar Gem (ZZ Plant)

Difficulty: Easy
Instagramability: High
Light Needed: Prefers bright light but can adapt to lower-light conditions
Humidity: This plant’s theme song is “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. Humidity really isn’t a factor for this plant.
Size: They hit about 3-4′ wide and 3-4′ tall
Care Notes: You cannot mess up this plant. Scale back watering in the winter, but in general, you can water this plant bi-weekly and be okay. Or like, if you skip a watering, it will still forgive you. I’ve skipped watering it for a month and it was still in perfect shape.

General Beginner Houseplant Care

• There are plants you are going to love that you have no idea what they are. You got it on sale, it’s a great piece and you love it. Research what you can but just remember these basics:
  • Every plant needs to be well-draining.
  • Wipe down leaves to let photosynthesis do its thing.
  • The leaves will tell you what you need to know.
    • If they are yellow and drooping – its time to water.
    • If they are browning – you’re over-saturating it and it needs time to dry out before the next watering.
• Don’t buy one-size-fits-all soil, different plants need different things so pay attention to that.
• Rotate, rotate, rotate. Did I mention you need to rotate them?
• A humidifier will do wonders for both your plants and your skin in the winter. Get one!
• If you struggle with light in the winter, a $25 investment in one of these will do wonders for your plants!