5 House Plants Perfect For Your Bedroom
I think that nothing makes a house feel cozy and more like a home than when there are plants all about the house. But one of the best things about houseplants is that there are several that provide added benefits like purifying the air, preventing dry skin, and can even alleviate stress.
But those who don’t have a green thumb (like myself) may struggle to not only find a plant that meets both the medicinal and aesthetic needs but also how to care for the plant. Not to fear, there are many houseplants that are great for beginners and you can only expand your houseplant collection from there.
1. Spider Plant
First up we have the spider plant which is one of the most common healthy indoor house plants available on the market today. It is best for removing air toxins. Spider plants are easy to identify with their long slender leaves that come from the central crown. Their leaves are mostly solid green with white outlines.
If you’ve noticed that your home doesn’t have great indoor air quality, then you may want to consider planting some spider plants to help improve it. This is by far one of the easiest plants to grow and manage!
Health Benefits:
Spider plants air-purifying plants that have been proven to remove airborne toxins in any room it is placed in. It works to remove formaldehyde and carbon monoxide from the air in your bedroom. Formaldehyde is a toxic gas that can cause irritation in your throat, nose, and eyes. This colorless gas can be found in a number of household products including fabrics, paper products, and particleboard.
Likes And Dislikes:
Spider plants only have two missteps: Too much excess water and direct sunlight. Try not to leave them directly exposed to the light, because the leaves can burn and die off. It’s a very easy-going plant that happily grows anywhere under low or high light conditions.
This means that you can easily grow this plant in less sunny places in your bedroom. It also doesn’t require any special type of soil and you can get away with just occasional watering it if you happen to be forgetful.
Living With Children And Pets:
Besides being an easy-to-grow plant, spider plants are considered safe for dogs, cats, and kids! However, spider plants do contain a chemical compound that is said to be related to opium. While the spider plant is considered nontoxic, these compounds can result in an upset stomach, vomiting, and diarrhea, if ingested.
2. Lavender Plant
A very popular flower for its beautiful look as well as its functional use as an essential oil, lavender is a must-have house plant for your bedroom. Lavender gives off a nice aroma that you simply can’t get anywhere else.
Lavender is a very distinctive-looking plant with tiny purple flowers that grow in a whirling pattern. Its foliage is a green-gray color. Lavender plants will typically grow as tall as two to three feet if they have the proper space to do so.
While purple is the most popular color for this plant, the Mediterranean plant does come in light pink with white flowers.
Health Benefits:
There’s no better place to grow this plant than in your bedroom because of its calming effects on the body. All it takes is a nice big whiff of lavender to help soothe your nervousness, depression, insomnia, or anxiety.
It’s naturally shown to reduce stress and help you breathe easily and have better sleep. This is exactly why you’ll find it for sale in many spa-like products including soaps, skin care creams, candles, and bath salts.
Likes And Dislikes:
Unlike the spider plant, lavender does need to be put in an area that receives direct sunlight throughout the day. However, you will need to water it often. The biggest fallback of growing indoors is the lack of light. Place near a southern-facing window. Plant your lavender plant in full sun and make sure the soil is well-drained.
Living With Children And Pets:
Lavender, the plant, does contain a small amount of a compound called linalool, which is toxic to both dogs and cats if ingested. This is a great plant for air purification, but it’s important to check if you are allergic to it before you use it.
3. Aloe Vera
This succulent house plant is very unique looking with stemless, fleshy leaves. These leaves are green with white speckles throughout. Along the edge of each leaf, you’ll see white spikes that help to make aloe vera very identifiable alongside other household plants.
Most people think of aloe vera as a clear gel-like substance that you use when you get sunburn. They forget all about the plant and that the gel comes from the aloe vera plants’ innermost part of the leaf.
This is a perfect type of house plant to get if you like to cure skin problems naturally. You can apply it directly to your skin to remedy a number of issues. Some of the most common are sunburn, frostbite, burns, cold sores, and psoriasis.
Health Benefits:
It produces extra oxygen at night, so like the other plants listed, it will purify the air in your bedroom while you sleep.
Likes And Dislikes:
Your aloe will need to be deeply watered so that the water penetrates the roots. Also, natural light but not too much is what this plant likes best. Maintaining an aloe vera plant can take some effort to grow correctly. You’ll want to avoid keeping your aloe vera plant in direct sunlight as it can cause the leaves to start browning.
Living With Children And Pets:
Although considered a medicinal plant totally safe for humans, aloe vera’s level of toxicity is mild to moderate for cats and dogs. Vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, depression, anorexia, and tremors, can happen to your little pets if ingested.
4. Snake Plant
If improving indoor air quality is your aim with your house plants, then a snake plant can be the perfect solution. You may also hear this type of plant referred to as mother-in-law’s tongue. Whatever name you refer to it as one thing is for sure, it helps to convert that used-up carbon dioxide back into oxygen as you sleep at night.
Snake plants are easily identifiable by their thick, leathery leaves. Since these plants grow two to four feet tall, you’ll be able to pick them out at the gardening center with ease. These leaves are comprised of a dark green tone that can have either a light green outside or simply light green waves running horizontally through each inch of the leaves.
Health Benefits:
Apart from removing carbon dioxide, this plant also removes harmful toxins including toluene, xylene, benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde. The snake plant truly is the best plant for air purification to help you breathe better indoors.
Likes And Dislikes:
Snake plants are typically about waist-high when fully grown. They’re one of the easiest house plants to grow. They don’t have to be placed in direct sunlight and you don’t have to water them very often. In fact, snake plants tend to grow better when you let the soil dry out a bit before watering.
Living With Children And Pets:
This plant is mildly toxic to pets as it does contain saponins; natural chemicals produced by the plant to protect it from insects, microbes, and fungi. The level of toxin, however, is relatively low.
5. Boston Fern
The last of the healthy indoor house plants that we’re going to talk about is the Boston fern. These are very commonly grown in homes as they’re very simple to take care of. It’s known to be a natural humidifier and air purifier for the home.
Boston ferns are described as having a cluster of long green leaves that are fern-like in nature. You’ll see a thin stem run through each leaf with tons of tiny leaves running horizontally along the stem. This type of fern will continue to spread to two or three feet in length at its prime
Health Benefits:
This type of fern works great for removing toxins in the air including xylene and formaldehyde. Since it’s a natural humidifier, it works great to help alleviate dry skin. This is great for those who are running air-conditioning around the clock. By having a couple of these ferns hanging around, you can ensure the room stays moisturized alongside your skin.
Likes And Dislikes:
Boston ferns thrive in cool environments and their soil must be kept very moist. You can grow these ferns in indirect sunlight as well.
Living With Children And Pets:
Boston ferns are non-toxic for both cats and dogs.
