I saw on TV news this morning a spot about house plants, and how certain ones are very good at eliminating toxins from the air in your house. Anyone ever hear this before? I have ZERO houseplants in my house. Now I'm thinking I should get some. Any suggestions? (something low maintainance would be best)

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), March 12, 2000

Answers

Kritter...

Try a very easy philodendron for starters, or perhaps a spider (airplane) plant...

They're both good for filtering air and real easy to grow - can withstand quite a bit of neglect and abuse.

I've got lots (!) of houseplants...if I can find time to master the digital camera and finagle putting them on my website, I'll post a link here... (Ever heard that old saying..."A little knowledge is a dangerous thing?...) [G]

-- Wilferd (WilferdW@aol.com), March 12, 2000.

I have heard the same of the spider plant. It would be interesting to know how many of them would be necessary to make your house a self- contained ecosystem as far as O2 is concerned.

I recall hearing somewhere that NASA found them helpful for maintaining the air quality in enclosed living spaces.

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), March 12, 2000.

I thought all plants were good at eliminating toxins. Don't they inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen? I once had 150 houseplants. I would put them under the tree in the backyard in the summertime and they would grow by leaps and bounds. By the time I got to the third kid, however, I conveniently forgot to bring the plants indoors before a freeze. [There's a limit to how much life I want to support, I guess.]

All the plants we have now are owned and supported by my SO. He loves pothos, but finally branched out to other varieties. My role is strictly "consultant."

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.thingee), March 16, 2000.