Indoor plants were in days gone past the usual fair of the older generation, but they’ve become increasing popular among the younger, hip generation. Including indoor plants in your home decoration is not only a cost-effective way to add character and colour to a room, but there are in fact certain health benefits of having the right indoor plants.
Especially for those living in cities, the air around is often not the quality we would like and may include harmful toxins and chemicals. As such, these are the best indoor plants for natural air purification.
Palms
Palms are incredibly easy to grow and require very little attention in order to thrive. Not only do they naturally lift our spirits, but are also known as the ultimate air purifiers as they are effective at removing formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from our surroundings.
Palms come in all shapes and sizes, but the best indoor options are the Lady Palm, Bamboo Palm, and the Areca Palm.
Peace Lilies
Thriving in shade and temperatures below 12°C, Peace Lilies effectively remove harmful toxins such as acetone, ammonia, benzene, ethyl acetate, formaldehyde, methyl alcohol, trichloroethylene, and xylene from the air.
Peace lilies can reach up to 90cm in height making them perfect floor plants and NASA has even put this hardy and low-maintenance plant on its list of ‘Top 10 Household Air Cleaning Plants’!
Ferns
Ferns have endured since prehistoric times, making them not only a beautiful, but also deeply fascinating plant – almost as fascinating as Geelong Cup betting! With their soft, feathery leaves and bright green colouring, ferns are the perfect addition to any room and are also effective at cleaning the air of toluene and xylene.
Ferns are a dime a dozen, but the most popular indoor varieties are the Sword, Maidenhair, and Button ferns.
Schefflera
The waxy shine of their leaves may seem almost unreal, but the Schefflera is effective at purifying the air of enzene, formaldehyde, and toluene.
However, it’s important to choose the correct species of Schefflera as the larger variety, often known as the umbrella plant, can grow up to 30m tall! A better option for indoor use is the Schefflera arboricola which features smaller leaves.
Anthuriums
Not only do Anthuriums, also known as Laceleaf, flowers add a splash of bright colour to your home, but their dark green leaves are also masters at absorbing ammonia, formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene.
Best grown in bright, indirect light, Anthuriums don’t require much water and only low levels of fertilizer every 3 to 4 months.
Philodendron
Philodendrons came in all shapes and sizes, but the best varieties for indoor use which are also effective at air purification are the Red Emerald, Lacy Tree, Heart-Leaf, and Elephant Ear. Requiring very little attention in order to thrive, a Philodendron will provide many years of detoxification for your home and only require to be misted with water and dusted frequently.
However, they do not do well with temperature extremes and will thrive if kept at 16-21°C.