House-plants are good for you.

As we get into winter with chilly weather and shorter days, I usually turn my attention to indoor plants, it’s nice to have fresh, greenery around.

But it turns out that as well as looking nice, house-plants are good for you too because they can reduce chemical pollutants in the home. Don’t just take my word for it, this is according to a NASA study.

As buildings have become more air-tight to reduce energy loss, we also loose fresh air and there can be a build-up of pollutants from all the synthetic ingredients of a modern house.  Include a few house-plants and they’ll busy themselves soaking up these pollutants.

NASA found fifteen plants that that act as natural air purifiers, but central heating and low light levels are not ideal for many house-plants, so I’ve chosen these three as the easiest to look after:

Spider plant (Chlorophytum elatum)

Really easy to grow and a nice fresh appearance.

Peace lily (Spathiphylum):

I have a couple of these and they soldier on even when I neglect them by forgetting to water them. They do well in low light conditions and produce white flowers from time to time,  when they’re not neglected.

Mother in laws tongue (Sanseveria laurentii):

This is a tall, statuesque plant and really tough. I love the shape  and the variegated leaves lighten things up too. It’s easy to look after, all variegated plants (they have splashes of white on their leaves) need fairly good light or they become green all over. Sounds like Les Dawson named this one , I think it’s due for a re-brand.

Looking after house-plants:

• Most are killed off by over-watering. Water them with luke-warm water, once a week as a rough guide. Remove excess water after an hour if they’re in a decorative pot or saucer.
• Avoid putting them on a shelf that’s directly above a radiator.

You can have a look at that NASA study here, though it’s quite a long read.

Happy gardening

Jill