http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-ten-houseplants-for-cleaner-air.html
Top 10 Houseplants for Cleaner Air
Adapted from Your Naturally Healthy Home, by Alan Berman.
Houseplants are our often-overlooked helpers in ridding the air of pollutants and toxins, counteracting outgassing and contributing to balanced internal humidity.
Find out which houseplants are our most effective allies in
keeping your household air clean and pure.
It is suggested that one plant should be allowed for approximately
10 square yards of floor space, assuming average ceiling heights
of 8 to 9 feet. This means that you need two or three plants to
contribute to good air quality in the average domestic living
room of about 20 to 25 square yards.
Research has shown that these 10 plants are the most effective
all-around in counteracting offgassed chemicals and contributing
to balanced internal humidity.
- Areca palm
- Reed palm
- Dwarf date palm
- Boston fern
- Janet Craig dracaena
- English ivy
- Australian sword fern
- Peace Lily
- Rubber plant
- Weeping fig
Although many plants like light, they do not all have to be placed near windows. Many indoor plants originated in the dense shade of tropical forests and have a high rate of photosynthesis. These are ideal for the home and can be placed in darker corners. When positioning plants, try to strike a balance between light and ventilation because the effect of plants on indoor air pollution appears to be reduced if they are set in a draft.
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18 comments
add your comment »And if you do have a plant that's poisonous to cats (at least) I had a vet tell me to spray it with water, then sprinkle powdered ginger on. It worked on both my cats and dogs--in keeping them from chewing plants they before desired. It may be worth a try, but still keep an eye out. I assume pepper (cayenne or something) would work even better.
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This is the link to the ASPCA website.
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc
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This ASPCA website has lists of plants that are toxic & non-toxic to pets. It's a good resource.
This isn't about plants, but is good information about cats & the importance of keeping things like string, yarn, rubberbands, ribbon, etc. away from them. I've read a piece as small as 2" can cause an intestinal blockage. My brother had a cat who died from eating a piece of string. They did expensive surgery, but the cat didn't make it. Their cat pulled loose some string that was holding up a tall house plant. I also know someone else whose cat died from a piece of string.
I've read that a cat's tongue are rough because there a lots of tiny sharp barbs designed to scrape meat fibers from bones. The little barbs on a cat's tongue are directed towards a cat's throat which makes it more difficult for a cat not to swallow a piece of string.
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Thanks for the list of house plants. I've been wanting to try again, but did not know which to look for. My big ole cat loves spider plants and eats them as fast as the babies grow! This year he ate pointsettia leaves and has survived both meals! He's a tough old Maine Coon cat and I gruess nothing bothers their digestive tract!
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Thank you to everyone for your comments...very educational. I have always had spider plants, prayer plants,ivy, african violet & aspidestra but never any of the ones mentioned in this article. I'm missing my plants this winter as I'm babysitting my daughters cats, and they actually killed all my houseplants except the ivy & african violet(I put way up high so they can't get to them). My own 2 cats had never, ever gone after my plants, but these two destroyed them within a few weeks.
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My pet sitter recently told me he had a client whose cat died from exposure to a lily plant. The cat died within 24 hrs despite vet care. I've read that just brushing up to a lily flower & getting pollen on their fur is enough to make them really sick. Apparently lilly plants are exceptionally toxic for cats.
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The list on toxic plants would have been useful for when I had children but with some exceptions, I sort of think you can take it all a bit far. If you try to eliminate everything in or outside of the home that could possibly be potentially harmful to children then you have a major life project ahead of you ! I cut out the more serious ones and then used plain, simple good supervision while they were little.
I am also a great fan of spider plants because they are just so forgiving if you forget to water them etc. I am in a very hot dry climate (we were the hottest city on the planet yesterday) and I don't always have the time or patience for the "prima donna" plants. Spider plants seem to almost thrive on occasional neglect !
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AS with all non-native species plants -- please consider NOT planting them outdoors.
English Ivy or German Ivy (common name) spread and compete with native species and will grow around and strangle native trees.
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How about the Spider plant? I had heard that it was very good for cleaning up the air of a place.
I'd like any and all comments. I need some plants that will survive a very dry and hot apartment and most of the plants listed are for moister environments.
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I second spider plants! They make babies too, so it's easy to put a few in each room and just let them go from there!
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