Knowing which type of plants can enhance the feel and look in your place helps you invest in your leafy friends smarter.

Working on your jungalow game? Knowing which type of plants can enhance the feel and look in your place helps you invest in your leafy friends smarter.  

Here’s why: NASA has called plants “nature’s life support system.” They found that having plants around helps combat off-gassing from products you probably didn’t think could pollute the air – furniture, paint, plastics, glues, dyes, and also cigarette (and cannabis) smoke. Plants absorb particulates from the air as they ‘breathe’ in carbon dioxide and then when they process it into oxygen, they purify the air around them – so they basically help clean up after you, 24/7. Here are 5 of the best low-maintenance plants for keeping your air clean and clear:

Aloe Vera: This juicy plant is like a big succulent, appearance-wise, and it’s also super useful. It can clear your air of formaldehyde, which is a gas given off by paint and wood products like furniture and cabinets. On top of that, it’s an effective natural burn-soother. Just break off one of the stems and put the fluid directly on your skin – it’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. 

Spider Plant: These adaptable beauties are probably the lowest-maintenance household plant of all. They’re great for cleansing the air of formaldehyde and also xylene (in adhesives, gasoline, aerosol products). If your space is fairly bright, they’ll live for years, grow like weeds and spawn – so if you break off the shoots and put them in water, they’ll take root. Spider plants look great hanging from ceilings in macrame plant holders.

English Ivy: It requires a bit more care to keep this ivy alive and vital, but its cascading vines are beautifully majestic and tend to climb (indoor topiary anyone?) These vines can grow long, too, so you’ll need a big planter, quality soil, and ideally, you’ll mist the leaves regularly. A healthy English Ivy will help clean the air of formaldehyde, xylene, and benzene, a chemical used in dyes and paint thinners and cleaning products. 

Peace Lily: These small tropical gems prefer shade (they’re actually referred to as closet plants), so if you live in a basement, they’re ideal. They help clear away ammonia, a chemical in cleaning products, and formaldehyde and benzene. They’re fairly hardy plants and prefer minimal watering (about once per week).

Boston Fern: This big, bush-like beauty is a popular indoor houseplant option despite it’s need for a warmer, humid environment. It can stay thriving for a long time, and cleanse formaldehyde and xylene from the air, if it gets the care and attention it needs. If you live in a dry climate, you can set your fern’s pot on a tray of pebbles filled with water. Or, lightly mist the leaves once or twice a week.

Categories: WELLNESS