Low-Maintenance Pet-Friendly Houseplants

1. Spider Plant

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The spider plant, also known by a few other names, including airplane plant and chlorophytum comosum, proliferates.  An excellent natural air cleaner, the Spider Plant needs little care to keep it healthy.  While water is usually required during the growth period, the spider plant must also dry out entirely between different watering rounds.

With no specific sunlight and temperature needs,  you can place this plant anywhere in the house. This ensures you can find a spot where pets cannot damage their beautiful leaves.

For people with difficulty keeping plants alive, a spider plant is perfect with its minimal sunlight needs and manageable growth. It is a good accent plant and does well with hanging baskets, too. Most importantly, your pet(s) can easily play around it without you having to worry about their health and safety.

2. Bamboo Palm

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Like the spider plant, a bamboo palm provides extraordinary natural air-purifying abilities. Also, It is quite a popular option as an indoor plant because it proliferates and can be placed in both indirect and bright sunlight.

In care and maintenance, a bamboo palm doesn’t require much time or effort. You must water the plant when the soil’s surface becomes dry. Keep doing so until it has been appropriately and evenly moistened.

The only thing you have to be careful about is over-watering. Don’t leave the bamboo palm sitting in a pool of water. Keep a regular eye on the drainage to ensure there is no excess water around.

Aside from being low-maintenance and pet-friendly, it is a perfect home décor option. With the ability to grow to ten or twelve feet (three to five feet wide), the bamboo palm is a visual delight. However, kept to a smaller size, they also make a stunning indoor plant as a pet-friendly houseplant.

3. Areca Palm 

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For those who have space to fill indoors, the Areca palm is almost perfect. Its tree-like properties and significant presence also make it a good air cleaner. However, you must be a bit more careful with an Areca palm when it comes to maintenance.

It has the potential to grow into a significantly large indoor tree, usually six to seven feet tall. This is when you need to exercise caution. Once it has grown, you cannot trim the plant because the risk of killing or damaging it is high. So, you’ll need to consider the potential height of the tree and choose an appropriately sized container from the beginning.

Furthermore, Areca palms grow best in bright and indirect natural light. We recommend placing them near a window that faces south or west. Watering once a week usually is enough since the soil has to completely dry out before bringing the hose out again.

4. Echeveria

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For pet owners who prefer to have plants that will need minimal care, the Echeveria is ideal. It doesn’t need much water and is highly pet-friendly. The plant is considered drought-tolerant because it hardly ever needs water. It is also very good at dealing with other extreme temperatures like frost, blizzards, etc.

However, for proper care, you must provide your Echeveria with plenty of natural light while ensuring adequate moisture in the soil. As a decorative option, it is versatile, with various colors and sizes available. Besides, the shrub is pretty to look at, and you can even cut the offshoots to enable the growth of new plants from the trimmings.

5. Boston Fern

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Many ferns aren’t safe for pets, but the Boston fern is an exception. It needs high humidity and indirect light; therefore, hanging it in the bathroom is a suggested approach. The atmosphere provides the humidity it needs, while most restrooms don’t have very bright lighting either. Simply put, the conditions are ideal for low maintenance of the plant.

If you choose to put your Boston fern in low humidity, you should set it up in a tray of water and pebbles or mist it a few times a week.

6. Ponytail Palm

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Another excellent home décor option, the Ponytail palm, is a succulent. However, it looks like a palm with its thin leaves and long trunk, which can store water. As a result, the plant can go without hydration for a long time. You only have to water it a few times throughout the winter months.

Ponytail palm does its best growth (as much as three feet) in bright light. On the other hand, any lighting conditions are acceptable because it is a very forgiving plant. This means that even if bright light isn’t available for half the time, it remains healthy.

Horticultural experts suggest keeping a Ponytail palm in bright light conditions for at least half the year. If possible, leave it in a low light surrounding for the remainder of the year. Put another way, if the plant is kept outdoors in the summer, it can bear any quiet light environment during colder climates.

Many plants exist as options for pet owners on the hunt for low-maintenance and pet-friendly houseplants. These, known for their versatility, are readily available. You may find a neighbor has some to share, or you won’t have much trouble finding them at your local nursery. And this can even be a gift for your mom!