Having Green Plants
around you is
a good thing!
One university program has led
the way to a fascinating and important
discovery about the role of
houseplants indoors.
All Tropical Green Plants 20% off (July21-28)In addition we will extend our special offer;get $1.00 off on purchasing RainGrow (Organic Fertilizer) with your Tropical Plants!!Here is an interesting study froma university in North America:
"NASA has been researching methods
of cleansing the atmosphere in future
space stations to keep them fit for
human habitation over extended periods
of time.
They've found that many common
houseplants and blooming potted
plants help fight pollution indoors!
They're reportedly able to scrub
significant amounts of harmful gases
out of the air, through the everyday
processes of photosynthesis.
Some pollutants are also absorbed
and rendered harmless in the soil.
Plant physiologists already knew
that plants absorb carbon dioxide
and release oxygen as part of the
photosynthetic process.
Now researchers have found many
common houseplants absorb benzene,
formaldehyde and trichloroethylene,
as well. But there are enough known
plants that do a good job of removing
pollutants from the air we breathe
to cause us to view houseplants as
more than just an attractive feature
in decorating the interior environment.
These are three of the worst offenders
found in relatively new homes and offices.
Newer buildings are constructed largely
with man-made building materials and
furnished with synthetic carpeting,
fabrics, laminated counters, plastic coated
wallpaper, and other materials known to
"off-gas" pollutants into the interior
environment.
The advent of the "energy crisis"
a number of years back has increased
the problems associated with indoor
pollutants. Newly constructed buildings
are better insulated and sealed tightly
to conserve heat or air-conditioning.
While it does save both money and
energy, this new found efficiency has
its downside in that pollutants may
be trapped indoors and have less
opportunity to dissipate to the
outside.
The phrase coined to describe this
unfortunate result is "sick building
syndrome." If your home is old
enough to be leaky and drafty, you
may not need to worry about
"sick-building syndrome." But if you
live in a newer, energy-efficient home
with windows and doors tightly sealed,
or you work in a building where the air
feels stale and circulation seems poor,
the liberal use of houseplants seems
like an easy way to help make a dent
in the problem.
NASA scientists studied nineteen
different plant species for two years.
Of the specimens studied, only two
were primarily flowering plants;
chrysanthemums and gerbera daisies.
Though commonly used to bring a
touch of color indoors, particularly for
holidays and special occasions, these plants
are generally not kept indoors very long.
After they're through blooming they're
usually discarded or planted outdoors.
Most of the plants tested are "true"
houseplants, kept indoors year-round
in our climate, though they may be
placed outdoors during warm summer
months.
Because of this, their leaf composition
allows them to photosynthesize efficiently
under relatively low light conditions, which
in turn allows them to process gasses
in the air efficiently. Soil and roots were
also found to play an important role in
removing air-borne pollutants.
Micro-organisms in the soil become more
adept at using trace amounts of these
materials as a food source, as they were
exposed to them for longer periods of time.
Their effectiveness is increased if lower l
eaves that cover the soil surface are removed,
so there is as much soil contact with the air
as possible. Best results were obtained with
small fans that pulled air through a charcoal
filter in the soil, cleaning more than foliage
could alone or in combination with a "passive"
pot of soil. Even without the fan and filter,
however, houseplants did remove trace
pollutants from the air.
The NASA studies generated the
recommendation that you use 15 to 18
good-sized houseplants in 6 to 8-inch
diameter containers to improve air quality
in an average 1,800 square foot house.
The more vigorously they grow, the better
job they'll do for you. With the exception of
dwarf banana, a fairly unusual plant in this
area, the bulk of the list of plants NASA tested
reads like a "Who's Who" of the interior
plant world.
They are:
Ficus benjamina(Weeping fig)
Hedera helix English ivy
Chlorophytum comosum spider plant
Epipiremnum aureum golden pothos
Spathiphyllum `Mauna Loa' peace lily
Aglaonema modestum Chinese evergreen
Chamaedorea sefritzii bamboo or reed palm
Sansevieria trifasciata snake plant
Philodendron scandens `oxycardium' heartleaf philodendron
Philodendron selloum selloum philodendron
Philodendron domesticum elephant ear philodendron
Dracaena marginata red-edged dracaena
Dracaena fragrans `Massangeana' cornstalk dracaena
Dracaena deremensis `Janet Craig' Janet Craig dracaena
Dracaena deremensis `Warneckii' Warneck dracaena
Ficus benjamina weeping fig
