How do I choose low to no plant maintenance?

Kathy Arteaga
by Kathy Arteaga

I have a space behind my kitchen sink i'd like to put a plant that needs no to low light since the kitchen is in the middle of the house. Not next to a window. Also, i'm not good with plants so needs to be very low maintenance.Any suggestions?

  4 answers
  • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Feb 22, 2019

    How about a hanging air fern. It will probably get enough moisture from your cooking and washing dishes

  • Kathy Arteaga Kathy Arteaga on Feb 22, 2019

    I need to sit something on the counter behind the sink. It's just a blank space there. I thought a plant would look nice there. Not much I can do with it.

    Air ferns don't need much light or care?

    Thanks.

    • See 2 previous
    • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Feb 23, 2019

      Air plants should be kept where they'll receive bright, indirect sunlight or under fluorescent home/office lighting. Periods of direct sunlight are just fine, but more than a few hours of hot sun will deplete the plants of their moisture. If your plant will be in a spot with some pretty direct light, try misting them every couple of days to keep them hydrated.

  • Fran Friedman Fran Friedman on Feb 23, 2019

    Another scenario would be an artificial plant(s), flower, or fruit arrangement. Or you could put lights behind a stained glass window, or maybe a fish tank with easy to care for fish.

  • Oberlinmom Oberlinmom on Feb 23, 2019

    There's a vine called Pothos that survives in pretty much any environment. As well as some Dracaena plants and Aspidistra. People usually kill these guys with too much attention. I have a strange host of plants I keep indoors over winter that get almost no sun and I'm pretty bad at watering them. They survive because as soon at the temperatures are warm enough I put them outside in shady areas of my garden. I have a couple Ponytail palms I grew from seed years ago. A kind of begonia that is pretty because it's leaves are very colorful, the flowers are eh. Some Christmas cactus and Plectranthus verticillatus (Swedish Ivy).

    • See 3 previous
    • Oberlinmom Oberlinmom on Feb 24, 2019

      Pothos do fine in low light, the variegation may not be as bright. Any of the plants I mentioned will need to be rotated to some better lighting but do well in low light situations.


      Bromeliads, on the other hand, need bright light. Even the epiphytic or "air" plants grow in fairly bright areas. They cling to tree limbs usually up high, like orchids, where the sun light reaches them. Ground bromeliads can grow in shady areas but do well in full sun. When I lived in FL, we had them all over our yard and the ones that were the healthiest were in almost full sun all day. Plus they do not survive for long. The main plant puts off plantlets or pups but that main plant may only live a year or two. It's a messy pant to have indoors due to that.