Plants can make your interior spaces more attractive, pleasant to be in, and tranquil. Houseplants or shrubs can be an additional source of fresh oxygen, improving the quality of air inside your home. By adding green spaces indoors, it can help alleviate stress and have a lasting positive impact on your well-being. Also, tending to your houseplants can keep you physically active and provide a therapeutic effect for people recovering from depression and anxiety.
If you want to experience these benefits, then it’s time to get some plants for your home. To learn which ones will best support your needs and how to properly care for them, here are some houseplant ideas.
Snake Plant
Also known as “mother-in-law’s tongue”, this houseplant improves indoor air quality, especially during the night. This makes it a popular choice to add to your bedroom as it gives you more oxygen while you sleep. Snake plants also have the ability to remove various toxins from the air such as formaldehyde, toluene, trichloroethylene, and benzene. To take advantage of its air purifying power, you need to place several snake plants around your home. Depending on the size of your house, you can have at least six waist-high height snake plants to optimize air purification.
When it comes to maintenance, snake plants are one of the easiest plants to care for. They don’t need much water or direct exposure to sunlight. You can water them every couple of weeks and allow them to dry out between watering. Place them under indirect sunlight and in a container with drainage holes, because snake plants don’t do well in standing water.
Peace Lily
Another plant that can help purify indoor air is the peace lily. It effectively absorbs trichloroethylene, ammonia, xylene, and benzene in your home while serving as home décor. When their pretty white flowers are in bloom, peace lilies can really transform a dull area into an inviting space. Since they thrive in both low and bright light, you can put peace lilies anywhere in your house. Whether on your entryway table or on the dining table, this plant can serve as a great accent piece. If you are not allergic to pollen and floral scents, you can keep a pot of peace lily in your bedroom as well.
As for care, any signs of wilting will inform you that it needs some water. The plant will look more lively once it has enough water, so you only need to pay attention to these visual cues.
Lavender
Lavender is an herb that has a fragrant aroma and is known for helping reduce stress. It is also used to soothe nervousness, restlessness, and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. As a flowering houseplant, it is a great visual addition to any room, especially in your bedroom. Lavender plants grow best in well-drained soil and tons of sunlight. When watering lavender, be careful not to do it very often. Instead, check the soil and wait for it to be nearly dry before watering the plant.
The lavender plant can also be a great gift to people recovering from an illness, like someone who attended a drug rehab Phoenix residents go to or a similar facility. The fragrance is believed to promote calmness and relaxation, so it is also a popular scent to use in spa and wellness products such as soaps, skin care creams, candles, and bath salts.
English Ivy
When it grows outdoors along with other ivy plants, English ivy easily crawls on walls and tree trunks. But indoors, you can use the trailing vines to spread across a decorative hoop or frame to create a living artwork. Aside from its aesthetic value, having English ivy in your home can help purify your air and eliminate mold particles. If you have allergies, suffer from asthma, or have breathing difficulty, this plant can help you breathe easier. This is why some people prefer to place it in their bedroom, but you can also find a home for it in your living room or home office.
If you have children or pets, make sure to keep the English ivy away from their reach because it is poisonous. For maintenance, the plant can do well under fluorescent light and doesn’t need direct sunlight to grow, making it an ideal houseplant for rooms with limited light. Just make sure to keep the soil moist.
Boston Fern
Boston ferns help create a lush green space inside your home. They also act as a natural humidifier that can treat dry noses and throats in a dry environment. In an air-conditioned room, this indoor plant can prevent your skin from drying as well. The Boston fern promotes better air quality with its purification properties by removing toxins such as formaldehyde and xylene. You can place this together with your other purifying plants at home, as long as the area has a cool temperature and humidity level of 50–80 percent.
Boston ferns don’t require much care and can easily grow. It prefers indirect sunlight but needs moist soil.
Spider Plant
The spider plant is the best houseplant for people who don’t have much of a green thumb. They are one of the easiest plants to take care of and don’t require to be under direct sunlight, so you can place them in any area of your home. Spider plants are also great for removing air impurities and carbon monoxide, helping purify indoor air.
They can grow in any type of soil and only need occasional watering. As long as its soil stays moist, your plant will continue to grow. In case some of the leaf tips turn brown, use rainwater as the fluoride in tap water may be harmful.
Parlor Palm
This plant is a common sight in many indoor spaces like offices and malls because it can stay alive with little to no natural light. If the parlor palm gets too much sunlight, its leaves can burn. So, it may be best to keep it away from the bright windows in your home. As a houseplant, you can also use it to decorate your bathroom. In that location, it can help improve humidity levels. In dry conditions, parlor palms can help deter pests like spider mites.
Aloe Vera
When you break the aloe vera leaf in half, you’ll find a clear, gel-like substance within the shaft. This gel is often used in many skin care creams and ointments. It is known to be a natural remedy for sunburns, burns, cold sores, frostbite, and psoriasis. This is why many people find aloe vera a practical houseplant to keep because you can easily remove the leaves and harvest the gel as needed.
For a healthy plant, keep aloe vera in a bright area of your home. Just be careful because they can turn brown if they get too much sunlight. Make sure to let the soil get slightly dry between watering schedules.
Indoor plants can enhance your well-being and add aesthetic value to any home. From air-purifying to flowering plants, there are numerous options available. If you have children or pets at home, make sure to choose plants that are safe for them. It doesn’t matter if you are a passionate gardener or still testing out if you have a green thumb, you’ll find a houseplant that is perfect for you and your home.
