The Spruce / Jason Donnelly

Every year, there’s anothermust-have houseplant.

Want more gardening tips?

Boston Ferns

Let’s get one thing straight: I love my Boston ferns.

Closeup of thai constellation monstera

The Spruce / Jason Donnelly

But the two Boston ferns hanging in my bedroom are some of the most high-maintenance houseplants I own.

Skip a weekly watering and they’ll rain dry leaves everywhere.

Calatheas are gorgeous, with multi-hued leaves that can look like they’ve been hand-painted.

Boston Ferns

Boston Ferns are very forgiving houseplants.Photo: © Marie Iannotti

They’re fascinating, beautiful, and just plain cool.

After the first watering, it shed foliage like crazy.

Now it’s in the indirect light of my bathroom.

Closeup view of calathea leaves

The Spruce / Brie Goldman

Maybe the third time’s a charm!

You have to be in perpetual propagation mode to keep it in its compact growth habit.

I don’t care how cool a Thai Con looks, though.

closeup of pink and green venus flytrap plant in pink pot with soil on white background

Claudia Nass/Getty Images

a fiddle leaf fig tree

The Spruce / Corinne Bryson

A pearls and jade pothos in a white pot sitting on a shelf next to a gold watering can.

The Spruce / Cori Sears

Polka dot plant in a white pot on a window sill

The Spruce / Leticia Almeida

Luscious Monstera Thai constellation against a stone background.

krisanapong detraphiphat / Getty Images