Houseplants

35 houseplants, led by light — because most of what goes wrong indoors is a light problem that arrives disguised as a watering one.

The two sentences that prevent most houseplant deaths

The first is that indoor light is far dimmer than it looks. Your eyes adjust across a range a plant cannot; a spot that reads as “bright” two metres inside a room may be a tenth of the light at the window. The second is that watering is a condition, not a schedule. Every plant here records what to check for rather than how many days to wait, because the right interval changes by a factor of five with pot size, season, light and the room — and a fortnightly routine that suits a plant in July drowns the same plant in December.

Or start from what you need it to survive

Indoors in August

The brightest months, and the ones in which a plant will genuinely dry out in a few days. Feed while it is growing, watch anything on a south windowsill for scorch, and remember that a plant using this much water in July will use a fraction of it by November — the summer interval is the one that drowns plants in winter.

Start with the light you actually have

Four bands, described by where you would be standing rather than by what a label calls them. Find your position first, then read the list under it.

Bright with direct sun — 6

On or beside a south- or west-facing windowsill, where the sun falls on the leaves for part of the day.

Bright, out of direct sun — 19

Within a metre or so of a bright window but out of the sun's direct path — an east window, or a south window with a sheer curtain. The commonest requirement and the one most often misread as 'anywhere in a bright room'.

Moderate light — 9

A few metres back from a bright window, or close to a north-facing one. Enough to read by comfortably all day.

Low light — 1

Well back from any window, or a north-facing room. Genuinely dim — most plants sold as 'low light' tolerate it rather than want it.

ZZ plant

The ones that genuinely do not mind a dim room

A great many plants are sold as low-light when they merely survive it, and the decline is slow enough to be blamed on something else.

16 of the 35 carry a positive assessment for tolerating genuinely low light — a north-facing room, or well back from any window. GrowingHQ records tolerance separately from preference, so a plant appears here because somebody assessed it as coping rather than because a label said “shade”. Everything here will still grow faster and look better nearer a window.

Cats, dogs and what is actually known

The area where the internet is least reliable, and where the wording matters more than the list.

Listed as non-toxic is not the same as safe

11 of these 35 houseplants are named on a published non-toxic list by an animal poison-control centre, for both cats and dogs. 20 are listed as harmful if eaten. The remaining 4 have not been assessed by any such authority — which is not a finding that they are dangerous, and is not a finding that they are safe. GrowingHQ will not move a plant into the first group because nobody has published a warning about it, so an unassessed plant stays out of every list on this site titled around safety.

Listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs — 11

Listed as harmful if eaten — 20

Severity varies enormously across this group, from a plant that causes a sore mouth to one that causes kidney failure in cats. Each profile states the mechanism and what to do, rather than the single word “toxic”.

Not assessed by an animal-toxicology authority — 4

The ones that want more humidity than a room has

Central heating takes indoor air well below what these plants evolved in, and brown crisp leaf tips are usually the first sign.

17 plants here are recorded as wanting raised or high humidity. Grouping them together, standing them on a tray of damp gravel, or keeping them in a bathroom or kitchen all work; misting is the remedy most often recommended and the least effective, because the effect lasts minutes.

Every houseplant, with what it wants

Light need, direct-sun tolerance and the condition to water at — the three facts that decide whether a plant lives, in one table.

35 houseplants with assessed indoor conditions
Plant	Light	Direct sun	Water when
Aglaonema	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top third of the compost is dry. It is more often lost to being kept wet in a cold room than to drying out.
Alocasia	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2 cm is dry in active growth, and much less often once it slows in autumn. A dormant corm kept as wet as a growing plant rots.
Aloe vera	Bright with direct sun	Needs it	When the compost is completely dry throughout and the leaves have lost a little of their firmness. In winter, in a cool room, that may be once every six weeks. Water thoroughly when you do, then let it dry out completely again.
Anthurium	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of the mix is dry. The thick roots want air as much as water, and a saucer left full is the usual cause of collapse.
Bird of paradise	Bright with direct sun	Needs it	When the top 3–5 cm of compost is dry in summer, and considerably drier than that in winter. It is heavy and thirsty in growth and rots easily when cold and wet.
Boston fern	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	Whenever the surface of the compost begins to feel dry — it wants to stay consistently moist and suffers quickly if it dries out completely. It is one of the few houseplants where erring towards wet is the safer mistake.
Calathea	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 1–2 cm of compost is dry — it wants to stay evenly moist and never wet or dry. Use rainwater, distilled water or tap water left to stand; calathea is sensitive to fluoride and chlorine and browns at the edges from both.
Chinese money plant	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top half of the compost is dry, or when the leaves begin to droop slightly. It recovers quickly from a short dry spell and poorly from sitting wet.
Christmas cactus	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2 cm is dry during growth and flowering. It is an epiphyte rather than a desert plant and should not be left bone dry for weeks.
Dieffenbachia	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. It has thin leaves and few reserves, so it wilts sooner than a thick-leaved aroid.
Dragon tree	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top half of the compost is dry. Use rainwater or tap water left to stand overnight where possible — dracaena is genuinely sensitive to fluoride, and the brown leaf tips it is famous for are usually chemical rather than environmental.
Echeveria	Bright with direct sun	Needs it	When the compost is completely dry and the lowest leaves have begun to soften. Water into the compost and never into the rosette, where trapped water rots the crown.
Fatsia	Moderate light	Scorches	Water when the top 3–4 cm of compost is dry. It wilts visibly and dramatically before it is in real trouble, and recovers within hours, so the plant tells you clearly.
Fittonia	Moderate light	Scorches	As soon as the surface of the compost feels dry. This is one of the few houseplants that genuinely should not be allowed to dry out between waterings.
Haworthia	Bright, out of direct sun	Tolerates it	When the compost is dry throughout and the leaves have lost a little firmness. Roughly monthly in winter.
Heartleaf philodendron	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. It is more tolerant of drying out than of sitting wet.
Hippeastrum	Bright, out of direct sun	Tolerates it	Sparingly until the flower stem is well up, then normally while it is in leaf. The bulb rots far more readily than it dries out, and over-watering a newly potted one before it has roots is the usual way it is lost.
Hoya	Bright, out of direct sun	Tolerates it	When the compost has dried most of the way through. As an epiphyte it is adapted to wetting and drying rather than to constant moisture.
Jade plant	Bright with direct sun	Needs it	When the compost is dry throughout and the leaves feel slightly less firm. Almost nothing in winter — a jade plant in a cool room may want water once between November and February.
Kentia palm	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top 3–5 cm of compost is dry. Reduce noticeably in winter. Browning frond tips usually mean dry air or hard water rather than underwatering.
Lemongrass	Bright with direct sun	Needs it	In summer, whenever the top of the compost begins to dry — it is thirsty in growth. From October to March, only when the compost is dry several centimetres down; a cold wet pot in winter is what kills most overwintered plants.
Monstera	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 3–5 cm of compost is dry to a finger pushed in. Water thoroughly until it runs from the base, then empty the saucer completely — leaving it standing in water is what causes root rot.
Moth orchid	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the roots visible through the clear pot turn from green to silvery-grey. That colour change is the single most reliable watering signal of any houseplant — water thoroughly at the sink, let it drain completely, and never leave the pot standing in water.
Parlour palm	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. Palms are far less tolerant of standing in water than of drying out slightly, and a saucer left full is the usual cause of browning fronds.
Peace lily	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top 2 cm of compost is dry — ideally before the leaves droop rather than after. The dramatic wilt is a reliable signal but is genuine stress, and a plant allowed to collapse repeatedly develops brown leaf tips and declines.
Peperomia	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	Look at the leaf before you water. Thick fleshy leaves mean a water store: let the compost dry most of the way through. Thin soft leaves mean no store: water when the top 2 cm is dry. Both rot if kept saturated.
Pothos	Moderate light	Scorches	When the top half of the compost is dry, or when the leaves begin to look slightly limp. Pothos wilts visibly before it suffers and recovers within hours of watering, which makes it unusually easy to read.
Rubber plant	Bright, out of direct sun	Tolerates it	When the top 3–4 cm of compost is dry. Reduce noticeably in winter — the plant is barely growing and a cold wet root ball rots.
Snake plant	Moderate light	Tolerates it	Only when the compost is completely dry all the way through — check by pushing a finger to the bottom of the pot or lifting it to feel the weight. In a cool room in winter that may be a month or more apart; in a warm bright room in summer, a fortnight.
Spider plant	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. Keep it evenly moist in summer and noticeably drier in winter.
String of hearts	Bright, out of direct sun	Tolerates it	When the compost is dry throughout and the leaves feel slightly soft rather than firm. Much less in winter. Sparse widely-spaced leaves usually mean too little light rather than too little water.
String of pearls	Bright with direct sun	Tolerates it	Only when the compost is dry all the way through and the beads have lost their firmness. In winter that may be once a month or less.
Swiss cheese vine	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. It dries out faster than its larger relative because the pot is smaller and the leaf area proportionally greater.
Syngonium	Bright, out of direct sun	Scorches	When the top 2–3 cm of compost is dry. It signals thirst by wilting visibly and recovers quickly once watered, which makes it an unusually readable plant for a beginner.
ZZ plant	Low light	Scorches	Only when the compost is dry throughout — check to the bottom of the pot. In a dim cool room that can be six weeks or more. When in doubt, wait: this plant is far more likely to be suffering from too much water than too little.

Ready-made lists from this group

Published only where the filter genuinely narrows the category.

When something is wrong

The houseplant guides GrowingHQ publishes, each built from the causes it holds specifically for that plant rather than from a general symptom page.

If the plant is not on that list, diagnose a problem works from what you can see and narrows as you answer — and it says when the evidence is too thin to be confident, which for an indoor plant is more often than anybody would like.

Every houseplant in the catalogue

Grouped nowhere in particular — the useful groupings are the light bands and the pet-safety split above.

Compare all 35 houseplants side by side

Light, spacing, minimum pot depth and container suitability in fixed columns, so you can run an eye down one of them. This is the view the card grids above cannot give.

35 plants
Plant	Type	Light	Spacing	Min. pot depth	In a container
AglaonemaAglaonema commutatum	HouseplantStraightforward	Dappled shade, Full shade	—	18 cm	well suited
AlocasiaAlocasia × amazonica	HouseplantDemanding	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	18 cm	well suited
Aloe veraAloe vera	HouseplantStraightforward	Full sun	—	15 cm	well suited
AnthuriumAnthurium andraeanum	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
Bird of paradiseStrelitzia reginae	HouseplantSome care needed	Full sun, Partial shade	—	30 cm	well suited
Boston fernNephrolepis exaltata	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	18 cm	well suited
CalatheaGoeppertia makoyana	HouseplantDemanding	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
Chinese money plantPilea peperomioides	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	12 cm	well suited
Christmas cactusSchlumbergera × buckleyi	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	12 cm	well suited
DieffenbachiaDieffenbachia seguine	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	20 cm	well suited
Dragon treeDracaena marginata	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	25 cm	well suited
EcheveriaEcheveria elegans	HouseplantSome care needed	Full sun	—	8 cm	well suited
FatsiaFatsia japonica	OrnamentalStraightforward	Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade	150–250 cm	40 cm	well suited
FittoniaFittonia albivenis	HouseplantSome care needed	Dappled shade, Full shade	—	8 cm	well suited
HaworthiaHaworthiopsis attenuata	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Full sun	—	8 cm	well suited
Heartleaf philodendronPhilodendron hederaceum	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
HippeastrumHippeastrum hybrids	OrnamentalSome care needed	Full sun, Partial shade	25–30 cm	20 cm	well suited
HoyaHoya carnosa	HouseplantSome care needed	Full sun, Partial shade	—	12 cm	well suited
Jade plantCrassula ovata	HouseplantStraightforward	Full sun	—	15 cm	well suited
Kentia palmHowea forsteriana	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	30 cm	well suited
LemongrassCymbopogon citratus	HerbSome care needed	Full sun	—	25 cm	well suited
MonsteraMonstera deliciosa	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	25 cm	well suited
Moth orchidPhalaenopsis	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	12 cm	well suited
Parlour palmChamaedorea elegans	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade	—	20 cm	well suited
Peace lilySpathiphyllum wallisii	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	18 cm	well suited
PeperomiaPeperomia	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	10 cm	well suited
PothosEpipremnum aureum	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade	—	15 cm	well suited
Rubber plantFicus elastica	HouseplantSome care needed	Partial shade, Full sun	—	25 cm	well suited
Snake plantDracaena trifasciata	HouseplantStraightforward	Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade	—	15 cm	well suited
Spider plantChlorophytum comosum	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
String of heartsCeropegia woodii	HouseplantStraightforward	Full sun, Partial shade	—	12 cm	well suited
String of pearlsCurio rowleyanus	HouseplantDemanding	Full sun, Partial shade	—	10 cm	well suited
Swiss cheese vineMonstera adansonii	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
SyngoniumSyngonium podophyllum	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade	—	15 cm	well suited
ZZ plantZamioculcas zamiifolia	HouseplantStraightforward	Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade	—	18 cm	well suited