house plants

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i recently read a book on houseplants that filter household toxins from the air, its kick-started an obsession and it looks like i might actually reach the dream of turning my flat into a jungle Ive augmented my meagre collection with loads of non-toxic, air-filtering plants but im allready running out of windowsill space, and looking towards building some sort of illuminated shelving set-up.

what sort of houseplants are you growing?

i have,

*spider plants
*snake plants
african violets
*small dragon trees (dr. marginata)
coleus - 8 varieties
*wax begonia
jade plants
*gerbera daisy
various herb seedlings inc. nasturtium

next on the list will be some big, varied dracaenas

im a little bit hesitant about these as they will cost too much to simply mismanage & let rot, and they will have to live away from the window, dependant on the CFLs and/or me finding time in my random schedule to draw curtains regularly.

*i asterisked the ones as being amongst the 50 air-filtering species listed in the book 'how to grow fresh air'.

Wow, that's really cool. I never thought they did that.

I've been thinking recently that I'd like to have a venus fly trap.

I've been meaning to get more plants for my apartment. There's something therapeutic about looking after something and watching it grow over the weeks. Plus they look nice.

My latest addition is a seed from a lemon, which I planted in a spare pot on a whim just to see if it would actually grow. Turns out it's doing pretty well. I'm going to see if I can keep it alive long enough that, when I eventually get a proper home with a garden one day, I might be able to plant it there.

I'd love a Venus fly trap, but my cat loves to munch on all plants, so we can't have any in the house, as she chews them and they dry out, or if they're toxic. Oh, well, she's already my live fly swatter, as she chases and eats bugs, too.

I would love to 'collect' quinces, though. You put them in a bowl in a room, and they freshen the entire room. It smells so nice. Now that's a good air freshener. Then when you need to get new ones, you just eat the ones you already have.

you could make a lovely little 'miniature' type garden with several fly-traps, attractive rocks and carniverous plants arranged into a little boggy ecosystem

i share the flat with a lot of spiders though, so id feel guilty about stealing their food. but if you hate spiders - go for it!

I'd like to get a few to help with the mold in my apartment.

i think if anything, plants would increase the likelihood of mold as your humidity would raise, although with just a couple of plants this may be insignificant its the reduction of chemicals like formaldehyde and toluene where certain plants come in useful.

in my experience with mold, its was simply a matter of ventilation - making sure all the vents stayed open, and doing things like leave the kitchen door ajar so it doesnt steam up too often probably helped. I had to clean up a LOT by hand (yuck!) but it hasnt come back since.