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I woke up feeling zen so I decided an equally zen topic was in order today. PLANTS! My entire life from childhood to about 19 I couldn't keep a single plant alive no matter how hard I tried. It all changed one day when my mom gave me a succulent in a tiny hand made pinch pot with a little ducky on the edge. I killed that too. But, miraculously it regrew itself from one of the fallen leaves. I was absolutely amazed and from that day forward decided I was a plant parent.
Most of us spend the majority of our lives indoors so bringing a plant indoors can help you feel a little more connected to nature. The benefits of having plants indoors is bountiful. The act of caring for a living thing and being able to watch it grow is a rewarding experience in itself, but beyond that it can actually have a real impact on your emotion state. There have been studies performed that showed the very real and positive impacts houseplants have on people. Did you know that they can improve diastolic blood pressure, academic achievement, attention, and response time? In some experiments with groups both having house plants in their environment and not showed a difference in levels of overall happiness! If you have ever struggled with your mental health it is often suggested to go for a walk in nature. Yes, exercise as we know has its own benefits but just sitting in a park surrounded by trees can be beneficial in improving your mood to some degree as well. I am in no way saying to fill your home to the brim, but having a plant or two in rooms you spend a considerable amount of time might be a good idea!
Beyond the visual benefits of seeing a plant in your home spaces, there are other amazing things going on you might not even recognize or be aware of. According to the World Health Organization "3.2 million people die prematurely from illnesses attributed to household air pollution" and those illnesses can include ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infection, COPD, and lung cancer. A study from the University of Technology Sydney found that a structure called a green wall which essentially holds plants on the wall with adequate drainage, watering, and light was extremely effective in filtering the air with "97 per cent of the most toxic compounds removed from the surrounding air in just eight hours." The air indoors can be polluted by synthetic materials in furniture, fragrances in home and beauty products, and even some of our appliances like a stove or freezer. Often times cracking a window or door for a while helps ventilate and freshen the air indoors but not always is the outside air any cleaner, so what kinds of toxins can a plant remove from inside your home?
Hopefully you can recall that plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and exchange it for oxygen. They need the CO2 and we need to the O2 so off the bat I think its safe to say we have a pretty symbiotic relationship here, but there's more! Most studies have really only focused on the removal of toxins from a very enclosed space in laboratory settings without considering the natural environment of most homes which means data is not very relative to our situations. However, I did find one study through the National Institutes of Health that had a larger area measured which showed a considerable reduction in the following: "9% of benzene, 75% of ethylbenzene, 72% of xylene, 75% of styrene, 50% of formaldehyde, 36% of acetaldehyde, 35% of acrolein with acetone, and 85% of toluene". These VOCs (volatile organic compounds) can cause some seriously negative health effects from short periods of exposure to long periods of exposure so making an effort for clean air quality is important.
Now that you know just how awesome an indoor plant buddy can be, its time to talk the tips and tricks. Plants need water. Instead of using fresh water, you can use water from a fish tank water change, collected rain water, collected shower water from waiting for it to warm up, or even left over pasta water! Pasta water and the left over water from some boiled veggies can act like a natural and mild fertilizer as well as beneficial to the good bugs that live in the soil. Don't worry you will probably never see them but they are crucial to maintaining the soil and therefor the life of your plant so better make peace with them.
It doesn't stop at water waste saving, plants can benefit from food waste too! Coffee grounds and crushed egg shells can help deter pests as well as provide nitrogen and calcium to your plant. Be aware that sometimes birds will try to steal the egg shells though. I learned this the hard way when I used them for seedling starters and left them outside on the patio. Banana peels also make for a great fertilizer when left in a jar of water for a few days. Just compost the banana peel after soaking and water away.
When getting new plants they often come in nursery pots. Most of the time you can simply slip your nursery pot into a more decorative pot and the plant will be plenty happy for some time. Some plants enjoy being in small containers and some do not. A little bit of research can tell you if a root bound plant is happy or needs a slightly bigger home. I keep a few nursery pots of each size for when a plant is ready to size up or when it shoots off a baby that I can transplant to a smaller pot. When I find I have too many pots, I bring them back to the local greenhouse to be reused. Not all greenhouses offer to take back their pots to call in advance. Some will accept pots from other stores, or offer a recycling program. No matter if you keep your plant in its original planter or transplant it, it should always have drainage! No drainage can easily leave you dealing with root rot.
If you are now thinking about welcoming some greenery into your home take a pause before running to the nearest box store. Most plant lovers are thrilled to get anyone into plants so see if any of your friends or family on social media have any plants they might be looking to give away. As you know, plants grow so sometimes they are separated and repotted or propagated to grow new babies form the mother plant which means lots and lots of plants. Sometimes there are even local plant swap groups, library plant sales (usually from neighbors collections), or free ones on the side of the road! You don't need to spend a fortune to earn a green thumb. If you'd like to buy a "new" plant then I implore you to look at your local small greenhouses over big box stores. If you are unfamiliar with how to care for them you might want to ask an employee about starter plants as they all have different needs to flourish much like you and I.
P.S Its easy to get carried away. I once had 220 house plants. Don't even ask me how but I did. Start small and keep it manageable. Happy Planting, friend.
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