Air purifying house plants: Bring Earth Day indoors

April marks one of our favourite commemorative days — Earth Day! And what better way to celebrate than by bringing a plant into your living space. Having a houseplant not only invites in a beautiful green aesthetic and provides a calming space but also provides health benefits. Welcome to the world of air purifying house plants, where plants double as toxin eliminators. Learn which characteristics to look out for, the best plants to choose and how to care for them.

Green, grow, and glean your space

Being a plant lover doesn’t get better than having a plant that loves you back. With the right care and selection, you can create a healthy home space naturally indoors. Breathe easy in your home using plant enhanced air with the 20 best air-cleaning plants, or use our top tier picks.

Our top 3 air purifying house plants choices

In addition to the top contenders, we chose our favourite three air purifying house plants and characteristics to look out for.

Spider plant

Also known as Chlorophytum, this is a fairly low-maintenance plant. As long as you keep it in indirect lighting, they’ll do just fine. For all the new plant parents, this one is for you. It will assist in greening your space as well as removing toxins like formaldehyde and xylene from your air. And a fun fact, the little shoots growing baby spider plants are ‘spiderettes’. Already strung into its alluring web? We thought so.

Bamboo Palm

Also known as Dypsis Lutescens, this green gem presents an elegant upright structure with wispy feathered leaves. We love this plant for its humidifying properties, transforming any space into an urban jungle. It can grow up to three and a half metres, loves full sunlight, and is pet friendly. As it can grow to quite a height, it filters formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and benzene with ease.

Philodendron Rojo Congo

Add richness to your home with the Congo Rojo. This philodendron grows outward, upward and unfurls thick deep, shiny red leaves — hence its Spanish name. The maturing leaves will eventually fade to a burgundy green colour. It hails from South America and loves warm weather with indirect light. You’ll find that in addition to its lovely flowers, it also filters out formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene from the atmosphere. 

How to care for your plants

Keeping a plant indoors requires some preparation. As you will need to water your plant, be sure you have a proper draining system to avoid excess moisture and drowning the roots. Add in coarse material at the bottom of your well-draining pot like gravel, perlite or other organic material.

Tips

• Keep your air purifying house plants nourished with plant feed every three to four weeks.
• Spray your plants with preventative insecticides monthly. 
• Depending on your plant’s needs for a growing medium (water, soil or other), try to use cocopeat where possible, as it not only helps maintain moisture but also helps with aeration in the roots.
• Most indoor plants will do best if placed in bright, indirect light.

A special note for your air purifying house plants

Before you start your indoor plant perusing, be sure to do your research on its needs and whether or not it may be toxic. Incredible plants like Devil’s Ivy, Chrysanthemum, English Ivy and Flamingo Lily are wonderful for the air, but harmful when animals come in contact with their sap or ingest plant matter. Be mindful of where you place your plant, especially if you have curious pets or children at home. So think high and out of reach places if necessary — save a nice place on a shelf or display it in a handsome bookcase.

Breathe in, bloom out

All the best on your journey with air purifying house plants. If you are unsure of which plants to choose, we have a simple solution with our indoor light plant subscription.