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Pet-safe plants for cats & dogs

88 of our 141 plants are non-toxic to cats and dogs, based on the ASPCA's toxic and non-toxic plant lists. The 53 below that are toxic aren't necessarily dangerous to own — most only cause problems if a pet actually chews them — but they're worth siting out of reach. Every plant page states its cat/dog status with the source.

Safe for pets

Non-toxic to both cats and dogs.

African Violet

The African violet is a compact, pet-safe flowering plant that can bloom much of the year on a bright windowsill. It is a little fussy about water on its leaves.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Air Plant

Air plants are small rootless bromeliads that grow without soil, absorbing water and nutrients through their leaves. They are generally pet-safe and need no pot, but they do need regular soaking, not just misting.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Areca Palm

The areca palm is a clumping feather palm with arching fronds that makes a soft, pet-safe floor plant. It needs bright light and steady moisture to look its best.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Arugula / Rocket

Arugula is one of the quickest crops you can grow indoors and adds a peppery bite to salads. Cut young leaves and it bounces back for more.

Medium light Easy 30–40 days Pet-safe

Beet / Beetroot

Beets are a forgiving dual-purpose root crop: you can thin and eat the greens early, then harvest the roots later. They size up faster and more reliably in containers than carrots.

Bright light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Beet Microgreens

Beet microgreens are a colorful, earthy tray crop with red stems and a mild beet flavor. They take longer than most microgreens and germinate unevenly, so they suit growers with a little patience.

Medium light Moderate 14–21 days Pet-safe

Bell Pepper

Bell peppers are a rewarding but patient fruiting crop that needs the brightest light you can give and steady warmth. Choose a compact variety and let fruit ripen to red or yellow for the sweetest flavor.

Bright light Moderate 70–100 days Pet-safe

Blueberry (Dwarf)

Dwarf blueberries can crop in a large container but need acidic soil and a genuinely bright spot, and they reward patience over years rather than weeks. Choose a self-fertile dwarf variety for the best chance indoors or on a balcony.

Bright light Moderate 730–1095 days Pet-safe

Bok Choy / Pak Choi

Bok choy is a quick, beginner-friendly Asian green that does well in a cool, bright spot. Grow it as baby heads or pick outer leaves to extend the harvest.

Medium light Easy 30–50 days Pet-safe

Boston Fern

The Boston fern is a pet-safe classic with arching feathery fronds, popular for hanging baskets. It wants steady moisture and humidity and will protest dry air with dropped leaflets.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Broccoli Microgreens

Broccoli microgreens are a mild, tender tray crop prized for their nutrient density. They grow much like other brassica microgreens and are ready in roughly a week and a half.

Medium light Easy 8–12 days Pet-safe

Bromeliad (Scarlet Star)

The guzmania bromeliad is grown for its long-lasting, brightly coloured flower bract rising from a rosette of strappy leaves. It is generally pet-safe, but each rosette flowers only once and then slowly dies after producing offsets.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Bunny Ear Cactus

The bunny ear cactus is a spineless-looking Opuntia whose flat pads sprout in pairs like ears. It is not chemically poisonous, but its dense tufts of tiny barbed glochids detach at a touch and lodge painfully in skin — a poor choice around curious pets or small children.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Burro’s Tail (Donkey Tail)

Burro’s tail is a trailing succulent with thick overlapping leaves that form long plump tails. It is generally considered pet-safe, but its leaves drop and shatter at the lightest touch.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Bush Bean

Bush beans are a compact, self-supporting fruiting crop that is one of the easier pod vegetables to grow in a pot. They fix their own nitrogen and crop in a tidy flush you can pick young and tender.

Bright light Easy 50–60 days Pet-safe

Calathea (Prayer Plant)

Calathea is a pet-safe foliage plant grown for its boldly patterned leaves that fold up at night. It is fussy about humidity and water quality, so it suits growers who enjoy a little fuss.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Cape Sundew

The cape sundew is a carnivorous plant whose leaves are covered in glistening sticky tentacles that trap insects. It is generally pet-safe and one of the more forgiving carnivorous plants for beginners.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Carrot

Carrots need a deep, loose, stone-free pot and patience, but they are very rewarding fresh. Choose short, round, or “baby” types for containers rather than long market carrots.

Bright light Moderate 60–80 days Pet-safe

Celery

Celery is the classic regrow-from-scraps vegetable, sprouting fresh leaves and slender stalks from a leftover base. Full thick supermarket-style stalks are hard indoors, but the leaves and thin stalks are usable and steady. It needs a lot of water.

Bright light Moderate 85–120 days Pet-safe

Chervil (French Parsley)

Chervil is a delicate French herb with a mild anise-and-parsley flavor that prefers cooler, shadier conditions than most herbs. It bolts quickly in heat, so it suits a bright-but-not-hot windowsill and frequent resowing.

Medium light Moderate 40–60 days Pet-safe

Chili Pepper

Chili peppers are a slow but very rewarding fruiting crop that thrives under a bright grow light. They love warmth and patience pays off with a long harvest. Keep the hot fruit away from curious pets.

Bright light Moderate 80–120 days Pet-safe

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea)

Pilea is a tidy, pet-friendly plant with round coin-shaped leaves that readily produces offshoot "pups" to share. Easy and compact for small spaces.

Medium light Easy Pet-safe

Christmas Cactus

The Christmas cactus is a pet-safe, easy-flowering jungle cactus that blooms in pink, red, or white around the winter holidays. Unlike desert cacti, it has no spines and wants more regular water.

Medium light Easy Pet-safe

Cilantro / Coriander

Cilantro grows quickly but bolts to seed in heat, so it suits cooler spots and frequent resowing. The same plant gives leaf (cilantro) and seed (coriander).

Bright light Moderate 40–60 days Pet-safe

Claytonia (Miner’s Lettuce)

Claytonia, also called miner’s lettuce or winter purslane, is a cold-hardy green with succulent, mild, faintly sweet leaves that thrives in cool, low-light conditions where other greens struggle. It is one of the best choices for a dim winter windowsill.

Low light Easy 40–60 days Pet-safe

Collard Greens

Collards are a tough, heat- and cold-tolerant leafy green from the same species as kale and cabbage. They keep producing large leaves over a long season when picked from the bottom.

Bright light Easy 55–75 days Pet-safe

Cucumber (Bush / Patio)

Bush or patio cucumber varieties are bred for containers and crop earlier than sprawling vining types. They are thirsty and light-hungry, and a trellis or compact ‘patio’ type keeps them manageable indoors.

Bright light Moderate 50–70 days Pet-safe

Daikon Radish

Daikon is a large, mild East Asian radish grown for crisp white roots used raw, pickled, or cooked. It grows quickly but needs a genuinely deep container to form a full-length root.

Bright light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Dill

Dill is a fast feathery herb that prefers bright light and a deeper pot for its taproot. It bolts to flower fairly quickly, so resow in batches for continuous fronds.

Bright light Moderate 40–60 days Pet-safe

Echeveria

Echeveria is a compact rosette succulent prized for its symmetry and pastel colours, and it is generally considered pet-safe. It needs bright light to keep its tidy shape.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Edamame (Soybean)

Edamame are immature soybeans harvested green and steamed in the pod. Plants are bushy and self-supporting but tend to ripen most of their pods at once, so plan to grow a small cluster.

Bright light Moderate 75–100 days Pet-safe

Eggplant / Aubergine

Eggplant is a warmth-loving nightshade that needs strong light and patience, rewarding it with glossy fruit. Choose a compact or dwarf variety for containers. Like its tomato relatives, the foliage is toxic, so keep it away from pets.

Bright light Moderate 70–100 days Pet-safe

Endive (Frisée)

Endive is a leafy chicory relative that forms a frilly, slightly bitter head used in salads. The curly-leaved type is often called frisée, and blanching the center reduces the bitterness.

Medium light Moderate 65–90 days Pet-safe

Escarole

Escarole is the broad-leaved form of endive, with flatter, less bitter leaves that hold up well to braising and soups as well as salads. The pale inner leaves are noticeably milder and sweeter than the outer ones.

Medium light Moderate 70–90 days Pet-safe

Florence Fennel

Florence fennel is grown for its crisp anise-flavored bulb, with edible stalks and feathery fronds as a bonus. The bulb needs a deep container and steady moisture; many growers find the fronds the easier indoor reward. Give it its own pot — it inhibits nearby crops.

Bright light Moderate 65–90 days Pet-safe

Gerbera Daisy

The gerbera daisy is a cheerful, pet-safe flowering plant with large daisy blooms in bright colours over a low rosette of leaves. It needs strong light to keep flowering and is often grown as a short-term indoor bloomer.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Ginger

Ginger is a slow but genuinely satisfying grow-from-the-store crop: plant a supermarket knob and harvest fresh rhizome months later. It likes warmth, humidity, and only moderate, indirect light.

Medium light Moderate 240–300 days Pet-safe

Golden Barrel Cactus

The golden barrel is a classic round, ribbed cactus that asks for bright light and almost no water. It is not chemically toxic, but its stiff spines can injure pets and people.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Hens and Chicks

Hens and chicks is a hardy rosette succulent that clusters into a "hen" surrounded by offset "chicks." It is generally considered pet-safe and tolerates a lot of neglect.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Hoya (Wax Plant)

The wax plant is an easy, long-lived trailing vine with thick waxy leaves and clusters of star-shaped scented flowers. It is generally considered pet-safe.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Kale (Curly)

Kale is one of the toughest, most productive greens and keeps giving leaves over a long season. Pick from the bottom and let the top keep growing.

Bright light Easy 55–75 days Pet-safe

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi forms a crisp, mild swollen stem just above the soil and grows quickly for a brassica. Both the bulb and the leaves are edible.

Bright light Easy 45–60 days Pet-safe

Komatsuna (Mustard Spinach)

Komatsuna is a fast, forgiving Asian green with a mild flavor between mustard and spinach, usable raw young or cooked when larger. It tolerates a wide range of conditions and is more heat- and cold-tolerant than many greens.

Medium light Easy 30–45 days Pet-safe

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is an easy, forgiving mint relative grown for its lemon-scented leaves used in teas and cooking. Like mint it can spread, so keep it in its own pot.

Medium light Easy 60–80 days Pet-safe

Lettuce (Loose-leaf)

Loose-leaf lettuce is one of the fastest and easiest indoor crops and tolerates modest light. Pick outer leaves and the plant keeps making more.

Medium light Easy 30–50 days Pet-safe

Living Stones (Lithops)

Lithops are tiny stone-mimic succulents that look like a pair of pebbles and store nearly all their water internally. They are generally pet-safe but demanding about a strict dry/wet cycle, so they suit patient growers.

Bright light Advanced Pet-safe

Maidenhair Fern

The maidenhair fern is a delicate fern with fine, fan-shaped leaflets on wiry black stems. It is pet-safe but unforgiving about drying out, so it suits growers who can keep it consistently moist and humid.

Medium light Advanced Pet-safe

Malabar Spinach

Malabar spinach is a tropical climbing vine grown for its thick, mild, slightly mucilaginous leaves used like spinach in stir-fries and soups. Unlike true spinach it loves heat and keeps producing through summer, but it needs support and warmth.

Bright light Easy 55–75 days Pet-safe

Mizuna (Japanese Mustard Green)

Mizuna is a fast Japanese mustard green with feathery leaves and a mild peppery bite, ideal for salads. It is one of the quicker indoor greens and regrows well after cutting.

Medium light Easy 30–45 days Pet-safe

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens are a fast, spicy leafy crop that grows much like arugula and adds a peppery kick. Harvest young leaves for milder flavor and the plant resprouts for more.

Medium light Easy 30–45 days Pet-safe

Nasturtium

Nasturtium is an easy edible flower whose round leaves and brightly colored blooms both have a peppery, watercress-like bite good in salads. It thrives on neglect and lean soil; rich soil gives lots of leaves but few flowers.

Bright light Easy 35–55 days Pet-safe

Nerve Plant (Fittonia)

The nerve plant is a compact, pet-safe foliage plant with brightly veined leaves in white, pink, or red. It is thirsty and dramatic about drying out, which makes it well suited to terrariums.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Norfolk Island Pine

The Norfolk Island pine is a pet-safe, soft-needled conifer often sold as a living tabletop tree, and it keeps a tidy tiered shape indoors. It needs bright light and steady humidity to avoid dropping branches.

Bright light Moderate Pet-safe

Okra

Okra is a warmth-loving relative of hibiscus grown for its tender immature pods, with attractive flowers as a bonus. It needs real heat and strong light to crop well indoors.

Bright light Moderate 55–65 days Pet-safe

Parlor Palm

The parlor palm is a pet-safe palm that tolerates low light and modest neglect, which makes it one of the easier indoor palms. It brings a soft, leafy texture to dim corners.

Low light Easy Pet-safe

Parsnip

Parsnips are a patient, deep-rooted winter vegetable whose sweetness improves after cold weather. They need a tall pot and fresh seed, and reward the long wait with rich, nutty roots.

Bright light Moderate 100–130 days Pet-safe

Pea Shoots

Pea shoots are one of the fastest and most beginner-friendly things to grow, going from dried peas to harvest in a couple of weeks. They need only modest light and taste sweet and fresh.

Medium light Easy 10–21 days Pet-safe

Peperomia (Baby Rubber Plant)

Peperomia is a compact, pet-safe foliage plant with thick, semi-succulent leaves that store water, so it forgives the occasional missed watering. A good low-fuss choice for small spaces.

Medium light Easy Pet-safe

Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid)

The moth orchid is the most beginner-friendly orchid, blooming for weeks and asking only for bright indirect light and careful watering. It is pet-safe.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Pole Bean

Pole beans climb a string or trellis and crop heavily for their footprint, making them a good vertical choice for a sunny indoor or balcony spot. Keep picking and they keep flowering.

Bright light Easy 55–75 days Pet-safe

Polka Dot Plant

The polka dot plant is a small, pet-safe foliage plant with leaves freckled in pink, white or red. It is easy but short-lived and benefits from regular pinching.

Medium light Easy Pet-safe

Radish

Radishes are the quickest win in indoor growing and great for impatient or first-time growers. Give them a deep-enough pot and bright light for crisp roots.

Bright light Easy 22–35 days Pet-safe

Radish Microgreens

Radish microgreens are about the easiest and fastest microgreen to grow, ready in roughly a week with a peppery, mustard-like bite. They germinate fast and forgive beginner mistakes.

Medium light Easy 6–10 days Pet-safe

Red Prayer Plant

The red prayer plant is a pet-safe trailing foliage plant with striking red-veined leaves that fold up at night like praying hands. It is a little fussy about humidity and water quality.

Medium light Moderate Pet-safe

Romaine / Cos Lettuce

Romaine is a crisp, upright lettuce that suits containers and tolerates modest light. You can grow it to a full head or harvest outer leaves continuously.

Medium light Easy 55–70 days Pet-safe

Rosemary

Rosemary is a drought-tolerant woody herb that prefers a bright spot and dislikes wet feet. It is slow to establish but then long-lived and low-maintenance.

Bright light Moderate 80–120 days Pet-safe

Sage

Sage is a forgiving, drought-tolerant woody herb that likes bright light and dry-ish soil. It stays fairly compact and rewards occasional trimming.

Bright light Easy 70–90 days Pet-safe

Salad Burnet

Salad burnet is a hardy, near-evergreen perennial whose tender young leaves have a fresh cucumber flavor good in salads, dips, and cold drinks. It tolerates cool conditions and lower light better than most herbs.

Medium light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Snow Pea / Mangetout

Snow peas are a cool-season climber harvested young for flat, tender, edible pods, sweet enough to eat raw. They need a support to climb and prefer cooler conditions.

Bright light Easy 55–70 days Pet-safe

Spider Plant

The spider plant is easy, fast-growing, and pet-safe, and it readily produces baby plantlets you can pot up. A good first houseplant.

Medium light Easy Pet-safe

Spinach

Spinach is a quick cool-season green that prefers it on the cooler side and bolts fast in heat. Harvest leaves young for the best texture.

Medium light Moderate 37–50 days Pet-safe

Stevia (Sweetleaf)

Stevia is a tender perennial whose leaves are many times sweeter than sugar and can be used fresh or dried as a natural sweetener. It needs warmth and bright light and is sensitive to cold, so it does best as an indoor pot plant in cool climates.

Bright light Moderate 60–90 days Pet-safe

Strawberry

Strawberries are a fun, rewarding indoor fruit that needs a bright spot and a little patience for the first berries. Everbearing or day-neutral varieties work best in containers.

Bright light Moderate 90–120 days Pet-safe

String of Hearts

String of hearts is a delicate trailing succulent with heart-shaped, marbled leaves on thin purple stems. It is generally considered pet-safe and is one of the easier trailing succulents.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Sugar Snap Pea

Sugar snap peas are a sweet, beginner-friendly crop you eat pod and all, and they crop in cool conditions when many fruiting plants stall. Give them a small trellis or strings to climb.

Bright light Easy 60–70 days Pet-safe

Summer Savory

Summer savory is a peppery culinary annual, somewhere between thyme and marjoram in flavor, that is classically cooked with beans. It is undemanding and prefers a sunny spot with lean, well-drained soil.

Bright light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Sunflower Microgreens

Sunflower microgreens are one of the most satisfying trays to grow — thick, crunchy, and nutty, ready in well under two weeks. Use black-oil sunflower seed and harvest at the first true-leaf stage.

Medium light Easy 8–12 days Pet-safe

Sweet Basil

Basil is the friendliest herb to start with indoors and rewards frequent harvesting with bushier growth. It wants warmth and the brightest spot you can give it.

Bright light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is one of the most productive and tolerant indoor greens, with colorful stalks and a long harvest window. Pick outer leaves and the plant keeps making new ones from the center.

Medium light Easy 50–60 days Pet-safe

Tatsoi

Tatsoi is a quick-growing Asian green forming a low rosette of dark, spoon-shaped leaves with a mild mustardy flavor. It thrives in cool conditions and is one of the faster greens to harvest indoors.

Medium light Easy 30–50 days Pet-safe

Thyme

Thyme is a small, tough, drought-tolerant herb that does well in a sunny window and shrugs off occasional dryness. It stays compact, so it suits small containers.

Bright light Easy 60–90 days Pet-safe

Tropical Pitcher Plant

The tropical pitcher plant is a carnivorous vine that grows dangling pitcher-shaped traps filled with digestive fluid. It is generally pet-safe but demanding about humidity and water purity, so it suits committed growers.

Bright light Advanced Pet-safe

Turnip

Turnips are a quick cool-season root that doubles as a leafy green, and they size up faster than most root crops. Give them a reasonably deep pot and steady moisture for tender, mild roots.

Bright light Easy 40–60 days Pet-safe

Venus Flytrap

The Venus flytrap is a fascinating carnivorous plant with snapping traps, but it is demanding about water purity and light, so it suits patient growers. It is pet-safe.

Bright light Advanced Pet-safe

Vietnamese Coriander (Rau Răm)

Vietnamese coriander is a sprawling, heat-loving perennial whose leaves give a citrusy, cilantro-like flavor without the bolting problem of true cilantro. It likes warmth, moisture, and humidity, which makes it a good indoor herb.

Medium light Easy 50–70 days Pet-safe

Watercress

Watercress is an unusually easy regrow-from-the-store green, but its catch is that it wants to stay constantly wet. Stand it in a tray of water on a bright sill and snip the peppery tips.

Medium light Moderate 30–60 days Pet-safe

Zebra Plant (Haworthia)

The zebra plant is a small, slow-growing succulent with stiff dark leaves banded in white, and it is generally considered pet-safe. It is well suited to small pots and bright windowsills.

Bright light Easy Pet-safe

Zucchini (Bush Courgette)

Bush zucchini varieties stay more compact than sprawling types and crop heavily once they start, but a single plant still needs a large pot and the brightest light you can give. Hand-pollination is usually needed indoors.

Bright light Moderate 45–60 days Pet-safe

Keep away from pets

Toxic if chewed — site these where curious cats and dogs can't reach.

Toxicity data from the ASPCA. This is general guidance, not veterinary advice — if you think a pet has eaten a toxic plant, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.