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 caring for plants in the comfort of their own homes because of the environmental and personal benefits.
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The Benefits of Growing Plants in Your Home
Concerns about environmental protection have increased in recent years, leading to more interest in plants and trees. Plants have many ecological benefits, including carbon storage, oxygen production, and soil protection.
These benefits have encouraged more interest in owning plants. 80% of people in their 20s own at least one house plant.
Plants Filter Pollutants
One of the plants’ most significant benefits for human health is reducing pollution and filtering harmful toxins. Plants can also help reduce the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in our homes, which are bad for the environment and our health.
In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated that over 2 million deaths occurred due to poor indoor air quality. With 92% of the world living with poor air quality, increasing plants could help combat this issue.
Plants Boost Your Immunity
Plants’ ability to filter pollution also helps 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 and reduces stress on the 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. Potted plants reduce waste, and you can enjoy them 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 has 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, so purchasing these plants reduces your carbon footprint.
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 their 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 those of the snake plant, as this plant was also studied in NASA’s clean air study.
These plants can also remove irritants from the air, such as mold, pollen, and dust mites, which help improve the environment in your home.
4. Devil’s Ivy
This fast-growing plant takes in much carbon to achieve its long vines. Its rapid growth is positive for the environment as it stores carbon. The plant uses carbon dioxide in the air and releases oxygen to grow.
It is another easy-to-care-for house plant that 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 hardy and non-toxic.
This plant could be perfect for keeping in the bathroom, as it filters 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 hardy succulent requires little watering and can provide excellent environmental benefits. It can be grown in arid areas worldwide, including the US. It requires minimal water, making it an environmentally positive crop.
It is multipurpose, filtering the air from harmful chemicals and using the gel found in the leaves to heal burns and protect the skin. The gel contains antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant chemicals.
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 others.
8. Dracaena
This sizeable 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 into the air, providing natural humidity control. By limiting the use of humidifiers and air filtration systems, it could help save energy.
9. Echeveria
This is a small flowering succulent found in wide varieties. It is a sustainable plant that can be grown worldwide 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 also has another critical environmental benefit: 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 for a house plant because it is easy to care for and thrives in your home.
Final Thoughts on Environmentally Friendly House Plants
A key to choosing environmentally friendly plants is to select varieties that will last long. Cast iron is easy to care for and, therefore, more likely to stay alive. This results in adequate carbon storage, reduced emissions, and improved pollutant filtration.
One way to ensure your choice of plants benefits the environment is to use companies that source your plants sustainably.
US companies such as Rooted NYC sell house plants and educate people on environmental issues. Bloomscape transports its plants directly from its greenhouses, limiting its transport emissions. The Sill is a New York-based company that offers eco-friendly packaging, sustainably sourced plants, and workshops on caring for them.
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