Plant Care Guides Benefits of Growing House Plants by Elyssa Goins 2 years ago by Elyssa Goins Elyssa Goins is an experienced house plant hobbyist who maintains over a hundred plants. She is a gardener, beekeeper, and a proud mother of four. She is a member of the American Horticultural Society, has a published study in the National Social Science Association, and loves to talk about her love of plants. For the past twenty years, she's been all about growing and caring for various fruits, veggies, herbs, livestock, kids, and houseplants. Managing a big garden to feed four growing kids and raising dairy goats has taught her so much about being an excellent plant parent and now is her time to share with you. Published: August 27, 2022Last Updated on September 26, 2023 This article was fact checked. Helpful: 100% Share 0FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail 75 Table of Contents Toggle Decor – Look And Feel of a RoomIndoor Air QualityHealth and Well-beingMedicinal Purposes The potential benefits of growing house plants indoors can be underestimated by people and outweigh the effort growers have to make while caring for them – compared to what they receive in return….. The motivation to create this site originated based on encouraging people to learn more about indoor plants, what they offer to households and types that would be suitable for them. The rewards are covered here! Décor – look and feel Improving air quality Health and well-being Medicinal purposes Decor – Look And Feel of a Room Décor is one of the main reasons many people grow house plants within a home, and it’s easy to see why. The look and feel of a living room, bedroom, or even hallway can be transformed with indoor plants. This is an example of “when pictures speak louder than words”. Brighten Up Window Areas Table Centrepiece Plants in a Conservatory Palms and Tree Type Shrubs Palm plants and shrubs bring empty spaces and large rooms, alive. Many can tolerate fairly low light conditions which allows them to be placed near doors, stairs, in hallways, and next to fire surrounds. The problem for décor growers: An issue growers can have if they just want a plant for making a room look great is they can seriously get the wrong plant for the wrong room. Having the wrong conditions for certain plants will cause growth problems or even kill them, and no longer spruce up any room. Of course, there are solutions, such as researching to find out the care and conditions a plant needs, especially light and temperature needs. Fortunately, there are many plants that are easy to care for types that survive well, with minimal attention that are best suited for some homes. Indoor Air Quality One of the huge advantages of growing plants indoors is the improvement of air quality and the removal of toxins from the environment. Most of you will be aware from school teachings that plants convert carbon dioxide into the air we breathe (oxygen), so it makes sense to allow some space in the home for them to promote good health. Another of the benefits of growing house plants. Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) created a clean air study for space stations and produced a list of house plants that do more than just turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. The list Nasa produced of various house plants removes large quantities of benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the atmosphere. Here are 12 of the best from NASA and Dr Wolverton at removing toxins. This list includes NASA’s, Dr B.C Wolverton’s (produced the book, How to Grow Fresh Air), or both that found these toxins were reduced. Plant Name (common and scientific)BenzeneFormaldehydeTrichloroethyleneBoston fern – (Nephrolepis exaltata)NoYesNoDwarf date palm – (Phoenix roebelenii)NoYesNoKimberly queen fern – (Nephrolepis obliterata)NoYesNoEnglish Ivy – (Hedera helix)YesYesNoLilyturf – (Liriope spicata)NoYesNoGolden pothos – (Scindapsus aures)YesYesYesPeace lily – (Spathiphyllum wallisii)YesYesYesMother in law’s tongue – (Sansevieria trifasciata )YesYesYesDragon tree – (Dracaena marginata)YesYesYesGerbera Daisy – (Gerbera jamesonii)YesYesYesHardy Garden Mum – (Chrysanthemum morifolium)YesYesYesJanet Craig dracaena – (Dracaena deremensis)YesYesYes See our choice of the TOP 10 air purifying plant here » I was surprised after researching air pollutants further and found many of the poisonous toxins that plants help eradicate are produced by furniture, carpets, and building materials used indoors. If you would like to know more about improving the air quality of your home with house plants, I would suggest taking a look at Dr B C Wolverton’s book “How to Grow Fresh Air”. Health and Well-being The removal of toxins from the air and renewed oxygen (as mentioned above) is not the only health benefits of growing house plants. There have been significant studies and research done that suggests a person’s health during an illness is improved quicker. What seems obvious to me is when we are unwell it’s hard to think past our own state of life (which is difficult), so the small amount of care and nurturing given to a plant improves our well-being (emotional and mental). The act of caring and nurturing anything living is well known to have a positive effect on people, mentally and emotionally. There is also the aspect of flowers blooming and attractive foliage that will improve a person’s mood. Medicinal Purposes While some house plants are toxic for humans and pets to consume, others offer various health benefits. Plants such as echinacea, chamomile, peppermint, aloe vera, and many others are reported to improve or help various health conditions. Some species lack enough scientific evidence to support the health benefits. However, many countries and traditions have been using plants for medicinal purposes for centuries and swear by them. This is yet another of the benefits of growing house plants. Was this helpful? Submit Cancel Thanks for your feedback! Elyssa GoinsElyssa Goins is an experienced house plant hobbyist who maintains over a hundred plants. She is a gardener, beekeeper, and a proud mother of four. She is a member of the American Horticultural Society, has a published study in the National Social Science Association, and loves to talk about her love of plants. For the past twenty years, she’s been all about growing and caring for various fruits, veggies, herbs, livestock, kids, and houseplants. Managing a big garden to feed four growing kids and raising dairy goats has taught her so much about being an excellent plant parent and now is her time to share with you. Share 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail previous post Unusual House Plants next post Choosing Grow Lights 0 0 votes Article Rating Subscribe Login Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments Label Name* Email* Website Δ Label Name* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 0 Comments Inline Feedbacks View all comments