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It may surprise you to read this coming from me, but I don’t think plants always make the best gifts. The reason I feel this way is because not everyone wants to take care of plants! (Weird, right? ?)
HOWEVER, if plant gifts were guaranteed to be easy and low maintenance, that changes things. Well, it’s your lucky day, because I’ve compiled a list of 10 of the best houseplant gifts.
These are the BEST houseplants to give as gifts because they are easy to care for, beautiful, and hard to kill!
Pick a plant from this list and you can feel confident that giving one of these houseplants as a gift will make for a happy—not a worried-about-killing-their-new-gift—giftee!
The Quick List
- Spider Plant
- String of Pearls
- Philodendron Micans
- Snake Plant
- Satin Pothos
- Arrowhead (Syngonium)
- Heartleaf Philodendron
- Air Plant
- Prayer Plant (Maranta)
- ZZ Plant
The 10 Best Houseplant Gifts
Spider Plant
Spider plants are great because they’re low maintenance and easy to propagate and make more of. That, combined with the fact that they’re just plain cool looking, makes them an excellent gift choice.
They require very little care other than bright to medium indirect light, and a good watering when the top inch of the soil is dry.
Buy a spider plant here!
String of Pearls
The string of pearls plant is definitely a showstopper—just see the photo that was at the top of this post! And, it’s actually a succulent, which means minimal care is required.
Provide them with bright, indirect light and allow them to dry out between waterings.
Buy a string of pearls here!
Philodendron Micans
Also known as the velvet-leaf philodendron, Philodendron Micans is a stunning climbing vine with leaves ranging from shimmery shades of emerald green to turquoise to bronze.
Its care is just as easy as many other tropical vines. Provide it with bright, indirect light and water it when the top inch or two of the soil is dry.
Buy a Philodendron Micans here!
Snake Plant
Snake plants are practically foolproof plants.
They grow well in low light or bright, indirect light but (prefer medium, indirect light), so you really can’t go wrong if you don’t know whether your giftee has a nice, sunny windowsill for plants.
Snake plants like to almost completely dry out between waterings. You’ll have to be careful not to overwater it, but it’s perfect for those who don’t have a lot of time for plant care. Regardless, it’s hard to kill a snake plant!
Buy a snake plant here!
Satin Pothos
The satin pothos is a unique and extremely easy-to-care-for variety of Scindapsus pictus (it is Scindapsus pictus ‘Argyraeus.’) So, it’s not actually a pothos even though it’s referred to as one.
Its shimmery leaves are dotted with silver speckles. This plant is a very fast grower with minimal effort, too! Keep in bright to medium, indirect light, and water when the top inch of the soil is dry.
Buy a satin pothos here!
Arrowhead (Syngonium)
Arrowheads, with their climbing vines of delicate, pretty foliage, are beautiful plants. They can grow in bright or medium, indirect light, and can tolerate low light.
Water the arrowhead plant when the top inch of the soil is dry.
Buy an arrowhead plant (Syngonium) here!
Heartleaf Philodendron
I can’t say enough about the good old heartleaf philodendron—they are so low maintenance, so pretty, and so easy to propagate!
They prefer bright to medium, indirect light, but grow well under low light, too. They’ll grow under fluorescent lights so they make great office plants!
Water the philodendron when the top inch or two of the soil is dry.
Buy a heartleaf philodendron here!
Air Plant
I’ve gotten air plants for people in the past and I actually think they make excellent gifts.
They’re super easy to water, they require no other plant “accessories” like pots or potting mix planting, and they’re kind of a novelty for people who aren’t familiar with houseplants!
Air plants prefer bright to medium indirect light. Water them once a week for about an hour by soaking them in a bowl of water, making sure all the leaves are submerged.
After watering, be sure to gently shake out excess water and let them dry out completely to prevent rot.
Tillandsia Streptophylla is similar to the popular Tillandsia Xerographica but less common and, in my opinion, even more unique.
Buy a Tillandsia Streptophylla here!
Prayer Plant (Maranta)
Prayer plants are really cool plants. Their leaves move up and down throughout the day and night (referred to as nyctinastic movement), and when they’re folded down, they look like praying hands!
They prefer bright, indirect light but can tolerate lower light levels. They like to remain consistently moist, so water them when the top inch of the soil starts to dry out.
Buy a prayer plant here!
ZZ Plant
Last, but certainly not least, is the ZZ plant (short for Zamioculcas zamiifolia). ZZ plants prefer medium, indirect light but they are another excellent low-light candidate and will do well in that scenario, too.
Allow the ZZ plant to dry out in between waterings. Since these plants store water in their leaves, they can go weeks without water. This makes them perfect for busy bees or frequent travelers!
Buy a ZZ plant here!
Ellen Kruger says
Thank you. Short and concise.
I have 2 spider plants in a sunny window and a prayer plant under direct light.
Spider is crawling along window.
I cut off too long and out of control Prayer plant leaves. Just put cuttings in soil and doing well and I like the fullness look.
Also have a small lavender plant in sunny window that just keeps going.
I bought a waxed Amaryllis acouple years ago.
Amazing how it continues to grow new stems and flowers.
NO CARE AT ALL.
Only can get around Christmas time..