The plants I don’t talk about

Believe it or not, I have a lot of plants that I don’t brag about. It’s not to say that I don’t appreciate them, or get the feels when I look at them. It’s probably more that I just don’t think about them. They are low maintenance and not that rare, so if something terrible happened I could replace them with a trip to my local nursery.

Don’t get me wrong though. These are great plants! Two have my favorite colors (pink and purple), and the rest are just easy on the eyes.

1) Oxalis purple shamrock

I saw this plant at a coffee shop once, before I was into plants. I forgot about it but then noticed it again the next time I went to that shop. Then I bought one. It didnt do too well at first. I may have repotted it or maybe it just finally found its groove. Either way, its doing great now. This plant produces pretty lilac flowers. The leaves die off occasionally. I pull both spent leaves and flowers off with ease when the plant looks straggly. This plant seems to be enjoying its spot by a north facing window. I water it twice a week as I do with 95% of my other plants.

2) Tradescantia tricolor

This plant was a little tough to find. I think it is easier to come across now since I am not the only one who drooled over it. Tradescantia, or wandering jew (I didn’t come up with the name!) Is an easy plant to care for. It likes high or medium light. I have five of these plants actually, three are in bright indirect light and have lots of variegation, and one is in a corner near a north facing window and is entirely green. Sometimes they get a big straggly. When this happens, I cut off the dead looking parts. The plant looks a little bare for awhile, but then bounces back within a short time.

3) Philodendron

I have quite a few philodendrons because they are so easy to care for. Some are hard to find. The one you see above, philodendron brasil, was purchased at my local home improvement store. It’s doing great and literally requires zero maintenance except for a rare trim (mine is directly above a radiator so the ends get a bit crunchy in the winter) and water 2x/week. I take cuttings of this one often and they root easily. I even sold one on etsy! This one is in bright filtered light, but I have others that are in medium indirect light and are doing just fine. This philodenron tends to trail but other species do not.

4) Anthurium

This pretty plant was a gift from bae. It occasionally will produce a shiny red flower. There are other species that have pink or purple flowers, but I am scarred by my experience with the ones I purchased. (Spider mites 🤮). This one is living happily on top of my piano. I think it would thrive if I found a brighter location for it, but for now it seems happy although it also needs to be repotted. It is also super low maintenance. If something looks brown or crunchy, I cut it off. Otherwise, water 2x/week and let it go.

5) Umbrella tree

I got this plant at Trader Joe’s for $4.99. I think it may have been the first plant I ever purchased! It got huge, then I left it in my unheated sunroom and all but one tiny stem died from frost damage. So I hacked off the dead parts and rooted the remaining tiny stem. That was 3 years ago, and the picture above was today. I think it has recovered pretty nicely. It is actually a tropical plant, but it seems happy in that same north facing window. I water it twice a week. Other than that, and my twice yearly feeding, it requires zero maintenance.

Do you have any of these low maintenance plants? What do you think?