If you want two plants that will still be alive in five years, buy a snake plant and a pothos. They are the reason people say they have a green thumb. They are also the reason people are then baffled when a calathea dies in three weeks.
Why they tolerate neglect
They cheat, in two different ways.
The snake plant stores water in its thick, upright leaves and uses a water-conserving form of photosynthesis common in arid-climate plants, opening its leaf pores at night when the air is cooler and less water is lost. Its underground rhizomes hold reserves too. It is built to survive dry spells.
Pothos does something different. It is a vigorous tropical vine from the forest floor and lower canopy, adapted to dim, variable light and irregular moisture. Its waxy leaves resist water loss, and its stems root at every node, so damage in one spot does not doom the plant. Critically, pothos wilts dramatically before it is actually in trouble, giving you an unmistakable warning most houseplants never bother with.
Light: what each one handles
Both are flexible, but not identically.
Snake plant is the more versatile of the two. Iowa State Extension says you can grow it in low to direct light, and describes pothos as growing in low to moderate light with the soil allowed to dry moderately between waterings. That difference is worth noting: a snake plant can take a sunny window, while a pothos in strong direct sun will scorch.
Penn State Extension adds a useful nuance for snake plants, noting they enjoy bright indirect light but tolerate low-light areas very well, with direct sun kept off the leaves to avoid burn. So low light is survivable for both, bright indirect light is where both actually thrive, and only the snake plant handles more than that.
One honest caveat: low light means slow. A pothos in a dark hallway will live for years while producing small leaves and very little new vine. Alive is not the same as growing.
Watering, and the one way to kill them
Overwatering. That is it. Penn State is blunt about the snake plant: you can kill it by overwatering, but you can neglect to water it for a month or so and it will be no worse for wear.
For the snake plant, let the soil dry out completely, then water thoroughly until it drains, and empty the saucer. That often means every three to six weeks, and even less in winter. Use a well-drained mix, and never let water sit in the crown where leaves emerge.
For pothos, let the top inch or two dry, then water thoroughly. Roughly weekly to every ten days in a bright room. If the leaves go limp and droopy, water it and it will recover within hours. Yellowing lower leaves in soggy soil mean the opposite problem, and the fix is to wait longer, not to water more.
Both need pots with drainage holes. A decorative pot without one is the most common cause of death for supposedly unkillable plants.
Making more of them
Pothos propagation is close to trivial. Cut a stem just below a node, the small bump where a leaf and aerial root emerge, and put the cutting in a glass of water with at least one node submerged. Roots appear in one to two weeks. Pot it up once roots reach a couple of inches.
Snake plants are slower. Penn State notes that while leaf cuttings work, division is the most effective method: after a few years the plant produces offshoots, so remove it from the container, separate the clumps with their roots attached, and repot with fresh soil. Division also preserves the yellow edging on variegated types, which leaf cuttings usually lose.
A note if you have pets
Both plants are toxic to cats and dogs, and this matters more than most beginners expect.
The ASPCA lists golden pothos as toxic to dogs and cats due to insoluble calcium oxalates, causing oral irritation, intense burning of the mouth, tongue and lips, drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. Snake plant, per the ASPCA, contains saponins and causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea in dogs and cats.
Neither is usually life threatening, but both are genuinely unpleasant. Hang the pothos well out of reach and keep the snake plant off the floor if you have a chewer. If a pet does eat some, call your veterinarian.
