Originally appeared at National Gardening Bureau
The houseplant is making a comeback, and it couldn’t come at a better time than in the midst of a pandemic.
With so many people these days working from home offices and generally spending more time in their kitchens, living rooms, and family rooms, houseplants provide environmental, health, and ornamental benefits to those around them.
5 Reasons to Grow Houseplants
- Houseplants expel oxygen while humidifying air during drier periods.
- They purify indoor air by absorbing volatile organic compounds, such as the benzene in cigarette smoke, and other indoor air pollutants.
- Their presence even buoys our spirits, studies say.
- Their proximity apparently can even add a few years to our lives: An eight-year Harvard study released in 2016 found that American women living in homes surrounded by vegetation had a 12% lower mortality rate than those living in the least green areas.
- For the more open-minded, they even offer companionship during this remarkable period of sheltering in place.
6 Easy-To-Grow Houseplants For Your Home
Snake Plant
An easy to grow plant that can handle the neglect! These tall vertical leaf plants are drought tolerant, grows in little light, and pest-free!
Sansevieria ‘Laurentii’
Anthurium
Beautiful glossy leaves with heart-shaped blooms that will continue all year long! Provide bright, indirect light, and keep the soil damp, not wet, for optimal care.
Anthurium
Petra Croton
Petra Croton has large, bold colored leaves that include shades of red, yellow, orange, and bronze. Keep in full or partial sun and soil moist but not too wet or dry.
Codiaeum
Lemon Button Fern
A compact fern that has small, golden-green, buttonlike leaves that when you handle them will produce a lemony scent! Ideal for terrariums and low-light areas.
Nephrolepis cordifolia ‘Duffii’
Stromanthe Triostar
This relative of the Prayer Plant has gorgeous dark green leaves with streaks of cream and pink on top and pinkish-purple underside. This plant likes indirect light (too dark and the variegation will diminish) but not direct.
Stromanthe sanguinea
Golden Pothos
This golden-green variegated foliage vine will do well in even the darkest rooms in your home. It’s a low maintenance plant preferring slightly damp soil.
Epipremnum aureum