Air Purifying Plants

Here in Colorado we have recently suffered our most damaging urban fire ever. While the fire came within five miles of our farmette, we were extraordinarily lucky not to suffer any damages or have to evacuate. So many others were not so lucky and nearly 1000 homes were lost with countless others damaged. In the few weeks since the fires I've had countless people call and ask for air purifying plants. Luckily we already offer a collection of air purifying plants but the recent slew of calls for information about them made me realize its time for a blog post. If you are in the market for some air purifying plants, please note that we will be donating 15% of profits from every purchase made at Petals during the month of January to the community fund for fire recovery.

So, which houseplants can you add to your home for their air purifying powers? Here's a list with photos

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1. Peace Lily

By far the most powerful air purifying plant and the easiest to grow is the Peace Lily. You can read our post specific to the air purifying powerhouse that is the Peace Lily here. Peace lilies are such powerful air purifiers, NASA grows them on the space

2. Ferns -

Ferns are so sensitive to air quality that many species actually went extinct during the height of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain before pollution regulations were put in place. As a house plant they make excellent air purifiers and can also act as a 'canary in the coal mine' for poor air quality. Ferns hate to be watered from above but need a humid environment. For best success place your fern's pot in a large saucer that you keep full of water. This will water the plant while also increasing the humidity in the area around it. Ferns prefer indirect light and to be away from drafty windows and doors. You can read more about ferns and the infamous fern frenzy that swept through Bridgerton era England in our blog post here.

3. Bamboo -

\Bamboo removes benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde. It also returns moisture to the air, thereby acting as a natural humidifier. Plus, keeping bamboo shoots in your house is said to bring luck to your home. Win-win!

4. Spider Plant

Another of Nasa's recommended plants for air purification, spider plants are easy to grow and propagate and their varigated leaves make them both attractive and useful. Much like ferns they prefer under-watering but are much easier to keep happy than ferns. Petal's resident botanist keeps one in her shower and a client of ours has an incredibly happy one in a vintage birdcage in her living room where it is as stunning as a peacock.

5. Dracanea

Dracanea are an incredibly diverse group of

plants that do wonders for air quality. They are also incredibly easy to care for and will show you when they need watering by dropping leaves or developing brown tips. Be careful not to over fertilize as they are prone to burning. Less is more with these beauties. We keep at least 3 in our home and Petal's design studio features a resident dracadea that is over 10 feet tall and more than 20 years old! (It was a gift from the owner's grandmother). Our favorite varieties are pink tinged and the lemon lime brand leaved plants.

6. Aloe Vera

What can't you do with an aloe vera plant? I mean, they are edible (don't eat your plant, buy the juice from Whole Foods), their juice treats sunburns (this you can do with your plant, if you can bring yourself to lop off a leaf), and they are air purifying. This winter the resident aloe vera at Petals even grew spectacular flowers, even our botanist had never seen this! Truth be told, it flowered after a regiment of three weeks of being lovingly wiped down daily with alcohol to treat a pest infestation... so it might just be the kind of plant that needs to be wined and dined before flowering, but was a pretty exciting surprise around Petals!

There you have it, six house plants that purify your air AND look stunning. Looking to spring clean and beautify your space, let us help with our trio of air purifying plants!