Hard to kill House Plants | Chicago life and style

Four Hard to Kill House Plants

I have a knack for killing house plants. It’s honestly a wonder that I can keep two cats and Sidney alive. I always admired those who had jungle-like interiors, with plants that seemed to effortlessly brighten up and enhance their living spaces. I’ve had succulents, herbs, flowering plants, and leafy plants, but I always seem to fail them. Away they go to the trash, sad and brown.

This past summer I was determined to find some house plants that were extremely low maintenance. I was done being a plant mom failure. I wanted a lush living space, as well as the air purifying benefits of houseplants. So I marched into my neighborhood garden center and started asking questions.

I’m proud to say that the plants I currently have are alive and well, and possibly even thriving! Here’s the hard to kill house plants that we have in our home:

Golden Pothos aka Devil’s Ivy

This one is small and viney with pretty heart-shaped leaves. It is mostly a vibrant glossy green, but some leaves have a splash of yellow on them. It lives on a credenza in my living room, approximately 10 feet away from the closest window. It doesn’t need lots of sunlight, and can go for awhile without needing water.

I’m a little nervous for when my pothos vines start getting long because I’ll need to start pruning and/or training it, but for now I’m really enjoying it!

Snake Plant

Aside from the chic stripey leaves, the Snake Plant is extremely sturdy. Which means my cat Elwood won’t bother munching on it. It can go for weeks without water, doesn’t require high sunlight, and does a great job at filtering out toxins from the air. In fact, the plant prefers to be under-watered, which is probably why I’ve kept it alive for so long. We understand each other.

The dark green stripes mimic my love of animal print, too!

Fiddle Leaf Fig

I purchased my Fiddle Leaf Fig plant when I saw them on sale at Home Depot for $20. It is a pretty trendy plant, so I took a chance to see if, for once, I could manage to keep it healthy. I love the large feminine-looking leaves and how they open invitingly towards the sky. Truthfully, she has been close to death a few times, but I somehow managed to revive her. There is new growth, so I must be doing something right.

This plant requires a lot of light. So from where it sits in the living room, it is clearly leaning and straining towards the window to soak up all that precious sunlight. I water it once a week, or whenever I touch the soil and my finger comes up dry.

Faux Plants

Okay so I cheated, but there’s always the option of fake plants. I love faux plants! They make them look SO real these days. I have a beautiful faux succulent on my coffee table and get compliments on how it looks real all the time. Since I love orchids, but can’t seem to keep them alive, I keep two small faux orchids on our mantle. The only maintenance required is dusting them off from time to time 😉

I’d love to have a few more real houseplants! What are some of your favorite hard to kill house plants? Let me know in a comment below!

–Roxanne