Plant care cards
Each card rates how much care a plant needs and shows its pet safety, light, water and outdoor zones, with every fact traced to university extension services, the ASPCA or botanical gardens. See how we rate plants.
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Pet safety:safe for cats and dogstoxic to pets, even if only mildly or in partTap an icon for the details.
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| Plant | Care rating | Pet safety | Light | Water | Outdoors all year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African violetStreptocarpus ionanthus | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 11 to 12 | |
| AmaryllisHippeastrum hybrids (sold as amaryllis) | Toxic to cats and dogs | Sunny window | Let the top dry | Zones 8 to 10 | |
| BromeliadGuzmania lingulata | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| CattleyaCattleya | Non-toxic to cats and dogs (NC State) | Bright, some sun | Let it dry out | Zones 12 to 13 | |
| Christmas cactusSchlumbergera × buckleyi | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| ChrysanthemumChrysanthemum × morifolium | Toxic to cats and dogs | Bright light | Keep moist | Zones 5 to 9 | |
| CyclamenCyclamen persicum | Toxic to cats and dogs, tuber most of all | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 9 to 11 | |
| CymbidiumCymbidium | Not rated for pets | Some direct sun | Keep lightly moist | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| Dancing lady orchidOncidium | Not rated for pets | Bright, gentle sun | Let it dry partway | Zones 12b to 13 | |
| DendrobiumDendrobium | Not rated for pets | Very bright | Let it almost dry | Zone 13 | |
| Fiddle-leaf figFicus lyrata | Mildly toxic to cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10b to 12 | |
| Jewel orchidLudisia discolor | Safe for cats and dogs | Medium indirect | Keep lightly moist | Zones 11 to 12 | |
| KalanchoeKalanchoe blossfeldiana | Toxic to cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the soil dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| Lady slipper orchidPaphiopedilum | Not rated for pets | Medium indirect | Keep lightly moist | Zones 12 to 13 | |
| MasdevalliaMasdevallia | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright, diffuse light | Keep lightly moist | Zones 12 to 13 | |
| Money treePachira aquatica (sometimes sold as P. glabra) | Mildly toxic to cats (seeds only) | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| MonsteraMonstera deliciosa | Toxic to cats and dogs, but mild | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| Norfolk Island pineAraucaria heterophylla | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let the top inch dry | Zones 10 to 11 | |
| Olive treeOlea europaea | Not rated for pets | Direct sun | Let the top dry | Zones 8 to 10 | |
| OrchidPhalaenopsis | Safe for cats and dogs | Bright indirect | Let it dry a little | Zones 12b to 13 | |
| Pansy orchidMiltoniopsis | Not rated for pets | Bright, soft light | Keep lightly moist | Zones 12b to 13 | |
| PaperwhiteNarcissus papyraceus (often listed as N. tazetta) | Toxic to cats and dogs, bulbs most | Sunny window | Water at the base | Zones 8 to 10 | |
| Peace lilySpathiphyllum | Toxic to cats and dogs | Medium indirect | Keep lightly moist | Zones 11 to 12 | |
| PoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrima | Toxic to cats and dogs, but mild | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 9 to 11 | |
| PothosEpipremnum aureum | Toxic to cats and dogs | Medium to bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| RosemarySalvia rosmarinus | Safe for cats and dogs | Direct sun | Let the top inch dry | Zones 8 to 10 | |
| Snake plantDracaena trifasciata | Toxic to cats and dogs | Low light is fine | Let the soil dry completely | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| Spider orchidBrassia | Not rated for pets | Bright indirect | Let it dry a little | Zone 13 | |
| Spider plantChlorophytum comosum | Mildly toxic to cats (MSD Veterinary Manual) | Medium indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 9 to 11 | |
| Thanksgiving cactusSchlumbergera truncata | Non-toxic to cats and dogs (NC State) | Bright indirect | Let the top dry | Zones 10 to 12 | |
| VandaVanda | Not rated for pets | Some direct sun | Often, even daily | Zone 13 | |
| Vanilla orchidVanilla | Not rated for pets | Bright indirect | Water regularly | Zones 10 to 11 | |
| ZygopetalumZygopetalum | Not rated for pets | Bright indirect | Keep lightly moist | Zones 11b to 13 | |
| ZZ plantZamioculcas zamiifolia | Toxic to cats and dogs | Low light is fine | Let the soil dry completely | Zones 10b to 12 |
How the filters work
- Are safe for pets means the ASPCA lists the plant as non-toxic to cats and dogs. When the ASPCA has no listing, NC State Extension's non-toxic listing counts, and the card says so. A plant any reputable source calls toxic to pets stays out, even when the ASPCA lists it as safe.
- Forgive missed waterings means the plant scores 0 for missed waterings on its care rating: at least two extension services or botanical gardens agree it tolerates drying out.
- Light I have matches the light each card lists: low, medium or bright. Plants that want some direct sun count as bright.
- The zone dropdown shows which plants live outdoors all year in your USDA hardiness zone.