House Plants

Q: I'm looking at getting a house plant but I don't know what I should get. Any suggestions?

A: Well, there are literally hundreds of choices when it comes to house plants. Some of them are tall, some are short. Some grow quickly, some grow very slowly. They come in green, yellow, white, pink, red, and other colors; and that's just the foliage! Some of them bloom, but most of them don't. Many of them even clean the air as well!

Light

Some of the houseplants available aren't really suited to the low-light conditions of the indoors. These include Gerber Daisies, majesty palms, and coconut palms. One that I like that is particularly suited to very low-light conditions is the Emerald Beauty Chinese Evergreen. I know of an Emerald Beauty that continues to look really, really good after a year of getting only 8 or so hours of flourecent light five days a week and no light on weekends. Most houseplants are native to jungles so they are quite tolerant of the low-light levels most houses can give to plants.

Favorites

Some of my favorite house plants are the following:

Plants indicated with an asterisk (*) have been shown to be among the ten best plants at removing formaldehyde, benzene, AND carbon monoxide from the air**. Use at least one potted plant per 100 square feet for best air cleaning results***
Inverse Variegated Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum variegatum 'Inverse') - Very efficient at removing carbon monoxide from the air.
Heart-leaf Philodendron (Philodendron scandens 'oxycardium') - Excellent at removing formaldehyde from the air. - Variegated forms available.
Tropic Snow Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia ameona 'Tropic Snow') - Beautiful large (10-12") leaves, but Don't let kids eat this one!
*Emerald Beauty Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema 'Emerald Beauty')
Cat Palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum)
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) - Variegated forms available.
Ben Fig (Ficus benjamina) - Variegated forms available.China Doll (Radermachera sinica)
*Peace Lily (Spathaphyllum species) - Variegated forms available.
Lucky Bamboo (Dracena sanderiana) - Variegated forms available.
Oak-Leaf Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia 'Ellen Danica')
*Variegated Snake Plant (Sanseveria trifasciata 'Laurentii')

I hope this helps!

For additional information on specific house plants I recommend a book called The House Plant Expert by Dr. D. G. Hessayon. This book gives general and specific information on lighting, watering, troubleshooting and much more for hundreds of the most common house plants.

**According to this website.
***According to this website.