Tropical Houseplants are Wonderful Because …
Why do we love tropical houseplants so much? Is it because they clean the air, boost our mood, give us a much needed screen break, they’re just so pretty, or all of the above? You probably know our answer, so what about yours?
You’ve probably heard that tropical houseplants can help clean the air in your home, but just in case you haven’t: back in the 1980s, NASA sent 12 ‘common’ tropical houseplants (Snake Plant, Pothos, etc.) into space and studied changes to the air quality within a controlled environment, aka the Space Shuttle. They found that tropical houseplants not only remove toxins and chemicals from the air, they also increase humidity and oxygen levels. So thanks to some highly trained astronauts and scientists, we can all breathe easier, literally! But we don’t just love tropicals for their air purifying skills…
There are other studies, though not as well known as those involving space travel, that show tropical houseplants are incredibly beneficial for our moods, too. For many, being in nature or being surrounded by living things, like indoor plants, makes us feel calm and content as we focus on the leaf, the flower, the moment. Your ZZ Plant is in no hurry to grow and maybe it’s onto something…
There’s an abundance of tropical houseplant photos on social media these days, with thousands of likes and followers, and that’s awesome! That gorgeous Monstera deserves an applause, and those Fiddleleaf Fig leaves are so huge they don’t seem real! And then we turn from our phones and see our own tropical houseplants – maybe it’s a colourful Croton or a lush Peace Lily – and we take the time to check their leaves, give them a big drink (if they need it) or even just rotate the pots so all sides can get some sun. Healthy plants help us feel great; followers and likes are just a bonus…
Then there’s the obvious choice: they are GORGEOUS! The blooms on an Orchid, the incredible foliage in the Dracaena family, the textures of Tropical Ferns, the jaw-dropping varieties of Cacti and Succulents – they are all so pretty! And to keep them looking good we turn to our plant care routine, which helps us feel happy and content because we’re caring for another living thing, and that living thing says “thank you” by cleaning our air and adding more oxygen to our homes, not to mention giving us a living art show, all of which helps us to feel better…
Tropical Houseplants are just…wonderful!