Houseplants: how to buy them – and keep them alive
Houseplants aren’t just a way to make your home look better – according to research published this week, some of the most popular pot plants can also have a positive impact on the quality of the air.
Research from the University of Birmingham and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that in a small, poorly ventilated office measuring about 15 cubic metres, just five small plants reduced levels of the common air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by as much as 20%.
The researchers tested low-maintenance, inexpensive houseplants commonly found in UK homes – the peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii), corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) and ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) – by putting them into test chambers containing levels of NO2 comparable to those in an office next to a busy road. An hour later, each species of plant had removed about half the NO2 in its chamber.
Exposure to high concentrations of NO2, which gets into the air when fossil fuels are burned, can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma.
The results are good news for the green fingered, but what if you’re one of those people who struggles to keep anything leafy alive? Investing in plants can seem like a waste of money and time, while watching a living thing slowly die in front of you does not make for a cheerful hobby.
Experts such as Jane Perrone, who presents the houseplant podcast On the Ledge, say it doesn’t have to be this way.
“Those plants are all easy to look after, although the peace lily will wilt dramatically if it doesn’t have enough water,” she says. “I often give the ZZ plant to people who claim they kill plants because it is super tough and adaptable to different conditions, so that’s a good one to choose if you are starting out.”
Perrone
Read more on theguardian.com
