If you’re a first-time plant owner and desire a plant that won’t take up too much of your time, then you’re going to want a plant that is low-maintenance, and hard to kill. Tough plants that can withstand a range of growing conditions and (mostly) like to be left alone do exist. In fact, we’ve compiled some of the toughest, hardiest, and forgiving houseplants around for you below. Start with one of these awesome plants and learn from there. You’ll soon grow to love having them in your home and will want more because of all the wonderful health benefits plants provide.

Pothos (Devil’s Ivy)

Pothos is an attractive trailing vine plant with medium-sized leaves that are dark green or yellow and green variegated. They look best on top of a tall bookshelf or in a hanging planter. They are hard to kill and can tolerate nearly any type of growing environment. They can also hand infrequent waterings for those who sometimes forget to water their plants. For your pothos to thrive, place in indirect medium light and water once every one to two weeks.

Snake Plant

This striking plant has stiff, lengthy vertical leaves with pointed ends. The leaves are dark green with margins of bright yellow. They also come in green and yellow variegated patterns. The Snake Plant, also called the Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, is very resilient and hard to kill. It can handle low light or bright light and a spotty watering schedule. The Snake Plant is a great air purifier as it converts CO2 into oxygen during the night.

Jade Plant

A great plant for beginners, the Jade Plant, which is a succulent, grows easily and is not very demanding. Its thick, dark green, waxy leaves retain water so it can go a while between waterings. The Jade Plant can also grow to large size so prune accordingly. Place in full sun and water only when the soil feels dry for this beauty to thrive.

Peperomia

A striking little plant that comes with beautiful, ornamental leaves. There are numerous species of this plant that have thick, waxy leaves with solid, variegated, marbled red, green, or purple shades. This is plant that gets noticed. Adaptable to a variety of environments, this little beauty makes a great desk plant and will flourish even under flourescents. Water once soil has become completely dry and place in moderate to low indirect light.

Prayer Plant

For a colorful, hardy, tropical plant, the Prayer Plant is a great choice. It comes in varieties of colorufl leaves and patterns. They are called Prayer Plant because some of them fold their leaves up at night resembling hands in prayer. They are not too picky about their lighting conditions, but bright, indirect light is best, and keep the soil moist.

Fittonias (Nerve Plant)

This pretty plant comes in a variety of leaf colors and has veined leaves giving it a very ornamental look. It loves water so is perfect for those overwaterers out there. They love humidity and warm conditions so misting in between waterings may be necessary. Place in bright, indirect light and wait for soil to dry out before watering.

Wandering Jew Plant

A very attractive and colorful plant native to Mexico, this gorgeous plant is considered difficult to kill. Their leaves are a pretty purple and green with purple growth being more new than the green growth. Keep in bright, indirect light or the colorful leaves will fade. Mist frequently as it loves high humidity and keep the soil moist.