Palms

Palms - including Yellow or Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) Lady Palm (Raphis excelsa) and Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) bring a touch of the tropics with elegant herringbone leaf fronds.

Pot Chrysanthemums

Pot Chrysanthemums and Pot Gerbera – bright vivid colours to cheer up your home or office

Ferns

Ferns - especially Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) and Kimberley Queen (Nephrolepis obliterata) fresh green feathery fronds. Ferns love a regular mist with a spray over their leaves

Peace Lily

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) - large glossy leaves which droop when it needs watering; pure white spathes, or flower 'cloaks' throughout the year; improves air quality and adds glamour to your room

Spider Plant

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum) an old favourite, its tufts of long stripy leaves are great at removing chemicals from the air.

Philodendrons

Philodendrons - including sweetheart vine (P oxycardium), elephant ear (P domesticum) and Red Emerald (P erubescens) dark glossy heart shaped leaves from the floor of the jungle

Ficus

Ficus - For a woodland tree look try the weeping fig (Ficus benjamina; Ficus allii) or for something more tropical-looking, the sturdy rubber plant (Ficus robusta) .

Ivy (Hedera helix)

Ivy (Hedera helix) - available in many leaf shapes, some with cream or yellow patterning (variegation)

Dragon Tree

Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata, D deremensis, D fragrans), trunks topped with tufts of long strappy leaves - often with coloured stripes

Cleaner Air

Formaldehyde from tissues, carpets and furniture can cause asthma and other respiratory problems. Houseplants remove formaldehyde from the air.A spider plant placed in a small enclosed space can remove 96% of the carbon monoxide from the air. Carbon monoxide is the toxic gas found in car exhaust fumes.
NASA space research, inside airtight space habitats, showed ordinary houseplants had amazing capabilities in fighting air pollution. In its test, in addition to formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, houseplants absorbed benzene (found in car exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke) and trichloroethylene (TCE) or dry-cleaning fluid. The most effective, apart from spider plants, are palms including lady palm (Raphis excelsa) and parlour palm (Chamaedorea elegans), ficus, peace lily (Spathiphyllum), dragon tree (Dracaena); along with Boston fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata), chrysanthemum and gerbera.
Click to View top 15 houseplants ranked by removal rates of formaldehyde
Click to find out more:- >NASA Space Station Research – carbon monoxide removal by spider plants> NASA Space Station Research – formaldehyde removal by plants.

Plants – Perfect Partners

Our environment has changed dramatically in recent years, whereas we genetically have not. People spend a lot of time indoors at home or work, or in traffic away from green spaces. Air conditioning, improved insulation, and energy-saving measures all reduce air exchange, which can lead to health problems. We are breathing the same air over and over; but in cities and on busy roads, we are unlikely to want to bring 'fresh air' inside anyway. In addition, modern synthetic furnishings, computers and electrical equipment, and everyday household products such as cleaning material, emit various harmful gases in small quantities which all contribute to the recognised "sick building syndrome"
The simple addition of a few houseplants in your home or office can do a great deal to boost your health and well-being. Plants live in harmony with humans - we give plants carbon dioxide when we breathe out, and they give us oxygen through transpiration. Indoor plants boost oxygen levels and reduce air temperatures, as well as raising humidity, making it easier to breathe.
Whether in the home or workplace, placing a plant nearby will improve air quality, reduce temperatures and make people feel happier.
When living plants are present indoors:
Anxiety levels are lowered
People recover from mental tiredness faster
Interiors feel spacious, looked after and clean
People occupy rooms more when plants are there
People perceive interiors as "more expensive" looking
Given a choice, people sit where they can see plants (Oxford Brooks University Study 1995 - Jane Stiles)

Mother in law's tongue (Sanseveria)

Mother in law's tongue (Sanseveria) - tall, firm, stripey sword-shaped leaves, sometimes with gold edges; trouble-free

Bromeliads

Bromeliads or Urn plants - also including Guzmania, Nidularium, and Aechmaea are easiest to care for, if not to pronounce! Long stiff striped, spotted, coloured or grey-blue leaves in a rosette; bright flower spikes; just keep the central well of the rosette topped up with water.

Kalanchoë

Kalanchoë - kalanchoë blossfeldiana (Flaming Katie) produces vivid candy-coloured flowers throughout the year. Kalanchoës are succulents from Madagascar, which like warm dry conditions. The flowering forms are very popular and there are also some more unusual varieties grown for their unusual fleshy leaves such as K. thyrsiflora and K. tomentosa.

Aloe

Aloe – The aloe family, which are all succulents, includes hundreds of different kinds in the wild. Generally the fleshy leaves, some with spines, are in rosette form. Aloe vera is the medicinal member of the family, whose juice is widely believed to have healing properties and appears in many cosmetics and creams for burns and skin and hair care. The picture here shows aloe variegata (partridge-breasted aloe) - a very popular dwarf variety which often begins to flower when 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) tall. Aloes love direct sunlight and warm temperatures.

Hot, Dry Sunny Room

If you think you can't look after houseplants, or if your houseplants die on you, don't despair. You don't necessarily have black fingers instead of green ones! You may have the wrong environment in your home for the plants you chose, or you may just have picked plants requiring specialist care. Here instead are some foolproof plants to try, which always put on a good show!
Some plants may experience a period of stress when you bring them home - just as we find moving house intensely stressful, so do they! Don't panic if leaves or flowers drop, but treat your plant normally and wait until it has settled into its new spot.
We hope this will encourage you to try houseplants! Remember, the key to success is simple - find out where your houseplant originates from, and try to provide those conditions as best you can. Or choose houseplants that are suited to the conditions you have in your home.
All the plants opposite will thrive in a hot sunny room, and if you forget to water them>>>