Y’all – I am so stoked to be writing this blog post! I just LOVE plants. Easy-care plants are even better. But what I love most are the countless benefits plants bring to me AND MY STUDENTS!

Now, when I first started to bring plants into my classroom, there may have been a couple of casualties. R.I.P. babies. 🪴 I am so sorry. Momma did her best. 🫶🏼

I’m going to be real here for a second. My plants have MOST DEFINITELY helped my stress level, but struggling with mental health ALSO means that being consistent with many things can be challenging.

Since I have a hard enough time caring for MYSELF at times, it would be irresponsible for me to choose plants that need a lot of attention and care to survive. While I continue to learn how to identify and support my own needs, I have opted to adopt plants that are fairly independent.

So, in an effort to avoid that same trial and error (and more casualties 🤫), I’m here to give you the low down on the easy-care plants that have thrived best for me.

All of the photos on this blog are of MY ACTUAL PLANTS. Every one of these beauties has lived and THRIVED in my classroom – most of them for over 5 years!

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Easy-Care Plants to have in the classroom:

1. Snake Plant

This plant is also called a Mother-in-Law’s tongue oddly enough. They come in multiple variations, but what I’ve found is that all variations are SUPER CHILL. They can handle inconsistent watering and don’t need a ton of sunlight either!

I’ve had over three different types of snake plants in my room and they have ALL done well. In fact, talk about easy-care plants – if I choose to gift a plant for whatever reason, especially if I know the recipient of said plant is new to the plant-parent world, this is the kind I gift them.

In fact, one of my own plants was a gift from a colleague. He knew he’d find a good home for it in my classroom! ☺️

2. Pothos

This is another plant that has multiple variations with different leaf patterns and colors. A pothos is a climbing plant so it’s wonderful for on a shelf or in a hanging basket. They’re super fun to watch grow too because they sport new leaves fairly often (if happy).

Pothos thrive well in low, medium, or filtered light. No direct sunlight for this lady or her leaves will burn. I’d be surprised if any classroom gets light strong enough for that though. The only time I’ve burned my pothos’ leaves was when I set her outside for a while. Sorry baby! 🫣

Pothos are super easy to propagate (take cuttings to make new plants) too. So if they get too long or expand too much for your space, you can always give her a haircut and share the wealth!

3. ZZ Plant

These are a great plant if you don’t want to have to water daily – – or honestly even weekly! A ZZ plant most definitely falls into the easy-care plants category!

Let the soil get completely dry in between waterings. They’re native to Africa so they’re accustomed to a drier climate. ZZ plants have a super unique root system that looks like a ball of sorts. This guy holds the water well which means he doesn’t like to be overwatered.

ZZ plants also need part shade to full shade which makes them ideal for dimly or artificially lit spaces. Again – no direct sunlight for this gem. We don’t want burnt leaves for him either!

4. Chinese Money Plant

Their scientific name is pilea peperomioides. That’s a mouthful! My kids like to call them a pepperoni plant.

I’ve also seen them called a “sharing plant.” This is because the pilea often grows new pilea babies in its soil. So, as with the spider plant, you can remove them, replant them, and gift them!

Pilea do NOT like soggy soil. This is one plant on the list that probably benefits from more consistent watering. My house pilea has been happy in my basement with VERY LITTLE light for years. So happy that I’ve repotted several of her babies in the meantime. 😁

5. Parlor Palm

The parlor palm is the very first plant I ever purchased for my room…and I am proud to announce she is still alive. Not only do I still have the original, but I have since purchased a couple more. My daughter actually picked that one out.

These easy-care plants are another green girlie who likes indirect light and dry soil between waterings. You could rotate her around your room to see what area she likes best. Taking a field trip to a window every once in a while wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Remember though – no direct sunlight still 🙂

6. Rubber Tree

Rubber trees are fairly simple to take care of too. Just don’t overwater them. Are you sensing a trend here? Let their soil dry out. If you stick your finger in about an inch and any soil is sticking to your hand – WAIT. No one likes soggy feet – including most plants!

These plants can get REALLY BIG but that’ll take decades depending on the size you buy initially. The tall rubber tree in the top picture I’ve had for over 5 years.

Rubber trees do benefit from having their leaves dusted on occasion (as that is how they take in light). I dusted mine so she was photo-ready 😉.

Sounds like a great “classroom job” to me!

7. Succulents

There. Are. So. Many.

These easy-care plants all like to be DRY. Water them fully and then leave them alone for a month (especially in the winter when they’re dormant). I have a succulent in my laundry room that I constantly forget about and she’s growing happily on the windowsill, minding her own business. She was actually a gift from a student. Thanks Ari 💜.

Whether it’s an Aloe plant, a cactus, a morning beauty, or one of the countless others, these kids DO LIKE SUNLIGHT. They can sit on a windowsill all day and will love every minute of it. My only suggestion is to rotate them every couple of weeks. They stretch out toward the light, so if they’re always faced the same direction they’ll grow unevenly or crooked.

8. Spider plant

Another plant with many variants, this lady is SUPER fun because as she grows she starts to sprout off little baby spider plants. This makes it a great plant for “sharing the love” with your co-workers. Simply snip off the baby spider plant, pop it into some water and give it some indirect sunlight until it starts to sprout its own roots. Then you can plant it and have a whole new plant!

Actually – now that I think about it. The two spider plants I have are clippings from friends. One came from my sister’s plant and the other came from our school secretary’s plant!

Spider plants are another plant that like their soil to dry in between waterings. Indirect sunlight is best.

9. Money Tree

I’m happy to report that my money tree is doing well. Hopefully this means something for me – wink, wink. It is probably my plant that has flourished and grown the most. It has done its best when able to access consistent light. This one doesn’t grow much if I keep it in a dark corner (unlike my snake plants).

Water when the top half of the soil is dry but DON’T let it soak. The trunk can get water-logged and that will cause it to rot. 😢 If you have a pot with good drainage at the bottom it should be easy enough to avoid this.

10. Ponytail Palm

I saved the best for last. I mean, I know as a parent you’re not supposed to have favorites, but I can’t help myself. I LOVE her. I mean look at her! Pictures just don’t do her justice. That full head of “hair”, the strong, sturdy trunk. She’s just beautiful.

The other reason I love her so…is that she is one of the easy-care plants that has been the chillest gal. I’ve moved her throughout my space. Whether she’s in indirect light (on a shelf near the window) or very little light (in my bathroom), she has always done well.

On occasion I trim her leaves and get rid of any brown ones. If she’s happy though you won’t have to do that often! If the tips of her leaves get brown, it’s a sign of over or under watering (or too much sun).

Some tips for your Easy-Care plants

1. Buy pots with drainage holes. No plant likes to sit in water. This will help you also get a hang of how much water each plant takes.
2. Use trays underneath your pots. This catches any over-watering and reduces any damage that can be caused to the plant AND whatever the plant is sitting on or hanging over.
3. Look at the leaves. You can tell how a plant is doing by the state of their leaves. Drooping, browning, spots, or bugs (gasp) will show up there.
4. Care on a schedule. Plan when you’ll check in on your plants. I did it every morning when I got to school. This doesn’t mean I watered them every day (heck no!). It just means that I’d know how they looked, what the soil was like, etc. This helped me notice issues before they got too bad.
5. Use neem oil. This is a bug control tool. Using it in a preventative way will save you from the hassle of all your classroom plants getting gnats or other pesky bugs. It’s easy enough to find – I use a spray.

My BIGGEST tip is to start small. Pick either one – two plants or plant types to start with. Get the hang of how to care for them and then add more as the year progresses.

Again, too many all at once could cause some fatalities (I mean, not that I would know – cough, cough.)

Check out some other ways to add some PLANT LOVE to your classroom. Click on the images below to see more!

In the meantime, if you have any plant care questions I am happy to help! I’d also love to see pictures of your plant babies in your classroom!

Tag me on instagram or shoot me an email.

Happy planting! 🪴 💚 🫶🏼