Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Clearing the Air
Many of us are still sticking close to home and filling our homes with houseplants. There are many reasons, certainly one is to brighten the mood, the other is to CLEAR the AIR!
Decades ago NASA proved plants could remove volatile chemicals from the air including formaldehyde which is found in, or used to produce, a multitude of everyday products, from fabrics and furniture to tobacco smoke and gas stoves.
Skip to page 9 and start reading some fascinating facts about houseplants and working inside office buildings!! I will admit it’s pretty dry reading…
Houseplants are a natural way to reduce pollutants and airborne bacteria; and add humidity to the air. Plants’ leaves absorb the polluted air and send it down to its roots where it becomes food for microbes. Place 2 or 3 plants in each room with space around each plant for air circulation and you have your own air purifying machine!
Top 5 air cleaning plants according to NASA:
- Areca Palm – this one needs some light and definitely needs room. Generally grown in office spaces
- Lady Palm (Rhapis excels) – this one handles lower light
- Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) –not really practical for a houseplant!
- Rubber plants aka Ficus elastica – easy care and grows to fit any environment
- Dracaena – Janet Craig is one of the most popular Draceanas used indoors, likely due to it’s ability to grow in low light and tolerate considerable dryness.
Honestly, any houseplant is great! Some certainly better than others but they all have air cleaning properties, so enjoy your favorites! Including the Christmas Cactus!
Some of my favorites include Spider Plant, which is listed 39 of the top 50 plants identified by NASA. I happen to love it! Snake Plant, also known as Mother-in-law tongue, (sometimes speculation on the whys of a nickname are best left unspoken) 50 top air cleaning Houseplants