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Murphy Talks Plants

Murphy here! I wanted to talk to you about plants today! After living with the Daughertys for so long, I know a lot about plants! Interior plants, exterior plants, I’ve seen them all! But I wanted to talk today about interior plants.

Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have shown that the air indoors is more toxic than the air outside due to cleaning chemicals, mold, and poor ventilation.

That’s where interior plants come in! Plants bring so many great benefits to any indoor space. Interior plants help remove pollutants and harmful airborne chemicals that can make you sick or trigger allergies.

But keep in mind, there are some plants that can be harmful to animals, like me, and even to people. So always know what type of plant you are getting and if you need to keep it out of reach of pets or children!

I put together a list of plants that are safe to keep around the house and a list of plants to keep out of reach!

Interior Plants that are Safe for Pets

Boston Fern

boston-fern

According to a study done by NASA, this fern helps to remove chemicals like formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene from the air. It is said to act as a natural type of air humidifier and is suitable for those who may have asthma or breathing conditions. I like this fern! If I hide under it, I feel like I’m hiding in the forest!

Moth Orchids

orchid

This orchid helps remove xylene and toluene and can increase air quality. They are great for homes which are freshly painted or where paint fumes exist and homes that are exposed to smog or smoke. And don’t they just look so beautiful? We have a lot of orchids at Interiorscapes. We use them a lot for clients’ color rotations.

Rhapis Palm

rhapis-palm

The Rhapis Palm helps filter formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, and ammonia from the air. If you use a lot of cleaning chemicals, this is a great plant to have at your house.

Interior Plants that can be Harmful

These are the plants that you want to keep out of reach:

Sanseveria

sanseveria

The Sansevieria helps filter formaldehyde from the air. It grows very tall is considered a good luck plant. But it can make pets very sick if swallowed, so this is a plant to place out of reach or keep in a place with no animals.

Peace Lily

peace-lily

The Peace Lily can survive in low light, so it is good to have in offices or homes that do not receive a lot of daylight. They are great at filtering formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene from the air. But you have to be careful with this plant, it can make humans very sick and it can even be fatal for animals if swallowed.

Aloe Vera

aloe-vera

Aloe Vera has many benefits, not only does it filter the air of certain chemicals, the juice that is inside is used to help heal burns and cuts. But the outer skin can make pets sick to their stomach. So this plant should probably be kept up out of reach.

I hope this list will help you if you are thinking about what type of plant to get for your home!

This has been Murphy Daugherty, I hope to see you again soon!

Murphy man