Houseplants for Clean Air?

[Time Waster]

Over the years I've read many a newspaper article about houseplants for removing the toxins produced in a modern home by various sources including electrical/electronic devices. Whether true or not I think a little greenery is nice.

That leads me to ask what you have? What do you recommend? Do you have any interesting ways to fit more plants in your house?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

We're a house of succulent and cacti buffs, there's (I think) something like 70 or 80 around the house, pretty much every flat surface has spiny things growing there.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I have a massive spider plant (chlorophytum; apparently that is one of the best plants for air purification. I regularly have to cut mine back and always try to give lots of the baby spiders away. For a couple of years I potted them up, grew them on a bit and gave them in batches of half a dozen, to a local charity shop - but not all charity shops will accept plants. Very 'active' plants with a large surface area of transpiration ie lots of leaves are best according to an article I read which said that spider plants were one of the top three plants for air purification.
I forget what the others were - one of the indoor climbers IIRC and I can't remember the third. But all are good, even relatively inactive, slow-growing plants. Seem the soil area also offers some of the benefits, so hydroculture plants aren't as good as the same plant growing in a pot of compost.

 

[Reynard]

I used to keep cacti, but when you have a tortoiseshell cat that loves to pee in the plant pots, the outcome is inevitable.

The only thing she hasn't managed to kill is a large opuntia-type cactus and a spider plant. She chews the latter as well, but it's big enough to withstand being trashed.

 

[MontyVeda]

8' draconia, 3' shefflera and a calathea.

Google is your friend as to which are the most efficient air purifiers.

I have mine mostly for aesthetics. I like a bit of greenery in the lounge.

 

[avecReynolds531]

We currently have aloe vera, a peace lily, a spider plant, and a snake plant (mother-in-law's tongue).

We're partial to our small cacti collection too.

Too many plants have tried to survive here - we seem to have too little skill and knowledge & too much talent for allowing them to die.

 

[Drago]

Simply get Mayor Khhaaannnn! to declare a ULEZ in your house and drive an electeic car around indoors. Your air will be cleaner than Prince Andrews stand up routine in no time.

 

[KnittyNorah]

My Christmas cactus is in full bloom for the ... ? seventh ? year running. Last year it behaved very oddly, half of it flowered in October than the other half at Christmas and into the New Year. I'm apt to forget to feed it. I'll try to do better this year ...
It cost £1.99 from Aldi in November 2014 or 15.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My Christmas cactus is in full bloom for the ... ? seventh ? year running. Last year it behaved very oddly, half of it flowered in October than the other half at Christmas and into the New Year. I'm apt to forget to feed it. I'll try to do better this year ...
It cost £1.99 from Aldi in November 2014 or 15.

My Christmas cactus, acquired years ago from a cutting, flowers twice every year, once in the summer, once in December.
All it's "babies" that I gave away do the same!

 

[Mrs M]

We used to have spider plants and a lovely palm indoors many years ago.
Gave up with houseplants as the spider plants were squashed by cats, who though they made cosy nests and the palm was seen as a challenge (to destroy).
Don’t think any indoor plants would fare better with our current 2 moggies, or the Ginger Ninja!
My hardy palms are mostly potted at the side of the house, one is planted out back and regularly de fonded! 😟

 

[Pat "5mph"]

a lovely palm indoors

Same here: destroyed by 🐱 that had full outdoors access too!
I'm lucky that my current two don't bother with house plants, still, I keep the minimum

 

[Time Waster]

We're a house of succulent and cacti buffs, there's (I think) something like 70 or 80 around the house, pretty much every flat surface has spiny things growing there.
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Ooh! When I was a kid I'd have fun identifying the species of all those. I think I got up to about 15 different species. My first was an off shoot of my parents 15 year old cactus. It flowered for the first time and I took an offshoot then grew it on, eventually growing about 5 off that one which flowered twice. I had a Kalanchoe Katy and a "Mexican hat plant". The one that kept producing little plantlets in the notches of its leaves only to drop them into the pot and grow on. Eventually they take over.

I was a cactus and succulent aficionado with an obsessive interest in reading ID books. When I went to garden centres with my parents I'd spend my time identifying the cacti. It's not unusual for me to spot a naming error on the ID label.

I loved the idea that some normal looking plants and spiky succulents were the same genus, like euphorbia. A fairly common garden species but also sold as a houseplant among the cacti and succulents.

Not so good for this house, we get direct sun into the windows but the sills aren't that deep and we have blinds there. So we're looking for plants that need less direct sun. Some succ might do though.

 

[Time Waster]

I used to keep cacti, but when you have a tortoiseshell cat that loves to pee in the plant pots, the outcome is inevitable.

The only thing she hasn't managed to kill is a large opuntia-type cactus and a spider plant. She chews the latter as well, but it's big enough to withstand being trashed.

Opuntia Robusta. A nice flat disc cactus that is actually frost hardy outdoors even in British weather. The only proviso they don't like waterlogged compost. High grit content in raised beds or pots. Even placed under shelter like an outside seating area with a cover or gazebo. Grow one outside perhaps your cat might not pee on it, or the pee won't matter.

 

[Reynard]

Opuntia Robusta. A nice flat disc cactus that is actually frost hardy outdoors even in British weather. The only proviso they don't like waterlogged compost. High grit content in raised beds or pots. Even placed under shelter like an outside seating area with a cover or gazebo. Grow one outside perhaps your cat might not pee on it, or the pee won't matter.

Here is the cactus... And the cat... Although she was about 5 months old in this pic, and she's now well over 12...

 

[Time Waster]

Ivy is supposed to be the best for cleaning the air. We just bought a little one. It's in the circular window above the TV. When it grows it should take out anything the TV releases.

We have a spider plant, rubber plant and a money plant that's popular in Chinese households I understand, Crassula Ovata iirc. We've just bought a few other foliage plants and our son got a cactus. I want to get more foliage plants and when i find a nice, shallow pot I quite fancy potting up a selection of cacti. I like those shallow pots with a variety of cacti and a layer of gravel on top but I want to do it myself. The local garden centre has a great selection of cacti from tiny to expensive, larger ones. I've not found the right pot yet.