Yes they're real... house plants you can't kill!
BY MIKEL HUBBARD
FORMER HGTV PRODUCER | CO-FOUNDER, THE HOST CO |
OWNER, TIMES EIGHT PROPERTY & DESIGN
We think a good mix of real and fake plants in an Airbnb strikes the perfect balance, but your real plants need to stay alive. And that isn’t easy.
First, you gotta have something that can endure a forgetful cleaner failing to water it for a month.
Second, your house plants need to withstand common household pests like scales and white mold that can take over in no time.
From experience, these real houseplants are the ones we’ve found that last the longest:
Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law’s Tongue
Snake plants are hardy plants with waxy leaves that rarely get disease. They don’t need a ton of water or light or attention. There’s a reason you always see them in offices: because they can survive in environments where no one even pays attention to them. But their vibrants green color and sharp shape look great flanking a couch or in an entry.
Jade Plant (Hobbit Jade pictured)
Jade plants are beautiful and although they do need light, if they’re in the right spot, they’ll last for years and years. Our favorite is the Hobbit Jade which will shed some of its leaves over time, but the beautiful sculptural shape it makes as it gets big is unmatched by a traditional houseplant.
Yucca Elephantipes
If you need something large with some height to really fill a corner, the Yucca Elephantipes will do the job. Water it once a week, and it’ll be happy to fill your home with it’s lush green leaves. The palm tree-like stalk is architecturally interesting and the low low price can’t be beat for such a big plant. We love the value of the Ikea one (which you can surprising buy on Amazon too).
Mini Succulents
Mini succulents can actually endure in most homes, even if they’re not in the brightest of spots. The key is to not water them very often, which shouldn’t be hard for your cleaner to space on anyway. :) Best of all, they’re so inexpensive that even if you do have to change them out once in a while, it's just a few dollars. We’ve had our variety of tiny cacti for over four years and they still kicking which is an insanely long life for something we thought would just be staging until we found good artificial versions.
ZZ Plant
ZZ Plants are waxy so you don’t have to worry about the leaves getting infested with scales, but they add a nice deep green color and fill out lushly. They need minimal water once a week and indirect light is totally fine. Overwatering is the biggest culprit to killing these guys, but otherwise they’re super sturdy and durable plants.
Aloe Plant
Ok, so they’re not the most lush plants on the planet, but aloes can truly endure. They tend to suffer from overwatering by “helpful” guests, but if you can keep them in places out of reach, they’ll last much longer than you’d ever imagine and add a simple, sculptural shape to your shelf.
Fiddle Fig Tree
We hesitantly add this to the last at the end, because we do love these plants. They’re tall and their rounded broad leaves are super designer. They’re easy to maintain - water it once a week and you’re good. The problem is that they can be fickle about where they’re placed. Keep them out of the window. Too much light will turn them yellow and they’ll die. Too cold from a drafty vent or too much watering will turn them brown and the leaves will fall off. If you can get them in the perfect spot of indirect sunlight with the right amount of water, they’ll thrive. But “helpful” guests overwatering them will always be your biggest hurdle.
Got a houseplant that’s killing it in your Airbnb or advice about the ones above? We definitely want to hear about it!