These five easy to grow houseplants will add beauty, color and fragrance to your indoor living space, even when they are neglected.

Don’t despair if you don’t have a green thumb. There are a few easy to grow houseplants that will thrive even when neglected. Try some (or all) of these five favorite easy to grow houseplants to add beauty, color and fragrance to your home’s interior.

Golden Pothos

Golden pothos is a fast growing vine and is virtually indestructible. Golden pothos, also known as devil’s ivy, grows equally well in shade or in sunlight, but the green and yellow leaves will be brighter in color when the houseplant is placed in a sunny location.

This houseplant can be allowed to grow unchecked and create a long, flowing vine or it can be kept pinched back to create a more compact houseplant suitable for displaying on a table or desk top.

African Violets

African violets look delicate, but they are very hardy little houseplants. A wide range of flower colors make this blooming houseplant unbeatable for easy to grow indoor color. African violets only need two things to thrive; bright, indirect sunlight (morning sunlight from a nearby window filtered through a curtain is perfect) and fertilizer formulated specifically for them.

Fragrant Jasmine

For a natural fragrance that will fill the air in the room, try growing jasmine. This fragrant houseplant is compact and produces sweet smelling, star shaped blooms all winter and into early spring. Jasmine needs four to six hours of bright sunlight every day to produce it’s fragrant blooms.

Cast Iron Plant

This plant lives up to it’s name, it’s hard to kill and easy to keep alive. The cast iron plant is a slow growing bushy plant with dark green, leather-looking leaves.

While not the prettiest plant in the greenhouse, cast iron plants will tolerate low light, sparse watering and drafts, one thing most houseplant will not tolerate. The slow growth of this plant also means it will rarely, if ever, need re-potting.

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue

So named for it’s long, pointed leaves which resemble a sharp, green tongue. Also called a snake plant, this houseplant can grow up to four feet tall and does well in low light. When placed in a sunny location, a mature mother-in-law’s (5-10 years old) tongue will produce a single stalk of tiny white blooms in summer. This easy to grow houseplant also comes in a dwarf variety suitable for growing in smaller spaces.

Sources:

• Guide to House Plants
• African Violet Society of America
• Gardenseeker