by Leslie Cox; Saturday; September 23, 2017
If you are a plantaholic like me, then you are already familiar with the many benefits in surrounding yourself in greenery…both outdoors and in.
But if you are not much of a gardener, you need to know there is a positive in placing at least three or four tropical-type plants throughout your home. Bottom line…air purification.
Depending on the furniture you own and the cleaning products you use, there could quite possibly be some not-so-very-nice toxins floating on the air currents inside the house. Certain plastics, for instance, emit a toxin called xylene into the air. The same toxin is found in some solvents.
Placing one 12-inch (30 cm) sized potted plant from the following list for every 100 square feet (9 sq m) of space in key rooms…living room, dining room, den, rumpus room…will go a long way to making your most used living spaces a healthier environment for you and your family.
- Aglaonema spp. – Chinese evergreens
- removes benzene, formaldehyde, and other toxins
- oxygen content in emissions is high
- does well in low light levels, but variegated cultivars need more sunlight
- needs good drainage
- Chamaedorea seifrizii – bamboo palm; reed palm
- removes formaldehyde
- natural humidifier
- prefers bright, indirect light
- needs regular water
- Dracaena fragrans ‘Compacta’ – compact cornstalk dracaena
- general air purifier
- removes formaldehyde
- tolerates low light levels well
- reasonably drought tolerant
- Dypsis lutescens – areca palm; bamboo palm; golden cane palm
- one of the best overall air purifiers
- prefers partial sun and well-draining soil
- reasonably drought tolerant
- Ficus elastic – rubber tree; rubber plant
- removes formaldahyde and other toxins from the air
- oxygen content in emissions is high
- prefers filtered light and rich soil
- quite drought tolerant
- Ficus maclellandii – banana-leaf fig
- general air purifier
- prefers indirect sunlight
- do not overwater
- Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’ – Boston fern
- removes formaldehyde
- natural air humidifier
- prefers bright light but will tolerate lower light levels
- prefers regular water
- Phoenix roebelenii– pygmy date palm; miniature date palm
- removes formaldehyde and xylene (chemical found in plastics and solvents)
- prefers sun but will tolerate partial sunlight
- regular water
