This is how many plants you need to purify your home, according to science
and the top 5 air purifying plants you need to do the job.
Hint: You’re going to need a bigger place.
We’ve all heard that plants can purify air, thanks to the popular study by NASA in 1989, but a recent study conducted by some skeptic-scientists elaborated more and just how many.
Technically, the definitive title of the report asserts, “Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality,” and outlines that the clean air delivery rate (CADR), a metric also used for air purifiers, of plants is essentially a futile attempt at making your home just a little less hostile in terms in air quality. This is because the rate at which the plants clean the air is slower than the rate that air is being exchanged in and out of your home. The study is quick to dismiss the healing abilities of plants, but it’s true. We’ve got pollution of all kinds to contend with from cars and cows to carbon.
But don’t let that discourage you from getting a houseplant or two. Plants still do something. According to the scientists’ calculations, you’ll need between 100 to 1,000 plants for every 10 square feet to start making a measurable difference in fighting indoor air pollution.
So, if you live in a home that’s roughly 1,000 square feet, you’ll need anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 plants. You’d need a whole forest or two. And that’s why the planet has those. At least 2% of surface area dedicated to the stuff. That’s why it’s so important to keep what’s left of our rain forests intact. For reference, 4 square miles of a rain forest can contain as much as 750 trees and full-sized trees and plants are better equipped to filter air as well as water. So if you really want to make a difference with air quality in general, you might be better off planting a tree.
You might be better off planting a tree.
And hey, why not ride a bike instead of driving a car while you’re at it, if you really care about the air? If you’re still insistent on packing in the plants, you’ve got to be a little picky.
Obviously, most of us don’t have the space for thousands of plants… but you can still have a hundred plants or so. But most of us don’t have a lot of extra space, much less the time needed to water and maintain all those plants. Each plant’s going to want the window seat and be more or less thirsty than one another. Some’s going to want fertilizer in their drinks, some pine for a bigger pot, others will just want to be left alone. It’s like performing all the duties of a flight attendant without ever leaving the ground.
And that’s just the minimum level of care. Let’s not talk about all the headaches and heartaches induced by pest outbreaks.
The bigger your collection, the more that can go wrong. Trust me. I am the caretaker of over 100 plants. My most recent decision to get a bigger place may or may not have been partially blinded by the green stuff.
But don’t let that discourage from bringing home a botanical buddy. But if your collection inevitably balloons past fifty, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Plants are serious business! But they’re all a lot of fun, and I highly encourage everyone to give plant parenthood a shot. Besides, I still believe plants can be extremely beneficial in terms of air purification. Imagine if there were just more plants in the world in general–you know, just like the good ol’ days before deforestation and all that? The air would be better. Heck, the world would be better off!
So if you want to take join me in raising a houseplant army, read on.
Find your houseplant hero.
If each houseplant is a hero, they’re going to have different abilities, and you’re going to need a whole team of them to take advantage of the different benefits. Some plants kick ass at capturing indoor particular matter, volatile organic compounds, gases, and other baddies, and then there are others that are just aren’t as effective at all or only great at some categories. So no, sorry, you can’t just default to cacti and succulents for your 1,000 houseplant army–unless it’s all Aloe barbadensis (aloe vera), since that actually is proven to be pretty useful at removing formaldehyde.
You’re going to have to be a little picky. There are other plants, but I think these are the most effective, easy to maintain, and least pest-prone.
Here’s my top five houseplant superheroes.
1. Spathiphyllum — Peace Lily
This flowering specimen is one of the most easygoing houseplants in my collection. There really are no downsides to this plant. Its wide, elongated leaves are are classic, deep green hue, although there are variegated versions on the market you can get your hands on if you prefer. It flowers year round and maintain crisp white blooms for a few weeks at a time, eventually fading into a light green hue and, inevitably, brown. New shoots pop up at the base regularly, so over time one little plant can really fill in and get lush, and you might find yourself having to divide it and having a ‘new’ plant on your hands.
It also doesn’t require much water, but you’ll never have to guess because its leaves droop as if its having a bad day. Just give them a full watering and a quick pep talk, and it’ll perk right up within a few hours.
2. Sansevieria
If you’re looking for a plant who’s equally at home in a tiny fourth floor apartment as it is a full-blown jungle, you might like the Sansevieria. They also lend well to any decor and looks great in any pot you stick it in. It is precisely the perennial equivalent of that friend everyone has that looks impossibly good in anything, including a paper bag. And if you forget to water it? Its leaves may get a little wrinkled (which takes a really, really long time), but all is forgiven after a drink, because it’s also that friend that you can go months without talking to and pick up exactly where you left off. What more can you want in a best plant friend? But seriously, please don’t go months without watering it.
As for light requirements, I sometimes feel bad for these plants since they’re in every article headlining something along the lines of, “Houseplants you can put in a room with hardly any natural light!” so I’m here to stick up for these defenseless fellows and let the world know: They do best in the brightest light you can give it. I’ve housed these near a floor-to-ceiling west-facing window in the peak of a sweltering Californian summer, and it lived its best life with nary a scorched leaf in sight and put out plenty of new leaves. Surviving isn’t the same as thriving — and you do want your leafy buddies to thrive, right?
3. Ficus
Ficuses are the ultimate widely available, eye-catching, statement-making plant family. You can get the super trendy Ficus lyrata (fiddle leaf fig), which true to its common name, develop huge paddle-sized leaves. Or maybe you’ll opt for something classically beautiful like a Ficus elastica, which comes in green, deep blackish burgundy, variegated, or ruby-variegated shades. Some may find ficuses challenging, like the Ficus benjamina, which is known to shed its leaves at the slightest unfavorable environmental changes. But they’re still a low-key lot in terms of maintenance. Just allow the top 3" or their soil to dry out between watering, and for those with larger leaves, give them a quick wash down or wipe their leaves with a damp cloth every so often to remove dust and enhance photosynthesis.
4. Dracaena
I find the humble dracaena, also known as the ‘cane plant’ or ‘Dragon Tree,’ to be very underrated. But it’s a bullet-proof option. There’s a lot of variety in size, color, and leaf size to this family, and you can keep them small or tall. They’re cute because they grow slender trunks and tend to shed their lower leaves over time, giving them a Dr. Seuss truffula tree vibe. Depending on the quality of your tap water, you may need to use filtered water as they may sometimes develop brown tips as protest to the minerals, metals, and chlorine typically present in unfiltered water.
I love the ‘White Jewel’ variety because its short, compact habit and wide variegated leaves remind me of some Sansevieria (snake plant) varieties.
5. Ferns
Ferns as a whole performed exceptionally well in the sealed-room air purifying experiments. They’re beautiful, but since they grow underneath canopies in moist forests, they’re adapted to high humidity levels, which the average home can be deficient in. This is easily rectified by running a humidifier or two all day long, depending on the square footage of your space, and aim for a relative humidity level between 40% and 65%. Or, if you’ve got a lot of bright light in your bathroom and you’re okay with sharing your most intimate daily moments with a plant, ferns will thrive from the humidity. So go ahead, take that bath. Your fronds will love it.
My top practical picks are the Asplenium nidus (bird’s nest fern), Microsorium musifolium ‘Crocodyllus’ (Crocodile fern), and Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’ (Boston Fern), as they’re all pretty forgiving of average household humidity levels provided their soil is kept consistently moist. As lovely as they are with their delicate, paper-thin leaves, I wouldn’t recommend an Adiantum (maidenhair fern) for a plant beginner because they’re difficult to maintain crisp-free long term.
Plants are still beneficial.
Plants are definitely proven to filter harmful pollutants and compounds out of the air. The only problem is there won’t be a significant, measurable difference because since our real-world homes aren’t hermetically sealed, air is constantly circulating in and out of the home, making detoxication a constant work-in-progress.
In any case, plants provide the benefit of boosting your mood and mental health. We’ve all heard that being in close approximation to live greenery is relaxing. So if you want to get a plant, or two, or fifty, go ahead and buy, buy, buy! And if ever you are in need of help or inspiration, connect with me on instagram @theplantmaiden.
