Common houseplants offer a wide variety of benefits. Whether you have a lot of room for plants, or a small space, common house plants are a necessity to any space. Not having a lot of room does not mean you should not be able to have the best house plants in the space. Wether that space is an office desk, apartment, or a small room or hallway, there is always room to add some living green plants. If you are on the fence about buying some common house plants in your home, here is another good reason why you should. According to NASA, plants can effectively filter the potentially harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) out of the air. Potentially toxic compounds like benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene that are circling your living space can be soaked up by your new friends.
Common houseplants are peaceful, soothing and serve as decoration, air-purifying, and are also calming in the work place or home. If you are a beginner to growing houseplants, and have a small amount of space devoted to this, you have come to the right place. I have shared with you in my opinion the best small houseplants for beginners. There are other plants that are beautiful but they might take more knowledge and a “green thumb” to properly care for. These plants are all easy to maintain, grow, and they are found at most stores that carries plants. The plants on this list do not get incredibly large as well. They are all office size plants or smaller. Find the ones that fits your life.
Common House Pants for Beginners
Begonia
There are three different varieties of Begonias – fibrous, rhizomatous, and tuberous. I would recommend fibrous or rhizomatous because they are easier to maintain. Begonias are very susceptible to root rot caused by overwatering, so dry out the soil between watering. These plants also like the fluorescent lighting, making them great office plants. It is also very rare for them to develop a pest problem. Begonia is a common house plant.
Jade Plant
This succulent can grow up to 5-feet tall, but it does so extremely slow, growing about 2-inches a year. The Jade plant is an extremely common house plant, but know that all parts of this plant are toxic, so do not have if you have cats or dogs and keep out of reach of the children. Jade plants love full sun, and would even enjoy part of the day full sun and part of the day not. it like well-drained soil, and it is recommended to water only when the top soil is dry. Overwatering will kill this plant.
The Spider plant is a hardy plant, and is the most popular and most common house plants out there. Spider plants enjoys partial shade and bright indirect sunlight. This plant does really well, either hung from the ceiling or placed on a shelf. They do require daily watering, and do best in moist but not soggy soil. For this reason root rot can be a problem. This plant does not take a lot of upkeep, but watch out for pests.
Calatheas
This common house plant produces beautiful foliage, leaves, and is very easy to care for. Calatheas do really well in warm bright indirect sunlight, but can withstand some shade. Avoid direct sunlight for hours at a time, and occasionally misting this plant will do wonders for the plant. This plant does enjoy a more humid atmosphere, so they can do really well in bathrooms. Do not soak this plant when watering, but try to keep the top soil moist. Over time the leaves will get dusty. It is good practice to take a cloth or napkin and wipe the dust off the leaves.
Peace Lily
Why not add some tropical plants to your lives! The Peace Lily is one of the most common flowering houseplants, and with good reason. This plant enjoys bright light, and can be withstand partial shade or low-light conditions, but does like warmer weather. Peace Lilies needs watering when the soil is dry or the leaves falls over. Don’t worry though, because when hydrated again the plant will perk back up.
Drought Tolerant Comon House Plants
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is not only a very easy and attractive succulent to grow, but it also can be used as a topical lotion for sunburns. Aloe Vera is one of the most common house plants out there. This hardy drought tolerant plant does very well inside or outside and loves the warmer weather even hot weather. This easy to grow plant is very low maintenance and does not require a lot of watering, which makes it a perfect plant if you travel for work. I only water my Aloe when the top two inches of the soil are dry. Do not over water, root rot, soft rot and fungal stem rot are big diseases for the plant but can easily be avoided.
String of Pearls
String of Pearls is a common beautiful succulent house plant that thrives in warm and drier environments. This grape looking drought tolerant plant enjoys bright indirect lighting, and will flourish best in a partially shaded spot where it can find protection from the afternoon sun, but enjoy the indirect morning sunlight. This succulent does really well either hung or placed on a counter top. The most important concept to remember about String of Pearls, is do not overwater. Make sure the top layer of soil is dry before next watering.
Echeveria
Echeveria is a very common house plant native to Central America and South America. This drought tolerant plant comes in a wide range of varieties and colors, and thrives in well-drained soil as well as full or partial sun exposure. The echeveria succulant is very attractive and easy to maintain and propagate. Be careful and do not over water a Echeveria plant as root rot is the most common disease, and this common house plant should only be repotted when it has outgrown the previous container.
String Of Hearts
The String of Hearts has been around for a long time, but it becoming very popular. This little trailing vine is part of the ceropegia genus, woodii variety. This plant is also called “rosary vine,” due to its resemblance of a traditional Catholic rosary. This plant has heart shaped leaves on strings that looks like a chain of hearts. They are beautiful and easy to grow. They thrive in bright indirect light, and really should be hung to fully enjoy the trailing vines. The leaves are very sensitive, so do not leave your plant in the windowsill. It is not a succulent, but it does not like a lot of water, so when it comnes to watering, treat it like one.
Peperomia Prostrata or more commonly know as String of Turtles, is quite easy to care for, and looks amazing. As the name suggests, the leaf pattern looks like a turtle shell, on a vine. Looking at this plant will remind you os a string of turtles. This plant like most of the day in bright indiredt lighting, but will thrive if it only gets 2-3 hours of direct sunlight. Keeping this plant on a windowsill could be a great place. Part of the succulent family, this plant does not like a lot of water. If it is wilting, your might be overwatering it.