This is a collection of some house plants that can help clean the air in the room — from pollution, bad smells or odors, and that will lower carbon dioxide naturally.
Some of them also repel biting insects, while others invite useful wasps that kill the parasites on the other plants.
Most of those plants below will live in perfect coexistence near each other (except the mint, if planted in the same box or pot).
They will also not grow too tall and wide, so you can fill small spaces around your windows and not risk stumbling upon them all the time.
Rosemary
- Some use this herb for cooking, other use it as an herbal tea.
- As with all plants having needle-like leaves, the rosemaryis evergreen. It can be held indoors for the entire winter season and still give off a pleasant aroma.
- Most needle-leafed plants are very good purifiers, especially for humid winter air. They breathe carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Rosemary is no exception here.
- The most important function of this herb is its ability to improve cognitive function and shield the brain from free radicals.
- Also, the presence of this plant in the room is enough in the long run. Rosemary still exhales some of its essential oils in the room (you don't need to boil it in a tea infusion to benefit from it).
Lavender
You need to confirm that you aren't allergic to lavender before you decide on this one. If you're not, this herb makes very good house plant because:
- It is an excellent insect repellent.
- The aroma relaxes the lungs and helps for calmer night sleep.
- The aroma (also) helps one relax if you suffer from anxiety.
If you don't want to buy an oil lamp for aromatherapy or sleep with a lit aroma candle beside your bed, have a pot of lavender growing on your bedroom window instead. It loves sunlight, so don't deprive it or it will refuse to bloom.
In late autumn, the sunlight will be insufficient. So, gather the seeds when the plant withers and reseed them at early spring.
The soil should be sandy and not too rich (don't use compost and fertilizers with it). The plant is best kept in a pot with good drainage. Don't drown the roots, or you risk losing the whole plant.
Basil
Basil is a very well-known herb and spice.
- While it is most commonly grown in Asia and North Africa, it can easily be cultivated for all climates and be domesticated.
- It grows about 1-2 feet long with small white blossoms and wide leaves.
- The fruit is a small, 4-seed nut that dries and drops by itself at autumn and can be reseeded in the next spring.
- The rich aroma and the pleasant peppery taste make up only one side of the coin. It can be also used as herbal tea and as all other plants will reduce the carbon dioxide in the room.
- Gather some leaves for the salad and leave enough smaller leaves for it to grow.
Mint
Mint — the best herbal tea for winter, and the best plant for indoor planting.
There are many subspecies also called mint. This includes plants suitable for cooking with dry beans, plants suitable for baking with meat, others suitable for extracting fragrant oils for perfumery and scent lamps, and dozens more.
All these subspecies have a few things in common:
- They make the air easier to breathe if you have lung disease.
- They have a very pleasant aroma.
- They attract one small wasp when blooming. The wasp kills some parasites on other plants or injects eggs inside them.
- They make excellent herbal tea or a tasty cooking spice.
- They love sun and water, but are incredibly easy to grow.
You can cut a branch and leave it in a glass of water for one week. It will grow very potent roots and you can plant it everywhere. Also, from the main root system, additional spin-offs will often grow, which you can then use or replant elsewhere.
The mint is often partly rooted and removed in my own terrace garden, because the root is quite invasive and strong. (It smothers and kills other plants around the mint.)
Jasmine
- Jasmine opens its flowers up between 6 and 8 PM, when the temperature is lower. The aroma in and around your house when dining is very pleasant.
- Having jasmine tea is also very good. (Just bruise some petals in a cup and pour boiling water. Cover for 10 minutes with a small dish). In China and India, it is mixed with green tea leaves and tumbled until the green tea absorbs all the fragrance from the jasmine. In fact, jasmine tea bags bought from store are actually green or Oolong tea with a jasmine scent.
- Even if jasmine is not completely robbed of all its healing properties, it is better used as an evening house fragrance and air purifier.
I strongly recommend you grow this plant. It is not very expensive and smells great.
Geranium
Geraniums come in more than 200 varieties. All of them contain the following positive qualities:
- Excellent aroma, if you can tolerate it.
- Mosquitoes repellent.
- Doesn't attract most parasites, which suck plants dry.
- Looks excellent when blooming.
- Purifies air.
- A detached cutting can be grown by just re-planting it. It takes about a week to grow new roots.
- They don't need much care. Geraniums can live without water for two weeks on cold days.
- More sun means more blossoms.
If you are still not convinced or you just don't have too much botanical knowledge, this is the best houseplant for beginners.
Even more: Rose geranium can be used as a helpful herbal tea to aid those with diabetes melitus (type 2), as it lowers the blood glucose levels very quickly.
Coffee Plant
- Coffee plants can be domesticated easier than an avocado seedling.
- There are above 120 subspecies of coffee plants, with sub-gene arabica being most famous and easy to grow at home. They are spread and grown worldwide, but you probably don't know how good this plant can be indoors.
- It blooms in white and smells so refreshing in the morning that you will probably skip your morning coffee beverage and just breathe instead and be satisfied.
- The normal coffee plant can grow to a small tree (3 meters), but indoors in a pot, it is quite compact — 1 meter (3 feet).
- They take about four years to start blossoming. At that point, if you allow sufficient sunlight and help germination from small wasps and bees, you can grow your own coffee beans. Roast and grind them to coffee :) One plant provides about 50 grams of dry coffee mass (around 2 ounces), which is enough for about a week's supply.
Woodbine
- Otherwise known as European honeysuckle or just common honeysuckle.
- This plant is very useful for indoor stairs, especially if your rooms have sufficient sunlight.
- It is a forest semi-parasitic plant growing over tree trunks and it can be domesticated and dwarfed.
- You can grow it in pot with a wooden log or dry branch planted in the soil, so the vine can climb on it.
- It has very sweet scent, especially at night.
- Can be grown from a seed, and takes about 2 years to start blossoming indoors.
Kamal Meattle's discovery.
Be sure to watch the video in this TED talk issue. It is a very good addition to what you may already have from the list above!
I am amazed by this guy. I already have two of the mentioned plants on my balcony and plan on growing them indoors near the window this winter. They are:
- Sansevieria trifasciata (mother-in-law's tongue)
- Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Areka palm)
- Epipremnum aureum (Money plant)
Original article and pictures take m0rd0r.hubpages.com site
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