If You're Looking For A Houseplant You Can't Kill, Meet The Indestructible Cast-Iron Plant

A Victorian-era darling, the cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) has retained its reputation as an easy-to-keep-alive houseplant, most suited for all brown thumbs out there. This perennial truly justifies its name since it's tolerant of extreme temperatures, low light conditions, and layers of smoke and dust—akin to factory floor settings during the Industrial Revolution. However, besides its hard-to-kill propensity, what makes the plant truly enchanting is its lush green, leathery, lance-shaped foliage.

While several plant varieties exist, like Hoshi-zora, Snow Cap, Okame, and more, the majority of iron plants support white or yellow stripes and speckles on their dark leaves, making them popular in floral arrangements, especially Japanese ikebana. Rarely, they also grow unscented, bell-shaped, lilac, green, or brown flowers at their base, which fungus gnats find appealing. Yet, pests mostly leave aspidistra varieties alone and can thrive for a long duration, growing up to 2 feet at maturity. Moreover, they have air-purifying properties and are non-toxic to pets.

Even though cast-iron plants can tolerate poor handling practices, they have a few non-negotiables, such as no direct sun exposure and waterlogged soils. While the herbaceous shrub grows just as well in deeply shaded areas—even underneath your deck stairs—and tolerates any kind of indirect light, it can't handle direct sunlight. So, to prevent your prized houseplant from yellowing and suffering from leaf scorch, place it at a north-facing window, away from direct light. However, to ensure optimum growth, expose it to over 6 hours of indirect sunlight daily.

Further, barroom plants prefer neutral or slightly acidic, well-drained soils, as an overwatered medium will lead to root rot. You can improve drainage by adding wood chips, pumice, or perlite to the soil. Alternatively, you can also add cactus potting mix to your potted plant. Also, as the rhizomatous evergreen's root system tends to take up extra space, plant it in an oversized pot, keeping a distance of around 2 inches from the root ball.

Although Aspidistra can't stand waterlogged soils, it can surprisingly endure drought stress. However, it's best not to starve your plants of hydration. Try irrigating them whenever the soil feels dry. Water young seedlings regularly to keep their medium damp. For mature plants, irrigate deeply and allow the soil to dry between watering sessions. Additionally, after irrigating the plant, apply an all-purpose liquid fertilizer at half its strength every month during the spring and summer, or use a slow-release fertilizer. But for plants growing under little light exposure, limit their application to every three to four months.

Further, while these tough plants can endure extreme indoor temperature variations, they grow the most when the temperature lies between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, they aren't winter-hardy and may die when the temperature dips below 50 degrees Fahrenheit or if hit with frost. Finally, occasionally prune the plant's dead leaves and wipe to remove accumulated dust. You may need to repot the plant after two or three years.