Houseplants for people who forget to water

24 of 100 species in this database qualify

24 of our 100 species qualify. Golden barrel cactus ranks first on longest interval between waterings first. Typical prices run $6 to $90.

What this list actually means

These go a fortnight or more between waterings by design, not by tolerance. The failure mode reverses with this group: they are killed by attention, not neglect, and a weekly watering routine will drown every one of them.

Ranked by water interval days, difficulty — longest interval between waterings first. Ordering is derived from database fields and we do not accept payment for placement. Our pre-publish check rejects commission, payout, EPC and CPC as sort fields, so that promise is enforced rather than merely stated.

#	Plant	Light floor	Water	Pet safe	Difficulty	Typical price
1	Golden barrel cactus Echinocactus grusonii	Direct	18–35d	Yes	Easy	$15–90
2	Bunny ears cactus Opuntia microdasys	Direct	18–35d	Yes	Easy	$8–30
3	Aloe vera Aloe vera	Bright indirect	14–28d	No	Easy	$10–30
4	Ponytail palm Beaucarnea recurvata	Medium	14–30d	Yes	Easy	$25–90
5	Ladyfinger cactus Mammillaria elongata	Bright indirect	14–30d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
6	ZZ plant Zamioculcas zamiifolia	Low	14–21d	No	Easy	$18–40
7	Jade plant Crassula ovata	Bright indirect	14–28d	No	Easy	$10–45
8	Zebra haworthia Haworthiopsis attenuata	Medium	14–24d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
9	African milk tree Euphorbia trigona	Bright indirect	14–28d	No	Easy	$15–45
10	Burro’s tail Sedum morganianum	Bright indirect	14–28d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
11	Spineless yucca Yucca gigantea	Medium	14–24d	No	Easy	$30–90
12	Ox tongue Gasteria bicolor	Medium	14–24d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
13	Snake plant Dracaena trifasciata	Low	14–21d	No	Easy	$15–45
14	Mexican snowball Echeveria elegans	Bright indirect	12–24d	Yes	Moderate	$6–18
15	String of pearls Curio rowleyanus	Bright indirect	12–21d	No	Demanding	$12–35
16	Jelly bean plant Sedum rubrotinctum	Bright indirect	12–24d	No	Easy	$8–22
17	String of bananas Curio radicans	Bright indirect	12–21d	No	Easy	$12–35
18	Sweetheart hoya Hoya kerrii	Medium	12–21d	Yes	Easy	$15–50
19	Corn plant Dracaena fragrans	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
20	Wax plant Hoya carnosa	Medium	10–18d	Yes	Easy	$15–60
21	Dragon tree Dracaena marginata	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
22	String of hearts Ceropegia woodii	Medium	10–18d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
23	Elephant bush Portulacaria afra	Bright indirect	10–21d	Yes	Easy	$10–35
24	Crown of thorns Euphorbia milii	Bright indirect	10–21d	No	Easy	$12–40

Prices are hand-verified ranges, not live figures, and move with pot size more than anything else. No affiliate links appear on this page because we have no merchant relationships yet; when that changes, disclosure appears before the first one.

Why golden barrel cactus tops the list

Scores 1 of 5: water it monthly in summer and barely at all in winter, and it will outlive you. Overwatering in a cold room is the only thing that kills it. It takes direct light as a floor and water every 18–35 days, and it is reasonably easy to find at $15–90.

Full entry for golden barrel cactus — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority we consulted, and propagation.

Commonly recommended for this, and shouldn't be

Every one of these is sold everywhere and appears on other lists for this purpose. Each fails on a field in our own database, stated below.

Inch plant Tradescantia zebrina

wants water every 5–9 days, and you would know because the top inch is dry.
Lucky bamboo Dracaena sanderiana

wants water every 5–10 days, and you would know because the water level drops below the roots.
Peace lily Spathiphyllum wallisii

wants water every 5–7 days, and you would know because top inch dry.
Moth orchid Phalaenopsis amabilis

wants water every 5–10 days, and you would know because the roots in the pot have turned from green to silver.

None of these are bad plants. They are bad plants for this, and the difference is the whole point of the list. Buying one for the wrong spot is the commonest way people conclude they cannot keep houseplants.

Other lists

Every list →

Sources

This database's own care records for the 24 species listed — light floor, watering interval, humidity, difficulty and mature size are the fields the ranking uses. Each species entry cites its own authorities.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification, cited per species on each entry
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — poison severity where published
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder — cultivation and pest records

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Ranking is derived from database fields. We do not accept payment for placement, and the pre-publish check rejects payout as a sort field. How this is sourced.