Over the years, I’ve killed a plant or two (200, that is). Over time, I’ve learned what plants are easiest to keep alive. In our current home, we have a covered front and back porch where lots of plants live.
Because the porch is covered, these plants don’t get any rainwater and their lives are dependent on me watering them. For this reason, I’ve gravitated toward plants that thrive being watered several times a week instead of daily.
Many of these are so hearty that I’ll also be able to bring them indoors in the fall and winter and they will survive until spring, a wonderful thing!
Related: Faux Trees For Your Porch, The Most Convincing Faux Plants, How to Keep Tropical Plants in a Cold Climate.
Here are my favorite low-maintenance porch plants and a link to a similar dress with the same print. 🙂
Snake plant
The queen of all easy plants. I love the way these look and they are incredibly hearty both indoors and outdoors, bright lights and dim rooms.
Ponytail Palm
Such a charming little plant.
Aloe Vera
Beautiful and functional. I use the aloe juice for cuts and scrapes just like my mom did when I was a kid.
Succulent
These always thrive in the outdoors.
Split Leaf Philodendron
One of my favorite plants. We currently have two of them on our front porch.
ZZ Plant
These are hearty plants in both outdoor and low light environments.
Z
Jade Plant
I always heard these were good luck, they also thrive outdoors and are easy to keep alive with just a few waters each week.
J
I also have a few fake plants in our outdoor space. I wanted big lush potted trees. My friend came over when we put them out in March and told me they would not survive—unfortunately, he was correct.
All but one of our potted trees died pretty quickly. Lesson learned! I then discovered a fake version that can stay outdoors year round. I added quite a few and I’m excited to decorate them with Christmas lights this winter.
Here are the ones I used: Boxwood / Fiddle Leaf / Cedar Pine / Eucalyptus
The other plants I always buy fake are these succulents and vines.
They are very cute and will look good outside year round. I always prefer real plants when I have the option, but it will be nice to have some plants that we can use in our outdoor spaces during the colder months. xo, Elsie
Most of these plants actually do better with much more infrequent watering. When you water a few times a week, you’re only really getting the top inch or so of the soil wet. This encourages roots to grow at the top of the soil where it is more likely to dry out. A better way to water is to let the soil dry out completely, then water thoroughly so that all of the soil becomes saturated. This encourages the plant to grow deep roots which will help it thrive over time. I like to put my plants in a shallow pan (or even my bath tub) filled with water so the soil can absorb water through the drainage holes, as well as watering from the top. I let them sit for 20 min – an hour and top up the water as needed. Depending on the plant and the temperature, you may not need to water again for weeks rather than days. Hope this helps!
thanks so much for the advice!