How We Keep All of the Plants in Our Home Happy + Thriving!

No room in our home is complete without a houseplant! They’re beautiful, purify the air and bring life to any space. Today we’re sharing all of the plants in our home and how we care for each species.

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve transitioned from certified ‘black thumbs’ to pretty adequate plant parents! (But please, someone knock on wood.) Plants bring us a lot of joy, and the natural light that our home receives creates a happy space for most of the species we’ve brought into our home. Let’s check out the greenery that we’ve tucked into each of our rooms!

Sansevieria

Also known as snake plants, these sculptural plants are incredibly easy to care for even for novice plant owners – they seem to actually thrive on neglect!

We have a few different species of Sansevieria around our home and there are dozens of others. You’ll find them in our living room, playroom and bedroom – all of which receive varying degrees of natural light. They’re also easy to reproduce, so we like to cut off a leaf or two every few months to pop into our propagation station – more on that in a minute.

Light + Water | Snake plants are great for spaces with low light, but they’ll grow faster in bright indirect light! Water every 3 weeks or when thoroughly dry. Just don’t overwater.

ZZ

Much like snake plants, ZZ’s are nearly indestructible! We’re currently caring for a few large ZZ’s in our wooly pocket and we recently acquired a little ZZ Raven, which is a rarer variety with striking purple-black leaves!

Light + Water | ZZ’s will do great in low light, but they’ll shoot for the moon in bright, indirect light. Water when bone dry, or about every 3-4 weeks.

Ficus Audrey

Our Ficus Audrey (cleverly named Audrey by Lucy), has been with us for a couple of months and seems to be doing incredibly well so far! Most Ficus varieties (including Fiddle Leaf Figs and Rubber Plants) are notoriously finicky. They have very specific needs for light and water and will drop their leaves in a heartbeat if they don’t get exactly what they want! Too much water? They’ll drop leaves. Too little water? They’ll drop leaves. Not enough light? Did you guess that they’ll drop leaves? Our playroom gets loads of bright light and this lady is loving her new home!

Light + Water | Ficus Audrey might not be a great choice for rookie plant people. They require bright indirect light and only a brief period of drought between soakings. This requires a decent amount of attention, but we think it’s worth it!

Pothos

Another easy beginner plant with loads of interesting varieties, Pothos (which is a blanket term that includes Epipremnum + Scindapsus) are hardy and simple to care for. We probably put more effort into trimming the extensive growth and propagating new plants than we do actually caring for them!

The variation in color and texture between species makes Pothos fun to hunt for at plant shops and big box stores. We have Pothos varieties in our living room (above), playroom (below) and craft room and they’re constantly being rotated from one space to the next since they do well in a variety of conditions.

Light + Water | Pothos can tolerate partial shade, but really thrive if they are given lots of sun! Water weekly or when dry. They’re not too picky about anything and many varieties will start to gently curl their leaves inward when they’re thirsty.

Rabbit’s Foot Fern

These fuzzy-footed ferns get their name from the brown furry rhizomes (horizontal roots) that often dangle around the outside of the planter. We’ve had mixed success with ferns, but these are supposedly among the easier varieties to care for, so we’ll see how this new addition to our collection fares in our home!

Light + Water | As with most ferns, Rabbit’s Foot (feet?) prefer moist soil and indirect or filtered light. The snug seems to fit the bill!

Hoya

Another new addition to our collection is this bargain find Hoya Carnosa Tricolor. Starter 4″ pots usually sell for around $15, but we scored this big healthy specimen in an 8″ hanging basket for just $17 bucks!

Light + Water | There are many different species of Hoya, but our Carnosa is a semi-succulent with thick, sturdy leaves. This variety prefers bright filtered light and should do great in the morning sun that pours through sliding glass door in our Kitchen. We’ve been watering every couple of weeks and using well-draining soil with some Leca mixed in for drainage.

Philodendron

Our Philodendron Hope (below, background) has been with us for a long time, but has recently migrated to the wooly pocket. This large leaf variety is hardy and relatively easy to care for. The large leaves are striking and they can get absolutely massive under the right conditions.

Light + Water | Most Philodendron varieties like a moderate amount of water and light. We water ours every 1-2 weeks and don’t allow it to dry out in between.

Pilea

Pilea Peperomioides, also known as ‘friendship plants’ are easy to care for and shoot out little babies that can be safely removed and gifted to friends (hence the name). The perfectly round leaves make for a unique look that’s not often seen in houseplants. We love them and they seem to thrive in the light that our little craft room (middle shelf, two clay pots on left) receives!

Light + Water | We water our Pilea every 1-2 weeks and let them dry between waterings. Bright, indirect light seems to be key!

Bonus: Propagation Station

We built our propagation station about six months ago, and we’ve been cranking out baby plants ever since! At the moment, it’s full of pothos, spider plant and sansevieria cuttings. Just look at those roots! The wall-mounted setup receives bright, indirect light and we add or change the water in the test tubes every week or so.

If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to only bring plants into our home that work in our home. I mean, it’s a simple concept, right? But as soon as we started thinking about plants as a living addition to our space – as opposed to a decor item – we saw growth (in more ways than one!).

PS: Here’s a round-up of planters we love and faux plants that’ll have you doing a double take.