Plants are a beautiful and natural addition to your home. They have many benefits for our health and happiness. House plants filter pollutants in your home, reduce stress and provide joy.
People have turned to care for plants in the comfort of their own homes because of the environmental and personal benefits.
The Benefits of Growing Plants in Your Home
Concerns about protecting the environment have increased in recent years, which has led to more interest in plants and trees. Plants have many environmental benefits, providing carbon storage, producing oxygen, and protecting the soil.
These benefits have encouraged more interest in owning plants. In fact, 80% of people in their 20s now own at least one house plant.
Plants Filter Pollutants
One of the most significant benefits of plants for human health is that they reduce pollution and filter harmful toxins. Plants can help to reduce the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found within our homes, which are bad for the environment and our health.
In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated that there were over 2 million deaths because of poor indoor air quality. With 92% of the world living with poor air quality, an increase in plants could help to combat this issue.
Plants Boost Your Immunity
The ability of plants to filter pollution also helps to improve immunity. Thanks to plants, fewer irritants, allergens, and toxic chemicals are in the air. The body can focus on defending against viruses and bacteria instead of reacting to these chemicals.
Plants Improve Your Sleep
Plants increase oxygen and decrease carbon dioxide in the air. This improves sleep, which reduces stress on your body.
Top 10 Best Environmentally Friendly House Plants
Growing and caring for plants is a much more sustainable way to brighten your home than buying bunches of flowers. It reduces waste, as you can enjoy potted plants for many years. What plants should you choose to buy?
1. Snake Plant
This popular plant is a beautiful choice for your home as it is easy to care for. It is a beautiful plant with dark green spiked leaves with light strips on the tips.
Snake plants are natural air purifiers. NASA studied this plant in a clean-air experiment and found that it effectively removes four key pollutants: benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, and trichloroethylene. It filters these toxic substances while also releasing oxygen and improving humidity levels.
2. Moon Cactus
This small, flowering cactus comes in many color varieties and is an eco-friendly plant choice. It is pretty easy to look after and thrives when left alone.
An effective way to ensure you buy environmentally friendly plants is to source them as close to home as possible. Succulents and cacti, like the moon cactus are found in North, Central, and South America. This means you are reducing your carbon footprint when purchasing these plants.
Like the moon cactus, cacti also require a little water and do not need to be re-potted, meaning they produce minimal waste.
3. Spider Plant
These plants are famous for the long leafy foliage which grows rapidly in the right environment.
The spider plant was found to reduce 95% of common toxins and pollutants in the air in just a couple of days. This includes solvents, ammonia, and formaldehyde. These environmental benefits are similar to the snake plant as this plant was also studied in NASA’s clean air study.
These plants can also remove irritants like mold, pollen, and dust mites from the air, which helps improve the environment in your home.
4. Devil’s Ivy
This fast-growing plant takes in a large amount of carbon to achieve its long vines. This rapid growth is positive for the environment as it is a carbon store. The plant uses carbon dioxide in the air and releases oxygen to grow.
It is another house plant that is easy to look after and is also excellent at filtering the air of toxins, pollutants, and dust.
5. Peace Lily
The large green leaves and bright white flowers make this plant popular. It is a hardy plant and is non-toxic.
This plant could be perfect for keeping in the bathroom, as it is excellent at filtering the air in humid environments. They help the environment by absorbing mold spores, mildew, and dust and can improve air quality by 60%.
6. Aloe Vera
This is a hardy succulent that requires little watering and can provide excellent environmental benefits. It can be grown in arid areas all over the world, including the US. It requires minimal water, making it an environmentally positive crop.
It is multi-purpose as it not only filters the air from harmful chemicals but the gel found in the leaves is used to heal burns and protect the skin. The chemicals found in the gel are antibacterial and antiviral and contain antioxidants.
7. Bamboo Palm
This leafy, tropical plant is a palm and not related to bamboo. Native to Mexico, this is another plant to consider if you want to keep transport emissions to a minimum. This is good for the environment as it minimizes your carbon footprint.
It is another excellent plant for filtering out common air pollutants and could be used alongside many of the other plants listed above.
8. Dracaena
This large leafy plant is a beautiful addition to your home if you want a prominent air purifier. Its enormous size makes it highly effective at filtering pollutants from the air, which is a significant benefit in cities.
This plant also releases 90% of the water it absorbs back into the air, providing natural humidity control. It could help to save energy use by limiting the use of humidifiers and air filtration systems.
9. Echeveria
This is a small flowering succulent found in wide varieties. It is a sustainable plant that can be grown all over the world and is commonly found in the US. It is easy to look after and requires little water or wasteful care, making it a great eco-friendly choice.
It has another key environmental benefit as it is essential to the life cycle of butterfly species that use this plant as a host.
10. Cast Iron Plant
This hardy plant with broad, dark green leaves is an excellent choice of house plant due to how easy it is to care for and thrive in your home.
Final Thoughts on Environmentally Friendly House Plants
A key thing to look for with environmentally friendly plants is to choose varieties that will live for a long time. A plant like cast iron is easy to look after and, therefore, more likely to stay alive. This results in effective carbon storage, reduced emissions, and improved pollutant filtration.
One way to ensure you are benefitting the environment with your choice of plants is to use companies that source your plants in a sustainable way.
US companies such as Rooted NYC sell house plants and educate people on environmental issues. Bloomscape transports their plants directly from their greenhouses, limiting their transport emissions. The Sill is a New York based company that offers eco-friendly packaging with their sustainably sourced plants and workshops on how to care for them.
Did you find this article helpful? If so, please share it with your friends! Many thanks.
