Houseplant Spotlight: Low Water Plants, Part 1

By Evin Morrison, Extension Master Gardener
Photos © Evin Morrison

Houseplants come in all shapes and sizes, but also all kinds of care needs, which means you really can find one to fit your home and lifestyle. No one tells a busy professional that it would be great for them to go out and get a puppy. No! They usually recommend something much easier… like a fish. This list spotlights the plants that are easy to bring home, take care of, and keep alive. We can leave the puppies and ferns to the work-from-home crowds and instead focus on a few varieties that are almost as easy as that plastic ficus in your dentist’s office.  

Before you go any further, always remember this one rule: LOW WATER DOES NOT MEAN NO WATER. Unless it actually is plastic, you must give it a drink occasionally.

Sansevieria (now Dracaena)

Maybe you’ve heard this plant called a snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue, and in fact, they’ve recently been reclassified into the genus Dracaena. Whatever you call it, it’s a great option for low-maintenance water needs.  

These upright plants boast an architectural growth habit with sturdy leaves. These thicker leaves are a common trait of plants that have adapted to living in arid climates. When you are shopping for a low-water houseplant, checking out the leaves is always a good place to start. Leaves that are rigid or have a thickness to them are referred to as succulent leaves. They can store water and also release less water than a typical foliage leaf. When transpiration, the process of water leaving the plant through the leaves, is slower, you don’t have to keep refreshing the plant as often.

Most of the varieties that we see available on the houseplant market are native to Africa. Doing research before shopping for plants and learning about their native ranges can really help identify the species that will do well in certain conditions. Many plants from Mexico and Africa are marketed to us as low-maintenance plants because in the wild they naturally thrive in low-quality, gritty soil and survive with very little rainfall.  

Sansevieria come in all shapes and sizes. From the large whale fin variety to the smaller low growing rosette types, there are quite a few to collect. They thrive in medium and medium-bright light, but some of the dark varieties can even deal with lower light. Sansevieria are notoriously slow growers, and the lower the light you give them the slower they grow. Watering when the soil dries out completely is the best practice, as overwatering can quickly lead to rot. Underwatering will cause tall leaves flopping over or even wrinkling of the surface of the leaves. The rigidity of the leaf decreases as the water stores inside are used up.

Sansevieria are also really easy to propagate. Plants that are growing and thriving will begin to create pups at the bottom of the plant. These can be divided and potted up immediately to create a whole new plant. Additionally, leaf cuttings are quick to root in water. All you have to do is cut the tip off of one of your leaves with clean scissors and place the base of the cutting into some fresh water. It’s important to replace the water often to avoid rot, but in no time, you will have roots. Once the roots form, a new crown of leaves will begin to grow from the base of the leaf.

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Ponytail Palms & Dragon Trees

Some plants store their water reservoirs in their trunks rather than in their leaves. Also, slow growing, ponytail palms can live for a very long time with the correct care. Large plants can easily be more than 80 years old!

Ponytail palms, Beaucarnea recurvata, are not really palms at all, but because of their shape, they have been given the moniker. These plants are mostly known for the bulbous base of their trunk and then a spray of strap like leaves sprouting from the top. The leaves are also adapted to store water along with the trunk. They have a much different texture than many other succulent leaf types, but have a thicker, harder feel than a more tropical plant would. Again, this denser leaf structure is adapted to help it survive in long periods of drought. The narrow leaf shape on both the ponytail palm and the dragon tree are also an indicator of drought tolerant plants, the smaller surface area protect the plant from the harsh sun and keeps transpiration at a minimum.   

Dragon trees are also in the Dracaena family, but look much different than the snake plants introduced earlier. The most common version of this plant available on the houseplant market are Dracaena marginata. These spindly trees can grow quite tall, with narrow trunks and a spray of all green, red, or variegated spiky leaves at the top. Their narrow trunks are prone to break if they get knocked over, but fear not, they are also quite easy to propagate. Just place the broken stem in water — bud vases make a great home for these — and watch as roots begin to develop!

Both of these plants will do best in bright light. If you are able to keep them in a dry area so that you can control the amount of water they are getting, they make a great option for putting on a sunny patio in the spring and summer months. Moving heat loving plants outside in the sun when possible is always a great way to solar charge them before winter.

ZZ Plants

Another African native, ZZ plants are one of the most recommended plants for low-maintenance care. They can handle relatively lower light and only need to be watered every other week or so. They are truly a plant that you can set and (almost) forget. Again, no plant can come indoors without a little care to keep it alive, but ZZs are one of the hardiest you can find.

ZZ plants, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, have a shiny, thick series of leaves, but their real water storage mechanisms are the thick stems and the underground rhizomes. The fastest way to kill a ZZ is to give it too much water because the rhizomes will rot. With most of these low-water plants, it’s really important to use a well-draining soil. They will do great in a cactus and succulent mix, but it doesn’t hurt to even add a little perlite or vermiculite to those mixes to really chunk it up. If you think about their native growing zones, the desert and arid climates usually have rocky, gritty soil. Again, researching a plant’s habitat before we force them into houseplant-dom is a great way to help you recreate a good growing environment for your new housemates.

With very little attention, you will see new baby plants sprout up around the pot as the rhizomes spread. ZZ plants also don’t need to be repotted all that often and can stay quite content when pot bound. They quickly expand to the size of the pot, so repotting will definitely help it put on size. If you need to split the plant, you can unpot it and divide the rhizomes. You can repot clumps or individual plants into separate pots and in no time, you’ll have a ZZ jungle.  

Of course, all plants can be underwatered, but ZZs shows signs that they need a drink so you will know when you’ve taken the “low-maintenance” thing a little too far. The chunky stems will begin to wrinkle and in the most severe cases the leaves will begin to brown and dry up. These signals are not something that you want to wait to see repeatedly as a sign that you need water. They are a sign that your plants are seriously stressed and that invites pests like mealybugs to come and make your plant their new home. Watering within a few days of the soil completely drying out is much better than waiting to see a signal from your dehydrated plant.

If you love ZZ plants, there are quite a few cultivars available on the market. The Raven ZZ is a super dark color that almost appears to be black, and the Zenzi is a smaller plant with chubbier, rounded leaves. For the serious collectors, there’s even a beautiful variegated version, but don’t expect to stumble upon that one in your local shops.

So many people avoid owning and loving houseplants because they are worried about having to water them or have failed in the past. With these low-water alternatives, you can dip your toe into the fascinating world of houseplants, without having to add a weekly watering session to your calendar. Start with one and prove to yourself that you actually can have a green thumb; you just need the right plant.