10 of my favorite nontoxic plants for the home
We all love the therapeutic energy and beauty that plants can bring into our home. But for some peeps it can be challenging because they have curious toddlers or pets that like to munch on anything in their path. Unfortunately a lot of the plants sold as common houseplants can be toxic if ingested. But fortunately there are several beautiful plants that are non toxic to peeps and pets!
Below is a list of 10 of my favorite non toxic houseplants. Most of them are easy care given that they are placed in a similar environment they are accustomed to.
After reading the list, I know you will be eager to run out and get some of these beauties! But before you go buy plants, check out my list of 5 things to know before buying plants for your spaces. It may just save you a plant life, time and that money!
Please keep in mind that you will find a wide variety of plant care requirements out there in the interweb. Below are general plant care requirements and some tips that I have found to work well in my home conditions in San Diego, CA.
Donkey’s Tail/Burro’s Tail (Sedum morganianum)
Why I love these: I love the texture and soothing color of these and they are fairly drought tolerant.
Plant Care
Light: Partial sun to bright indirect light. Scorching sun can burn the leaves, so during hottest months allow for a little bit of direct early morning sun only.
Water: Let soil dry out completely before giving a thorough watering and always make sure pot and soil have good drainage.
Temps/Humidity: Can tolerate a range of temps, but do not let go below 50°. Keep humidity levels around 50%.
Fertilizer: Fertilizing is not necessary, but if you want a boost in growth fertilize only twice during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted houseplant fertilizer.
Nerve Plant (Fittonia)
Why I love these: Ummm for obvies reasons; they are friggin’ gorgeous and magical!
Plant Care
Light: Can tolerate low/medium light, but will do well in a bright filtered light. Keep away from direct sun!
Water: Keep soil consistently damp (not soggy!) in Spring/Summer. Fall/Winter let top 2” of soil dry slightly between waterings.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 65-80°. Do not let go below 60°. Keep Humidity levels above 60%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once a month during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Why I love these: I love their lush vibes and the “pups” they produce remind me of fireworks and make this plant super easy to propagate!
Plant Care
Light: Can tolerate low/medium light, but will do well in a bright filtered light. Keep away from hot direct sun.
Water: Keep soil consistently damp (not soggy!) in Spring/Summer. Fall/Winter let top 2” of soil dry slightly between waterings.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 55-80°. Keep humidity levels above 50%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once a month during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
Bird’s Nest Fern (Asplenium Nidus)
Why I love these: I love their lush, tropical, lanceolate shaped leaves. And watching their new fronds form and unfurl is literally one of my fave things in life.
Plant Care
Light: Can tolerate medium indirect light but does best in a bright filtered light. Some cool, filtered, early morning sun is beneficial. Keep out of hot direct sun.
Water: Keep soil consistently damp (not soggy!) Do not water directly into center of plant, as this could rot out any new growth.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 65-80°. Do not let go below 55°. Keep Humidity levels above 60%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once or twice a month during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
Pony Tail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Why I love these: I love their fun whispy leaves that fill a space nicely. And I love how forgiving they are as far as houseplant care goes.
Plant Care
Light: Best in bright light/full sun. However, they can tolerate a medium indirect light.
Water: Let soil dry out completely before watering thoroughly. They can tolerate periods of drought. Be careful not to over water these.
Temps/Humidity: Best kept between 65-80°. Can tolerate a range of temps, but don’t let go below 45°. They like drier more arid conditions. Keep Humidity below 50%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once or twice during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Why I love these: I love these for their striking leaf markings and colorful foliage. They are also super fun to enjoy watching their daily leaf movements.
Plant Care
Light: Medium indirect light is best. Too bright of light will cause colors to fade. Keep away from direct sun, it will burn leaves.
Water: Keep soil consistently damp (not soggy!) Filtered water is best for these.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 65-80°. Do not let go below 60°. Keep Humidity levels above 60%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize twice a month during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
Parlor Palm (Chamaedora elegans)
Why I love these: I love them for their super easy care and beachy breezy vibes. They add a lot of beauty and energy to an empty corner space in the home.
Plant Care
Light: Medium indirect light is best. But they can tolerate fairly low light. Keep away from hot direct sun, it will burn leaves.
Water: Keep consistently slightly damp. (Not soggy!) It’s better to err on the side of slightly dry than to overwater these.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 65-80°. Do not let go below 50°. Keep Humidity levels above 50%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once or twice during growing season (Spring/Summer) with a diluted balanced houseplant fertilizer.
African Violet (Saintpaulia)
Why I love these: They are one of the few houseplants that actually have pretty and profuse blooms! They are generally a compact plant so they work great for small spaces like in the kitchen where you can admire them often. Not to mention their fuzzy, velvety leaves are the cutest!
Plant Care
Light: Medium/bright filtered light. Keep away from hot direct sun.
Water: Keep consistently damp. (Not soggy!) Water from underneath the leaves. They do not like water sitting on top of their leaves for.
Temps/Humidity: Keep between 65-80°. Do not let go below 55°. Keep Humidity levels above 50%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize every 3-4 weeks during Spring, Summer, Fall with a specialized African Violet fertilizer that you can find in your local nursery.
Wax Plant (Hoya)
Why I Love these: I love these for their sturdy leaves and vining nature, they make perfect hanging plants! Another bonus is that they bloom beautiful sweet smelling flowers under the right conditions.
Plant Care
Light: Best in bright filtered light. Some cool, early direct morning sun is beneficial. Just keep out of direct, hot sun.
Water: In Spring/Summer keep soil slightly damp (not soggy!). In winter reduce watering, by letting soil dry out slightly between waterings
Temps/Humidity: Best kept between 65-80°. Don’t let go below 50°. Keep humidity levels above 60%.
Fertilizer: Fertilize once a month during growing season with a diluted houseplant fertilizer.
Haworthia
Why I love these: These are one of my all time favorite succulent varieties because of their architectural structure and beautiful leaf markings. If you want a modern looking plant that doesn’t give you any strife, this is the one for you!
Plant Care
Light: Best in bright light with some cool morning direct sun. However, they can tolerate a medium indirect light.
Water: Let soil dry out completely before watering thoroughly. They can tolerate periods of drought. Be careful not to over water these.
Temps/Humidity: Best kept between 75-90°. Can tolerate a range of temps, but don’t let go below 45°. They like drier more arid conditions. Keep Humidity below 50%.
Fertilizer: They do not require much fertilizer, so only fertilize once in the growing season (Spring) with a 1/2 dose of diluted liquid houseplant fertilizer.
For a comprehensive list of toxic and non toxic plant varieties, check out this link here.
