Plants Not Proven to Guarantee Best Air Quality
At least, not as well as a HEPA filter.
A November, 2019 study by Brian E. Cummings and Michael S. Waring entitled “Potted Plants Do Not Improve Air Quality”, suggests that you would need 10 to 1,000 plants to provide the best air quality or to reduce the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) indoors. That being said, NASA scientists tested plants in small, sealed, chambers over days and weeks. The plants removed 87% of the toxic VOCs 24 hours. So, they do remove toxins. But, unless you stay in a sealed closet, you will probably be best served using a HEPA filter instead of relying on plants to improve air quality.
Rock Solid Respiration
However, plants easily do important things. As part of normal respiration, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air. That fresh oxygen will help your body. It is the combustion that turns your food into energy. This energy runs and repairs the functions of the body’s systems. Sciencelinks.com has a great lesson article for students on the mechanics of the respiratory system and how oxygen delivers the best air quality. Therefore, it is a great idea to have houseplants in your home so fresh oxygen is available to repair your body.
Helpful Humidifier
Another important function of plant respiration, the water vapor it releases during photosynthesis. If you have ever walked in a jungle, you have felt the moisture in the air. Therefore, indoor plants can provide moisture for your home instead of using a humidifier. This quickly provides moisture for the best air quality. In fact, plants release up to 97% of their moisture into the air. A study by the University of Norway noted that having indoor plants can decrease dry skin, colds, sore throats, and dry coughs.
Secret Mood Enhancer
Other studies show an increase in focus when plants flourish in office spaces to improve mood and air quality. In the past 10 years, multiple studies have shown that plants placed in rooms with hospital patients reduced stress and clearly showed a reduction in the amount of painkillers that patients took.
Greatest Easy Care Plants
I know I don’t have to sell you on how fabulous plants are in the garden. But, what are the best plants for indoors? It turns out, some of the plants that are the easiest to keep, are also the best for transforming the indoors into a humid, oxygenated, happy space.
SPIDER PLANT
My favorite plant, because it is beautiful, unusual and is on NASA’s list of plants to improve air quality: the spider plant. It is also very easy to keep. This plant is Chlorophytum comosum, the airplane plant, ribbon plant, or the best nickname, Hen and chicks. The flowers bloom on a long, branched inflorescence, which produce the chicks. These chicks can be pinched off to create more plants. Flowers initially occur in clusters of 1–6 at intervals along the stem (scape) of the inflorescence. The scape or arms will eventually touch the ground from high hanging plants in the jungle.
The spider plant likes moderate to bright areas. Keep the soil lightly moist with once per week watering during the spring and summer. During the winter they like to dry out a bit as the temperatures drop.
DRAGON TREE
The dragon tree or dracaena marginata is easy to grow but likes more sun than the spider plant. It should include several plants in one pot since it looks a little ridiculous on its own.
Just like the spider plant it needs once per week water but make sure the soil is dried out before giving it a drink. They don’t like too much water. This is an easy care plant to improve air quality.
GERBER DAISY
The Gerber Daisy or Transvaal Daisy has long lasting blooms if you want to try a more challenging plant. These plants like morning sun and prefer indirect but steady light throughout the day. They do not like temperatures above 70F so avoid placing them in hot windowsills. These are an attention grabber once they bloom. They improve air quality and make a beautiful focal point.
As general care, water these plants deeply but avoid getting the leaves wet when watering (so water at the plant base). Also, empty the water from the saucer or drip tray once the heavy watering drains. This prevents the roots from becoming waterlogged and rotting. Pinch off blooms as soon as they wilt to encourage new blooms and replant into a bigger pot if the plant looks crowded.
ALOE
Aloe Vera is the small variety of this succulent family with small spike ridges on the long leaves. Keep the plant out of high traffic areas since these spikes can scratch. The leaves, when cut open, are filled with a greenish, slimy, jell that can be used as a topical salve for burns or scratches to speed up healing and take the sting out of a burn. This liquid can be made into a drink for internal healing. It can be rubbed on sore gums or to heal mouth sores. I also use it when I take cuttings to seal the cuts on branches or on plant grafts to prevent infections and encourage root growth. Not only does this plant improve air quality but it acts as a mini pharmacy.
Aloe soil should be kept fairly dry in a bright sunny, warm spot. These plants, over time, could get to 3 feet tall and 3 feet across. Baby aloe come from the base of the mother plant as “pups” and can be plucked off and put directly into the soil for new plants. If kept evenly moist, the pup plant of 1-2 leaves will shoot out roots of its own. By keeping a mother plant in a crowded pot, she will continue to create these pups. These are great gifts to friends, since this plant is a valuable first aid plant.
PEACE LILY
The peace lily or Spathiphyllum, is a low maintenance plant that gets a snowy white hood that resembles a calla lily (called a spathe). This plant isn’t a lily at all but part of the Araceae family. They make good floor plans since they can get up to 4 feet tall. The broad leaves allow for good respiration to improve air quality in even low light bedrooms.
This plant can be poisonous to both dogs and cats but has a terrible taste at first bite which causes the cat or dog to salivate and shake its head vigorously. This normally discourages a second bite. If, after this episode your animal has difficulty breathing, it may have an allergic reaction and must see a vet immediately.
The Peace Lilly prefers low light and some plants thrive in rooms with no windows. If the leaves look yellowed, it may have too much light. If brown, the leaves have been scorched in the sun. Peace lilies like the soil moist but they are popular because they droop a bit when they want water. It is best to water when it droops but, surprisingly, it can revive if the leaves are flat over the edge (but not dried out). These plants like normal house temperatures but cannot stand temps below 45F.
CAREFUL CAUTION
Other plants like the philodendron or the asparagus fern are very easy to care for as well but I did not include them. The leaves of the philodendron and the berries on the asparagus fern (which isn’t a fern at all) can be very toxic to pets or young children. If you don’t have pet or children, you may want to try these as they are a very low maintenance way to improve air quality.
POWERFUL POTTING
Even though a new study has shown that it takes many plants to improve the air of a room, I believe that is in our favor. The more plants the better! There are a multitude of reasons to have easy care houseplants. To get your plants started right, I’ve included some potting suggestions. It is best to use new indoor potting soil for houseplants to avoid crawling bugs from invading your home. As an alternative, you can bake soil in your oven for 30 minutes to get rid of seeds or crawly bugs.
However both methods, buying soil or baking, require you to feed your plants with a good all around liquid fertilizer. I prefer liquid since water dilutes the feed so the plants are not burned from too much fertilizer in the pot. My favorite liquid fertilizer is Miracle-Gro. I have included a link that will tell you where to get it, or order from this site. I am not affiliated with this site, but rather, use this as a general purpose fertilizer when I want to get the best results to improve indoor air quality.