My sister is a houseplant fanatic. Sometimes, just to tease her, I like to sing “Welcome to the Jungle” when I go over to visit. (She thinks it’s funny, don’t let her fool you!) While her house may not actually qualify as a jungle, it doesn’t take long to notice out that she’s a bona fide indoor green thumb. One time, I made the mistake about asking about one of the ivy plants she had sitting in her windowsill. A half hour later, I walked away, freshly conscious of the rich background of ivy and its role in Greek, Roman and English history.
While my sister can get a bit carried away with her houseplant enthusiasm, the other day, she mentioned something that caught my attention. While showing off her Mauna Loa (otherwise known as a peace lily), she mentioned that the plant had been part of a NASA study on air quality and houseplants. My interested piqued, I asked more about the study.
It turns out that in the late 1980s, NASA undertook at two year study, focusing on the air-cleansing qualities of common houseplants. The study focused on 19 common houseplants and their abilities to cleanse the air of trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde. Now, these three chemicals can be found in homes due to the following materials:
• Cleaning products, particle board and foam insulations can contain formaldehyde
• Some rubbers, dyes, detergents and pesticides contain benzene
• Some paints, adhesives, inks and varnishes use trichloroethylene
While some of the tested plants removed chemicals from the air better than others, all of the houseplants had properties that were effective in improving overall indoor air quality. In addition, as we all know, houseplants are best known for their ability to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.
So what plants made the NASA list? Below are some of the best rated houseplants for cleansing areas of chemicals and improving air quality.
• English Ivy (Hedera helix)
• Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')
• Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
• Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')
• Pot Mum or Florist's Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
• Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
While I’m an avid gardener, I’ve never really taken up growing houseplants before. Right now I have a small cactus and an aloe vera plant. What kind of houseplants do you grow? Let me know if you have a suggestion on what I should try to grow!