Plants for beginners

Find out which plants are easy to care for

Swiss cheese plant (monstera deliciosa)

Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant, is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant. The specific epithet deliciosameans delicious, referring to the edible fruit, while monstera means monstrous, in reference to the size that this plant can grow to, over 9 m (30 ft) in many cases. Its popular name as a houseplant of Swiss cheese plant, or just cheese plant, is commonly stated to refer to the eyes or holes which develop in its leaves similar to the holes in some Swiss-type cheeses such as Emmental cheese.

Close up of monstera deliciosa leaves from different angles

Care instructions


Pothos (epipremnum aureum)

Epipremnum aureum is a species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae, native to Mo'orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The species is a popular houseplant in temperate regions, but has also become naturalised in tropical and sub-tropical forests worldwide, including northern Australia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands and the West Indies, where it has caused severe ecological damage in some cases. The plant has a multitude of common names including golden pothos, Ceylon creeper, hunter's robe, ivy arum, house plant, money plant, silver vine, Solomon Islands ivy, marble queen, and taro vine. It is also called devil's vine or devil's ivy because it is almost impossible to kill and it stays green even when kept in the dark. It is sometimes mistakenly labeled as a Philodendron in plant stores. It is commonly known as money plant in many parts of the Indian subcontinent. It rarely flowers without artificial hormone supplements; the last known spontaneous flowering was reported in 1964. Nevertheless, in February 2021, a naturally occurring cluster of four flowers was discovered in a tree canopy on an old vine in a South Florida wooded area.

Long pothos plant in pot held up by arm

Care instructions


Rubber tree (Ficus elastica)

Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of plant in the fig genus, native to eastern parts of South Asia and southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Lanka, the West Indies, and the US State of Florida. It is a large tree in the banyan group of figs, growing to 30–40 metres (98–131 ft) (rarely up to 60 metres or 200 feet) tall, with a stout trunk up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter. The trunk develops aerial and buttressing roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches.

Close up of ficus elastica, or rubber tree, with freen leaves and a red center

Care instructions


coded by Julia Pöppelmann