10 Pet-Friendly Houseplants To Keep Your Pets Safe

One of the things we're most proud of at Lazy Flora are our pet-friendly plant subscriptions (you can learn more about those here).

Pets are a really big part of the Lazy Flora team's lives, and you'll often see our pets popping up on our social media feed. They are a big contributor to our mental wellbeing, and they're an important part of our family. So pet-friendly houseplants have been a big concern for us ever since we launched our indoor plant subscriptions.

Many of the plants in this list have already appeared in our indoor plant subscriptions, and we have lots more up our sleeves to surprise you with, all to be revealed in good time. Here's a good selection to get you started.

These are all listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs on the ASPCA's online database of poisonous plants. The ASPCA is the American equivalent to the RSPCA, and have the largest reputable online source of pet-friendly plants that we've found to date. This is the standard we use for all our pet-friendly plants.

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African Violet

This delicate little plant will flower profusely, given plenty of direct sun, and as long as you don't allow the roots to sit in water. It's also known as the Cape Marigold. Your furry friends probably won't be very interested in this one, because it doesn't have wavy leaves or petals, and has no scent. But you can appreciate it all year round, because it will flower, and flower and flower.

Boston Fern

The Boston Fern has different light requirements at different times of year. During the spring and summer, it needs a shady location. A north-facing window is ideal. During autumn and winter, it needs more light, and will benefit from at least a couple of hours' direct sunlight per day. At all times of year, it will not tolerate full sun or total shade.

Cast Iron Plant

The Cast Iron plant has a reputation for being almost indestructible, which makes it a fantastic plant for beginners or the more neglectful plant parents amongst us. It will live quite happily in many areas within your home without much effort from you, adding a touch of elegance to any room.

The Cast Iron plant can pretty much deal with most light conditions, apart from direct sunlight. The best location for this plant is a north-facing window. A room with bright light will also be fine, just place the plant deeper into the room and away from the window to avoid direct sun.

Blue Star Fern

Ferns sparked the first houseplant craze and have an enduring appeal, especially the unfussy Blue Star Fern. Its wavy blue-green leaves vary between silver, grey and palest green and it can grow up to a metre in height. Blue Star has a preference for lower light conditions, which makes it relatively easy to care for and makes it a great choice for novices and fern lovers alike.

Calathea rufibarba

Calatheas are some of the most striking pet-friendly plants we've shipped to date, and have been a big favourite with Lazy Flora customers! The Calathea enjoy low, indirect light and plenty of humidity.

Emerald Tree - Radermachera 

The Radermachera was introduced and popularised as a house plant during the 1980s. Since then it has been sought after for its tolerance to the warm, dry air of heated homes. Making it an ideal plant for most homeowners in colder climates. The abundant, emerald-green leaves will add a touch of tropical to your home, year-round!

The foliage of Radermachera is medium to dark green and glossy. The dainty leaves divide into separate leaflets, you'll be lucky to see the highly fragrant white blooms on this plant as it rarely blooms in the home!

Echeveria Pearle von Nurnberg

If you're not familiar with the wonderful world of echeverias, they are super easy to love. They are low-maintenance and ideal for beginners and more experienced plant owners alike.

Pearle von Nurnberg is probably one of the most showy echeverias around. They need bright, indirect sunlight, and they thrive on periods of neglect and low water and nutrients - their care is practically fool-proof. Echeveria prefer desert conditions so it is essential not to overwater them. Provide moderate amounts of water in very hot weather but make sure you let the soil dry out completely before you water again.

Maranta

The leaves on the Maranta move down during the day and raise up at night, as if in prayer, hence the nickname for this plant 'Prayer plant'. But don't worry about the position of this plants leaves, they are perfectly safe for any pet!

Phalaenopsis Orchid

One of the most commonly-found plants in supermarkets these days, and for good reason, Phalaenopsis orchids are some of the easiest-to-care-for and most spectacular orchids around. They require minimal watering and maintenance, and will flower twice a year if you keep them in the right conditions.

Spider Plant

The spider plant is so-called because in summer it produces mini plants called 'pups' which look a bit like spiders. The 'pups' are often more brightly variegated than the parent plant. Don't let too many babies hang on the mother plant, because they will take a lot of energy. You can always remove the babies and plant them elsewhere to create more spider plants.

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