I also think it’s really important for beginners to note that soil and lighting can change watering patterns. I am constantly touching the soil of my plants to see which one needs what. Some plants do well with long periods of dry soil, others thrive being watered often. Some of my plants do well in loose airy soil, others do well in heavy sediments, and some I literally just keep in water. I screamed the other day when my friend said she watered all her plants on the same day and wondered why half of them died.
Yeah that’s great idea. I have some weird looking ones which I could also recommend Euphorbia platyclada, Alocasia Polly, Adromischus marianae 'Coffe Bean' (Looks like sugar candies but when it’s going to flower it’s looking weird when it’s growing long stick-like parts)… maybe one day I’ll try the one looking like little springs. Nature is amazing.
zebra plants are great too- i have several friends that have killed theirs but somehow i've kept mine alive for like 6 months now because all of my friends overwatered them- u just have to wait until they droop
I was actually always told that the fiddle leaf fig was NOT beginner friendly because it was so temperamental in terms of lighting and watering schedule. I finally caved and got one for our bedroom (south facing window with indirect sunlight) and I’ve been pleasantly surprised as to how well it’s doing! Once you find a good location just don’t move it, rotate it every watering for even sunlight distribution, and clean the leaves occasionally. Also, it loves our humidifier and hates being close to vents. It’s a tricky one initially, but once you figure it out, it will thrive… Mine started out about a foot tall and now it’s almost 5 feet! The red spots is from edema if it takes up too much water too quickly. As long as you recognize it and give the leaf chance to recover and mature a bit, it corrects itself quite quickly. Just don’t over water it.
I think another plant that people always say that is beginner friendly are peace lilies…. But I disagree ☹️ it was hard for me to figure out what I was doing wrong, especially with the variegated ones. Oh and where I live, crotons are usually planted outdoors, like part of a landscape design. Maybe that’s something you could try if/when Ryan decides to gift you one again 😅
*sees succulents* YES YES YES! I got $1 succulents from a big box store and was so heartbroken when two out of three rotted as soon as I got them. Right now I'm maintaining the surviving Jade plant. The research needed for succulents is surprising looking back.
Interesting subject. I agree with your list of plants and your comments. My Crotons are surviving but they only thrive when I put them outside. I have 3 that are happy from April until mid October, (outside), then I have to bring them inside to overwinter them. I’m in zone 7B, Charlotte, NC. Thanks for a great video and for sharing your thoughts and experiences!! 👏🌿🥰💚
I agree on a lot of these, I killed a calathea within 2 weeks when I first started. You're right that the information we read online is misleading or incomplete and that's hard for beginners to recognize because they don't know any better yet. But, I will say, the trial and error of killing plants and trying again is what makes all of us plant enthusiasts as knowledgeable as we are, no better way to learn than to realize what NOT to do next time!
I do agree with you for most of the plant groups. Some peperomia are easier than others. Good call on the Diefenbacchia. Way too risky if you have children or pets.
So glad i dint give up with plants after being a beginner and getting cacti and succulents luckily I’m great with them now but in the beginning i use to water like crazy now I’m the opposite :)
Would add certain hoya to that list. I've heard of them surviving frost! And mine did just fine in the northern scandinavian winter with a few months of just artificial light and down to 15% air humidity (of course didn't grow but picked back up when the sun came back)
Don’t forget ZZs!! That was my first plant. I had my mother plant for 4 years. Now that I’m a crazy plant lady, I cringe when I think of how terrible I treated my ZZ in the beginning. I’ve killed so many plants but my ZZ stayed with me since day one :)
I do agree with you excepted for alocasias, which don't mind overwarering and I have a huge thrips infestation but they don't seem to mind. Ivy does great outside I never tried them inside, and they're so easy to propagate 😉 I find diffenbachias easy even if I killed a few ones at the beginning, but it was a watering problem... My crotons did great all winter under my grow lights but they all died at Spring and I just don't understand why... Grrrr
hi Harli, i agree with your entire list- based on your location, but like crotons, dieffenbachias, etc, because of the year round warm temperature and humidity in Trinidad and Tobago where i live, its pretty effortless to grow them, my biggest challenge a will say were calatheas, until i nailed the care, soil medium and watering, btw i love the sheen the light created on your face, amazingly glowing, i need to moisturize more. lol
content idea: plants that have leaves that grow bigger after unfurling vs leaves that stay the same size. sometimes idk if I'm messing up my care of a plant if the leaf comes in small... or itll just get bigger anyway
All the plants u mentioned I’ve had and experienced the same issues. Some of them I’ve figured out and they are doing great in my apartment. Some I’m over and done with.
I agree 110% with all your choices not being great for beginners!!! Especially the Ivies........Ivy are beautiful BUT they are also very hard to read AND I swear they are spider mite magnets!! Are you going to do a video on what plants really are good for beginners? In my opinion #1 for beginners should be a Golden Pothos!! A ZZ Plant is also a perfect choice for beginners. As well as most Tradescantia and Schefflera. I also think a classic Hoya Krimson Princess or Queen are great choices! Just my opinion! :o) I hope you are having a wonderful summer, Harli! When is your baby girl due?
Very accurate list! As a teacher who has a jungle in my classroom, every time a bright-eyed student brings me a succulent as a gift of love, I scream the scream of a horror film in my head. They always stress me out! I've killed more succulents than calathea.
It's so interesting to see other people's experiences. I personally cannot kill my dieffenbachia or my ivy, and they propagate so easily. Agree with succulents being tricky, though. I have a hard time figuring out when they need water.
Well done me for buying succulents and ginormous two and expensive Fiddles as my first houseplants!! I honestly think the misguided websites and advertising should be illegal, everywhere I looked it said that flf don’t need too much sun and are easy to care for and good for beginners. They’re still alive oddly enough but I am anticipating issues over the winter… Love the video btw - would be useful to have more videos like this, also about which are pests magnets and easy to rot. Thank you for your hard work 👏🏻
One of my first plants was a calathea freddie. It's actually the plant that is thriving and looking beautiful. My croton wich I also got early on dropped leaves like crazy. Then I put it outside and ignored it except to water it every now and then. Now it's doing well. I can't keep a succulent alive still. I just don't think I have enough sunlight.
I have so many of these plants and would definitely agree. I'll add that I think climbing fig is also hard to keep alive indoors but probably isn't targeted to beginners.. My 2 peperomias that I bought at the same time, one dropped all it's leaves almost immediately the other one (discounted for looking like it was dying) has been thriving, so maybe varieties come into play here too.
I love my little fiddle-leaf fig! It's definitely been a hard one to take care of, but now I have three because the one made off-shoots! Not my smartest impulse buy but for sure the most rewarding (aside from my succulents lol).
I have had plants since I was 10 and I will be 56 tomorrow. I can grow just about anything except ivy. I have no clue why. However, my best friend who has never had plants bought some ivy and it is growing like crazy lol
One of the first plants I tried to keep was a fiddle leaf fig, I could not figure out what I was doing wrong as it slowly lost all its leaves and was presumed dead. I have just now got to the point where I am trying a burgundy ficus. It seems to be doing good 3 new leaves since I got it and only lost one of its old smaller ones. Super excited for plant mail coming this week, ordered my second Hoya (Hoya pink & silver) and a Scindapsus pictus argyreas.
agree with the whole list! omg the amount of succulents and calatheas I killed is unreal hahahahaha I'll also add to your list: ferns! Common ferns like maidenhair and Boston fern are a NIGHTMARE to keep alive. With ferns, the more exotic they are, the EASIER to care for lol if I were to recommend a beginner fern, go for spleenwort or royal fern. Very hard to kill and fast growers. They're just exotic and hard to source.
My white fusion is pretty happy (except when I forgot to water it and so many leaves browned) but my ornata is completely curled and I have no idea what she wants
My White Fusion died so fast I didn't even have a chance to show it off! Same with my Green Shamrock Oxalis. But Peace Lilies and Spider Plants seem to be my worst adversaries. If they come into my house, they are goners... *big sigh*
My first plants that weren't succulents were golden pothos and alocasia black velvet. I could not keep the pothos alive but the alocasia has never let me down and has also been flourishing 🤣😂🤣
My succulents thrived after I started mixing my own potting mix ! I find that a lot of big box store succulents (and some specialty succulent stores too) have the succulents in almost pure peatmoss which is a recipe for disaster. I think beginner plant parents can be find having a couple succulents as long as they can a) mix their own soil or b) pay for pre-mixed succulent soil.
My second ever houseplant was Calathea Zebrina, I bought it because it was pretty, and then got home and read up about them 🤦🏻♀️ Luckily I’ve never have any issues and a year on she’s growing beautifully! 😅
Fiddle leaf, alocasia and croton are the first plants I purchased 😂 I love them still they have given me the least amount of problems I only have maybe 50 to 75 house plants. A very small collection compared to most. Ivy I absolutely hate! I agree it is not beginner friendly I have 3 types they are constantly wilting I chucked a whole ivy bc it was too stressful for me. Basically just ivy I agree with all the rest are pretty chill for me. Pothos are a really great beginner plants and snake plants. Succulents are really chill too. Im not a huge fan of them my daughter is. So I bought her some. They died so she gave them back to me. Somehow they came back to life in 4 days after I took them. I made a pot of Succulents bc I had them I just spritz them with water every 3 wks and give them light. I like Succulents bc they are like zombies they can't die 😂 and they produce babies like crazy. I give away babies to everyone. My Succulents babies are now producing babies its crazy.
Personally, the ivy and croton were my first 2 beginner plants!! I've had the same ones for like 10 years 🙌 I'm sure the only reason is because they really like water. I legit water them every other day and they are thriving! I've found that they do well in direct sun and indirect sun. With calathea, it seems hit or miss for me. My white fusion gets spider mites every 2 or 3 months lol. The ornata keeps getting crispy on me... But the orbofolia, beauty star and roseo picta are thriving 🤷♀️ My alocasia came with thrips, but I've treated it and they haven't come back....it's not putting out any new leaves though, so I'm undecided on it 😂 Great video!
I have a feud with string of pearls…. I’ve bought 2 already and both have just died instantly I tend to overwater but I don’t know if that could be the problem I will probably buy another one in the future but for now I’m just really confused
I finally won a battle for life with ivy, I bought it last year and it’s still alive 🙀and much bigger than before😁 i found a key, I spray it green soap every two weeks and spray water almost every day
The only succulent I haven’t killed…yet…is my jade plant. I’ve also had bad luck with cacti. I still haven’t figured out what I’m doing wrong with those. I’ve rarely watered them and they still die.
I had a kroton in my beginner time and i think je loved me as i loved him. But my friend killed him when i was on vacation :( Years later i finally found a kroton in same variety 😍
In the calathea family, I found that Stromanthe are the easiest that you can find. I let them dry out completely before I water and they are still alive after 2 years 😂
I’ve been collecting 2 years (? I’m so bad with time) and I still don’t want to get anything that needs a terrarium. They’re GORGEOUS but the work for now is too much. So no, you don’t have a pea brain! Lmao.
I have owned then killed every single one of these plants at record speed. I have 30ish plants that are doing very well so it’s not just me being a bad plant mom!
Every time I get an ‘easy to look after’/‘beginners plant’ it’s usually dead within two weeks, but when I buy the ‘difficult’ plants, they absolutely flourish! 😅
Begginer's plant will def be snake plants.... or zz plants. neglect them they love you just do not over do it, water every 3-4 weeks .... That is how I started, 3 snake plants one zz. now I have a store at home lol. I do not do well with rabbit's foot, or aruga, we have to pay attention what plants we do good with, like for instance, I can do well with thick leaves, sensitive leaf I cannot care for, either they burn no matter how far from sun I place them, or they just die. I will say maybe we are good with certain texture plants. With ivy so true, clean spider mites plant starts dying, if it survives spider mites every week over and over and over again.
I hate to say this, but do not buy Alocasias as a beginner! I got one when I first started collecting plants because it was so beautiful but I struggled so bad. It’s surprisingly still alive… idk how though lmao
Have u tried haworthia attenuata? I'm pretty sure they're one of the easiest succulent to care for because I've abused the shit out of it - save for drowning it- and it's doing just fine still. I initially put it under direct sun and watering it only once every 2 weeks, and it turned kinda blackish, so then i put it in an almost completely dark spot for a few months and it turned bright green. Eventually I figured out that they don't want either extreme and put it in a medium light window. Fast forward to 6 months later, it's grown bigger and I wanted to check the root health. But when I pulled it out, I discovered that the person who sold it NEVER TOOK OFF THE BLACK NURSERY PLUG BAG, and just buried the whole thing under the soil, and those poor tiny roots were crammed in there for at least a year, all the while I was still trying to figure out it's care routine, totally unaware because it looked just fine and was growing.
I’m a chronic underwaterer and it’s saved most of my plants, if not all of them. I also recently started bottomwatering my plants and they love it! So maybe that’s a good idea for you if you don’t do that already? Also I think if you don’t already have a moisture meter you could really benefit from it. I’ve seen some that have a bunch of common plants printed out on the side of the handle under the number at which you are supposed to water the plant. So some plants only need water when they’re under a 2 but a peace lily might need to be watered when they’re at a 5 (just an example, I have no clue what the actual number is for each plant). I don’t know if you can do anything with that advice but I’m also just commenting it for people reading who are curious about his topic.
You should make a “beginners guide to ___” with the plants on this list (and others that are good for beginners) because like you side it’s hard to filter through good info on the internet and having a one reference source would be helpful for beginners
There’s lots of series like this already on YT. And most plant care advice should be taken with a grain of salt because everyone’s growing environment is different.
@@CocoaCookies_ true! I just tend to like Harli’s style and advice because it seems to work well for me (which is probably why I watch her over other youtubers). I just thought it would be a cool series to see her take on
Haha! I just found some string of pickles plant, I hadn’t seen that before, a bunch of cuttings came home with me. Most of the string of - plants are a pain but it’s usually the growers fault. They all want similar conditions but not the same at all. The ceropegia are probably the ones that give the most trouble, they have tubers and starting with a mature one really cuts down time, a full pot of hearts might be 5 years old, or more, senecio strings might be easier. With almost all of them you want them very crowded, if you start with 1 little string then you’re waiting years to get enough cutting in one pot to look good, once you have enough it’s a lot easier to make a ton on cuttings and fill a fresh pot
I impulse bought a string of dolphins and set it in my kitchen window and that thing has over taken the entire windowsill in about a month and a half… I even decided to attempt at propping a few cuttings and they rooted in about a week, same with the string of pearls I got cuttings from.
I've learned that you leave string of pearls alone lmao. Water only when they go wrinkly. But string of dolphins turned into sting rays real quick. I hate them.
My string of hearts grew like crazy and went from a full pot with some tiny strings of growth peeking over the top to almost reaching the floor from the stool it’s on in only three months! I just give it lots of light and bottom water when needed n it’s super happy! Waaaay easier than ppl warn you about
I'd definitely like a video about plants that don't attract any pests vs plants that are just magnets. Also if some plans repel them? I feel like that is my greatest problem with plants. I know I should get other bugs to keep the bad ones in check but I can't buy any in my country, so other solutions are appreciated.
I think there is a carnivorous plant that attracts bugs like the pictcher plant and google says the drosera (another carnivorous plant) can grow too repel mosquitoes 😄
I agree, id love a video on “house plants that attract pests” and “house plants that do not attract pests”. I didn’t know some of the plants you mentioned in this video were pest magnets! I’m a new plant mom. I have about 20 plants, maybe and I ordered a microscope because “I’m one of those people” lol every time I see a flake of dirt or DA dust on a leave, I’m convinced everyone in the house and my plants need to go into a decontamination tent, lol I’m not even kidding either. This would be super amazing for us noobs:) I thought you might mention polka dot plant in this video. I have 2 and everything was going good until one plants started having yellow leaves in different places of the plant. After zooming into my plant and not seeing anything strange and checking its roots that look great, I think I have it too close to my skincare fridge in the bathroom. Maybe the warm air coming out of the little fridge vent, is blowing on it, idk lol just a very uneducated guess hahaha. I remember you saying your first one died but your second one is doing great :) great video:)
It's extremely individual because it's based on various criteria. Temperature, humidity, the amounts of plants you have, how/where you place your plants, how you treat new plants, how you water your plants, how often you clean your home, whether you touch the leaves on your plants a lot without washing your hands first, and so on. Remember, pests don't just appear out of nowhere, they are brought into your home from the outside either by other plants, by yourself, or via wind from an open window or door.
I am really picky on the plants I bring in my house. I still absolutely enjoy going to nursery’s and looking at them in person and absolutely appreciate the beauty of these plants. But I’m careful on the types of plants I purchase. Due to most of the reasons Harli list in the video.
@@aaddwwaann scindapsus, pothos and philodendron aren’t off the table. Neither are snake plants or aloe vera (technically a succulent but I count things like echeveria, not aloe vera) or zz plants. Then you could get an air plant, or a spider plant. Or even a Hoya, although I think you are asking for mealy bugs if you get a Hoya compacta (or whatever). Maybe someone could even get a cactus. I don’t think I would recommend all of these to beginners, but it just goes to show that your buy list can still be pretty long even without the plants in this video.
@@streaaleval24 oh wow. My cat ate one down to the nubs and it grew back beautifully. The like indirect light, bright and water. Literally that's all I do. Sometimes I forget it's there 😂
I've got a Bamboo Palm that's growing like crazy at the moment, after some trial and error of course! So far I've learned... -They don't like direct sunlight and this will cause their leaves to turn a very light green -They thrive in bright indirect sunlight🌤 (I've got mine under a skylight with honeycomb blinds) -They LOVE a good pruning 1-2 times a year, plus always keep dead brown ends trimmed. -They greatly appreciate being misted daily!💦 -Overwatering they can tolerate but they will get bugs..😬 and they will stunt their growth. -Mine seems to like smaller amounts of water every 1-2 days vs a large amount twice weekly, in the growing season that is. They of course need way less in the winter, at least where I am in Canada -Also like any plant they'll need to be repotted once they've out grown their pots, unless you want it to stay the size it is. -Finally, they seam to like a fertilizer in the spring & summer:)
I legit about had it with my calathea Maui queen. She was cute but she manifested all these fungus gnats and as much as I tried everything to get rid of them, I couldn’t so I threw her in a plastic bag and in a dumpster. I’m so much more relieved. I have a calathea Musaica and I noticed that she has a little spider in her foliage so I left it there to eat away at anything it finds.
As a beginner plant collector, I seem to have played on hard mode. I first started out with growing cannabis and then got into carnivorous plants. I now own 14 carnivorous plants including Venus Fly Traps, Nepenthes, Drosera, Pinguicula, and Utricularia. I did probably a dozen plus hours of research on carnivorous plant care and set up a whole terrarium for the pickier ones. My girlfriend (who is a long time plant collector) just got a Calathea and she put me in charge of keeping it alive because I’m “good with plants” which is honestly a great honor considering I’m fairly new to collecting plants. Because the humidity is low where I live, I’ve been spraying it down with water a couple times per day and set up a humidifier next to it to keep the humidity up. So far so good. It’s the purple hue Calathea Roseopicta. I think it’s a beautiful plant!
You’d probably be fine just running a humidifier near it basically 24/7 spraying a plant doesn’t raise the humidity enough to make a difference long term. It’ll raise it temporarily but after it’s all evaporated then it’s not giving off more humidity. Just stick with a humidifier close to the plant and you SHOULD be okay or some bowls or trays of water around it will help too. Also misting too much can cause mold and draw in pests to the leaves.
Succulents are hard as houseplants. I live on the french riviera, so most people keep theirs outside because that way they can get a lot of bright, direct sun and abundant rain, but it doesn't rain too often so they can dry out between two times where it rains. Mine are thriving but I know that if I put them inside they would die for sure
Hi Harli!! A beginner plant parent here!! It all started with Sansiveria I found thrown in the garbage. I brought it home and four yrs later I have 56 plants! It is STILL covid here and we are just loosening the restrictions, in Manitoba Canada. I brought the outdoors in you could say! Oh by the way dumb is not a word that I would ever use to describe you!
My understanding of moisture and watering was no where near accurate in my beginner stage. “Moist” = “soaking wet” in my mind. Also it never dawned on me that indoor plants got pests and I lost so many to “unknown causes” before I learned pests happened indoors too!
I've had a few people tell me they struggle with pothos too! Just goes to show that it really depends on the personality as to which plants will work well for them (:
I have like 5v types of pothos but for some reason the Golden I got a couple months ago has Givin me nothing but stress, I think she's currently over watered and I might need to check for root rot, she came with a fungus too. Ugh
I have a bambino Fiddle, I got it with full expectations that I would kill it, I put it on my dining room table and it's done great, I'm surprised. I've killed 2 calathea ornata and decided, no more for me. My frydek is one of my favorite but we just went through a huge mite problem, he took a big hit, I hope we can recover from.
I find pothos prefer a few more waterings compared to philodendrons, as long as they are in good light. But I have struggled with pothos many times in the past as well.
@@Mandylouwilliams I remember adding HIGH doses of fertiliser in the water for my dying, overwatered plants, because I thought it would just magically fix it 😂
I agree with your choices. I don’t have pest problems, but figuring out watering is usually my biggest issue. And it’s almost always too much not too little. 😂 Enjoyed the video. Thanks! 👏🏼
@@misstensecret4156 You are so lucky! I live on the coast with an average of 75% humidity but it still didn't help. They were even on trays with wet pebbles & grow lights. Crunchy brown leaves...so sad.
