Houseplant care: light, watering, warmth and repotting

Plant lists

• Houseplants for shade19 plants that do without direct sun
• Houseplants safe for cats and dogs30 plants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic
• Flowering houseplants22 plants that bloom indoors
• Houseplants for a sunny window16 plants that want full sun
• Houseplants that need little water16 plants watered every 2 weeks or less
• Houseplants that like humid air5 plants needing 50 % humidity or more
• Houseplants for a cool room17 plants fine at 10 °C or less in winter
• Houseplants you rarely repot37 plants repotted every 3 years
• Thirsty houseplants30 plants watered every 3–6 days
• Houseplants to repot every year16 plants

How often should you water houseplants?

While they grow (March to September) the cards water houseplants every 3–21 days, most often every 7 days; in the winter rest (October to February) every 5–45 days, most often every 14 days.

How much light do houseplants need?

The light each card asks for:

• Full sun (16): Aloe vera, Amaryllis, Bird of paradise, Bunny ears cactus, Burro's tail, Calla lily, Crown of thorns, Echeveria, Geranium, Jade Plant, Lithops, Madagascar Jasmine, Mammillaria, Ponytail palm, Venus flytrap, Yucca
• Partial shade (77): Aechmea, African violet, Aglaonema, Air plant, Alocasia, Anthurium, Areca palm, Asparagus fern, Bird's nest fern, Boston fern, Calathea, Cape primrose, Chin cactus, China doll, Chinese Hibiscus, Chinese money plant, Christmas Cactus, Clivia, Coffee plant, Coleus, Creeping fig, Croton, Ctenanthe, Cyclamen, Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, Easter cactus, English ivy, Fiddle-Leaf Fig, Fittonia, Flame violet, Gardenia, Gasteria, Gloxinia, Grape ivy, Guzmania, Haworthia, Hoya, Kalanchoe, Kentia palm, Lady palm, Lucky bamboo, Maidenhair fern, Maranta, Ming aralia, Mini monstera, Mistletoe cactus, Money tree, Monstera, Moth Orchid, Parlour palm, Peperomia, Philodendron, Pink Jasmine, Poinsettia, Polka dot plant, Pothos, Purple shamrock, Pygmy date palm, Rex begonia, Rubber Plant, Sago palm, Satin pothos, Schefflera, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Staghorn fern, String of hearts, String of pearls, Stromanthe, Syngonium, Ti plant, Tradescantia, Tropical pitcher plant, Vriesea, Weeping Fig, Zebra plant
• Shade (3): Aspidistra, Peace Lily, ZZ Plant

How cool can houseplants be in winter?

The lowest temperature each card allows in the winter rest:

• 5 °C: Aspidistra
• 7 °C: Cyclamen, Geranium, Mammillaria, Yucca
• 10 °C: Alocasia, Aloe vera, Boston fern, Bunny ears cactus, Gardenia, Hoya, Parlour palm, Schefflera, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, String of pearls, Tradescantia
• 12 °C: Bird of paradise, Christmas Cactus
• 13 °C: Aglaonema, Areca palm, Rex begonia, Rubber Plant, Weeping Fig
• 15 °C: Croton, Money tree, Pothos, ZZ Plant
• 16 °C: African violet, Calathea, Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, Moth Orchid, Peace Lily
• 18 °C: Anthurium, Syngonium

Do houseplants need humid air?

Only 6 of the 96 cards give an air humidity range:

• Aechmea — 50–75 %
• Anthurium — 60–80 %
• Flame violet — 50–100 %
• Guzmania — 50–75 %
• Monstera — 30–85 %
• Vriesea — 50–75 %

How often should houseplants be repotted?

Spring is the planting season of every houseplant card. How often the cards repot:

• every 12 months: Asparagus fern, Calla lily, Cape primrose, Chinese Hibiscus, Coleus, Ctenanthe, Cyclamen, Gardenia, Geranium, Gloxinia, Poinsettia, Purple shamrock, Tradescantia, Tropical pitcher plant, Venus flytrap, Zebra plant
• every 24 months: Aechmea, African violet, Alocasia, Aloe vera, Bird of paradise, Boston fern, Chin cactus, Chinese money plant, Croton, Dieffenbachia, English ivy, Fiddle-Leaf Fig, Flame violet, Guzmania, Kentia palm, Maidenhair fern, Maranta, Money tree, Monstera, Moth Orchid, Parlour palm, Peace Lily, Philodendron, Pink Jasmine, Polka dot plant, Pothos, Rex begonia, Rubber Plant, Schefflera, Spider Plant, Syngonium, Ti plant, Vriesea, Weeping Fig
• every 30 months: Aglaonema, Anthurium, Areca palm, Coffee plant, Lady palm, Pygmy date palm, String of pearls, ZZ Plant
• every 36 months: Amaryllis, Aspidistra, Bird's nest fern, Bunny ears cactus, Burro's tail, Calathea, China doll, Christmas Cactus, Creeping fig, Crown of thorns, Dracaena, Easter cactus, Echeveria, Fittonia, Gasteria, Grape ivy, Haworthia, Hoya, Jade Plant, Kalanchoe, Lucky bamboo, Madagascar Jasmine, Mammillaria, Ming aralia, Mini monstera, Mistletoe cactus, Peperomia, Sago palm, Satin pothos, Snake Plant, Staghorn fern, String of hearts, Stromanthe, Yucca
• every 48 months: Clivia, Ponytail palm
• every 60 months: Lithops

When should houseplants be fed?

Only while they grow, from March to September: the cards give 2–25 feedings a season, most often 7. There is no feeding in the winter rest.

Care month by month

• Houseplant care in January
• Houseplant care in March
• Houseplant care in April
• Houseplant care in June
• Houseplant care in August
• Houseplant care in September

All houseplants

• AechmeaPartial shade · every 7 days
• African violetPartial shade · every 6 days
• AglaonemaPartial shade · every 10 days
• Air plantPartial shade · every 7 days
• AlocasiaPartial shade · every 6 days
• Aloe veraFull sun · every 14 days
• AmaryllisFull sun · every 7 days
• AnthuriumPartial shade · every 6 days
• Areca palmPartial shade · every 7 days
• Asparagus fernPartial shade · every 5 days
• AspidistraShade · every 10 days
• Bird of paradiseFull sun · every 4 days
• Bird's nest fernPartial shade · every 7 days
• Boston fernPartial shade · every 5 days
• Bunny ears cactusFull sun · every 14 days
• Burro's tailFull sun · every 14 days
• CalatheaPartial shade · every 5 days
• Calla lilyFull sun · every 5 days
• Cape primrosePartial shade · every 7 days
• Chin cactusPartial shade · every 14 days
• China dollPartial shade · every 7 days
• Chinese HibiscusPartial shade · every 4 days
• Chinese money plantPartial shade · every 7 days
• Christmas CactusPartial shade · every 10 days
• CliviaPartial shade · every 10 days
• Coffee plantPartial shade · every 5 days
• ColeusPartial shade · every 4 days
• Creeping figPartial shade · every 5 days
• CrotonPartial shade · every 6 days
• Crown of thornsFull sun · every 14 days
• CtenanthePartial shade · every 5 days
• CyclamenPartial shade · every 7 days
• DieffenbachiaPartial shade · every 7 days
• DracaenaPartial shade · every 10 days
• Easter cactusPartial shade · every 7 days
• EcheveriaFull sun · every 14 days
• English ivyPartial shade · every 7 days
• Fiddle-Leaf FigPartial shade · every 10 days
• FittoniaPartial shade · every 4 days
• Flame violetPartial shade · every 5 days
• GardeniaPartial shade · every 4 days
• GasteriaPartial shade · every 14 days
• GeraniumFull sun · every 7 days
• GloxiniaPartial shade · every 4 days
• Grape ivyPartial shade · every 7 days
• GuzmaniaPartial shade · every 7 days
• HaworthiaPartial shade · every 14 days
• HoyaPartial shade · every 7 days
• Jade PlantFull sun · every 14 days
• KalanchoePartial shade · every 14 days
• Kentia palmPartial shade · every 7 days
• Lady palmPartial shade · every 7 days
• LithopsFull sun · every 21 days
• Lucky bambooPartial shade · every 7 days
• Madagascar JasmineFull sun · every 4 days
• Maidenhair fernPartial shade · every 3 days
• MammillariaFull sun · every 14 days
• MarantaPartial shade · every 6 days
• Ming araliaPartial shade · every 7 days
• Mini monsteraPartial shade · every 7 days
• Mistletoe cactusPartial shade · every 7 days
• Money treePartial shade · every 8 days
• MonsteraPartial shade · every 7 days
• Moth OrchidPartial shade · every 7 days
• Parlour palmPartial shade · every 10 days
• Peace LilyShade · every 6 days
• PeperomiaPartial shade · every 10 days
• PhilodendronPartial shade · every 7 days
• Pink JasminePartial shade · every 5 days
• PoinsettiaPartial shade · every 5 days
• Polka dot plantPartial shade · every 5 days
• Ponytail palmFull sun · every 14 days
• PothosPartial shade · every 7 days
• Purple shamrockPartial shade · every 7 days
• Pygmy date palmPartial shade · every 7 days
• Rex begoniaPartial shade · every 5 days
• Rubber PlantPartial shade · every 7 days
• Sago palmPartial shade · every 10 days
• Satin pothosPartial shade · every 8 days
• ScheffleraPartial shade · every 8 days
• Snake PlantPartial shade · every 21 days
• Spider PlantPartial shade · every 7 days
• Staghorn fernPartial shade · every 7 days
• String of heartsPartial shade · every 14 days
• String of pearlsPartial shade · every 10 days
• StromanthePartial shade · every 5 days
• SyngoniumPartial shade · every 7 days
• Ti plantPartial shade · every 7 days
• TradescantiaPartial shade · every 7 days
• Tropical pitcher plantPartial shade · every 4 days
• Venus flytrapFull sun · every 3 days
• VrieseaPartial shade · every 7 days
• Weeping FigPartial shade · every 7 days
• YuccaFull sun · every 10 days
• Zebra plantPartial shade · every 5 days
• ZZ PlantShade · every 14 days