Add Summer Style to Your Space with These Fabulous & Easy-Care Houseplants

By Justin Hancock, Costa Farms Horticulturist

If you spend more time inside as summer heat sets in, keep your thumb green and your home looking on point with easy-care houseplants.

Easy-care houseplants add a touch of the great outdoors to our homes, and scientific studies show having houseplants may improve our physical and mental health. Summer is the perfect time to add one or two (after all, they tend to look best in groups).

Monstera Thai Constellation

Monstera Thai Constellation is an eye-catching beauty that has big leaves that bear iconic fenestrations (slits and holes), creating a leaf shape you’re sure to recognize as a trendy motif in home goods and fashion. It’s an extra-special variety because its dark green leaves are irregularly variegated with creamy white. Each leaf is a living work of art.

It may look exotic, but it’s surprisingly easy to care for. Just give it a bright spot and water as the top half or so of the potting mix dries to the touch. It’s pretty forgiving if you forget to water from time to time or spend a couple of weeks away on summer vacay.

Pothos Albo

Golden Pothos is a tried-and-true houseplant anyone can grow. If you want to up your houseplant game, go with Albo (Epipremnum pinnatum Albo), which features leaves variegated in white instead of yellow. As a bonus, if you grow this plant vertically, the leaves will quickly get larger and develop stylish slits and holes (fenestrations), making it look like a Monstera.

You might be surprised how easy it is to grow! It tolerates low light but does best in a bright spot. It’s pretty drought tolerant, but you’ll keep it happiest and growing best if you water as the top half or so of the potting mix dries to the touch.

Scindapsus Mount Salak

Scindapsus is a group of plants closely related to Pothos and have a similar climbing/trailing growth form. They also bear heart-shaped leaves. But where they differ is the texture. Scindapsus Mount Salak (named for the mountain in Indonesia where it was found) has an almost camouflage-like pattern of dark green, medium green, and silver dappling on the leaves. For added interest, the leaves appear to sparkle in bright light.

Like all houseplants, Scindapsus Mount Salak is happiest when it gets lots of light inside, but it tolerates medium and lower light levels as well. Take care not to overwater; it’s best to give it a drink as the top half or so of the potting mix dries to the touch.

Philodendron Golden Crocodile

Philodendron Golden Crocodile is an incredible newer variety of houseplant that has bright golden-yellow leaves that have a long, narrow shape. They have toothed edges (where the common name comes from), giving them a bold, exotic look. As they emerge, they have a peachy/coppery color that slowly fades to gold, so each new leaf puts on a show of its own. Unlike most common Philodendrons, it’s not a climbing variety, so you can enjoy it without having to give it a support structure.

Philodendron Golden Crocodile has best color in bright light. It tolerates lower-light levels, but I don’t recommend it there because it’ll be more green than gold. It doesn’t need a lot of water—just give it a drink as the top half or so of the potting mix dries to the touch. If in doubt, it’s better to keep this beauty a bit too dry than too wet.

ZZ Plant Chameleon

ZZ Plant Chameleon (Zamioculcas zamiifolia Chameleon) may be the most stylish and durable houseplant you can find. It bears thick, rubbery dark green leaves that store water, helping it hold up during times of drought. Each leaf emerges a bright canary-yellow color and slowly matures to green, so it’s always putting on a show.

It tolerates low light spots but grows best (and puts out the most new growth) if you give it a bright spot. It’s so drought tolerant that it can survive a month or more without water but grows best when watered as the top half or so of the potting mix dries to the touch.

Xanthosoma

Xanthosoma goes by a variety of names (Xanthosoma lindenii, Caladium magnificum, Phyllotaenium lindenii, etc.), but no matter what botanists decide to call it, it’s a stunning and fabulous houseplant with arrow-shaped leaves that have zebra-striped veining. As it matures, the leaves can get more than 3 feet long, making it a showstopper in your home.

Xanthosoma loves a bright spot but tolerates medium and lower-light conditions. It’s not as drought tolerant as the other plants on this list and tells you it’s thirsty by drooping. Give it a good drink and it quickly perks back up. Prevent wilt by watering as the top 25 percent or so of the potting mix dries to the touch.

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