Hard-to-kill plants for travelers

Oct 12, 2025

3 min read

Updated: 16 hours ago

If you travel often or spend long stretches away from home, you already know that getting ready to leave is more involved than just packing a suitcase. There's laundry to do, food to use up, the house to tidy, and a list of things to take care of before you lock the door.

Then there are the plants.

Watering everything right before you leave might work for a long weekend. But if you're going to be gone for two or three weeks, or regularly spend months away from home, your usual houseplants may not be the best match for your lifestyle.

So, it's worth choosing your plants with that in mind. Here are three hard-to-kill houseplants that are relatively low-maintenance and better suited to people who aren't home all the time

Top Three Hard-to-Kill Plants for Travelers

1. Donkey Tail Cactus

There's a particular kind of disappointment in coming home from a trip to find browns leaves and bone-dry soil. But jokes on the other plants. Mr. Donkey Tail has.... tails.

Fuzzy trailing donkey tail cactus spills from a dark pot on a midcentury tripod stand, with a blurred wall art background and warm light.

I have two of them. Equal parts wild and wonderful, I love this plant. My sister once told me, "Ew, can you return it? It's creepy!" :) That's the beauty, sis!

Those fuzzy tails are deceivingly prickly though, so be careful! Since it’s a cactus, it’s drought-tolerant and thrives with minimal attention.

Growth rate: slow to medium. With direct, bright sunlight, you might get a new tail in the growing season or at least, a growing tail.

Price: depends on how big you're buying it; they can be over $30 or more. Most of the tails were about 10 inches when I bought mine, but now, the longest one is double that!

2. Snow White Opuntia

That plant is not completely indestructible, of course. But it's a lot more forgiving than most.

Don't mind mine that's the doing the Gansta' lean. It was reaching for sunlight while I was away. Even when I switch it side, it doesn't really straighten up. So now it's.... art.

Hard to kill plants snow white opuntia in a pot on a stool, against a mint wall with blurred floral art.

The furry opuntia isn’t just cute. It’s functional. A little fun fact: that “fur” acts like natural sunscreen, helping it survive intense sunlight. It’s tough, unique, and perfectly suited for the plant parent who’s rarely home.

Growth rate: slow

Price: depends on how big you're buying it; they can be over $40 or more.

3. Whale Fin Sansevieria

Potted whale fin sanseviera with tall striped leaves on a stool, set against a colorful floral mural background depicted as a hard to kill plant for frequent travelers

By far, my favorite! This sculptural stunner is close to indestructible. Like, severely hard to kill. Give it bright light, and it’ll reward you with bold, architectural beauty, even if you're gone for weeks at a time.

Growth rate: medium. Don't believe the rumors of them growing slow. Find your biggest, brightest window and put it there! I had to repot mine on year two of having it.

Price: depends on how big you're buying it; they can be over $35 or more.

Care for All Three Plants

Sunlight

DIRECT! They do need plenty of light from a south or west-facing window. Put it there and forget it. It infuriates me when growers tell you indirect sunlight, and you never see the full potential of the plant when you bring it home. Again, find your biggest, brightest window, and put them there.

Water

Know your own environment and feel how dry your air is. I water mine roughly every three weeks.

Pests

None (from my experience).

Fertilizer

I don't fertilize any of them, but there are some cactus food options you can buy.

I have those plants because I've learned over the years that the best plant is the one that's still alive when you get home. Best to add those to your list.

Until you're home again,

Emi