Eco-Friendly Artificial House Plants

There seemed to be a few years where house plants weren’t as commonly used as room decor. Probably part of the rise in popularity of house plants is the numerous pictures on Instagram and Pinterest that show beautiful rooms with one or more plants in them. Strangely though many people prefer fake plants to real ones. The excuse often used is that they find it hard to keep plants alive. For these people there are quite a few companies now selling ‘eco-friendly artificial house plants’, but in what way are they eco-friendly?

What are eco-friendly artificial house plants?

• Made out of recycled or recyclable materials
• They don’t need water (and we need to use less water)
• They can last for years, reducing consumerism

I’ve been fairly generous with what makes artificial plants environmentally friendly, as lots of plants actually need very little water to stay alive.

Artificial House Plants Vs Real House Plants

So what are the pros and cons of real or fake plants?

• Both real and artificial house plants brighten up a room
• Real house plants help to detoxify a room and provide oxygen, artificial ones don’t
• Fake house plants don’t need to be watered, real ones do
• Real house plants can be composted, fake ones can’t
• Fake house plants can’t be killed, real ones can
• Real house plants (some of them) can act as natural room fragrances, fake ones can’t
• Fake – Recyclable products are not always that easy to recycle and may end up in landfill anyway

What’s the difference in price?

A 1.2 metre artificial bamboo palm will cost you between £45 and £55 on Amazon. A 1 metre real bamboo palm will cost you £49.99 from the RHS website. So really not a huge difference to buy real rather than fake.

So far it seems that eco-friendly artificial house plants are just as good as real ones. But I don’t personally believe that. The final point above is the one that completely puts me off choosing fake over real as well as the fact that real plants are actually beneficial to our health.

“A 1989 NASA study, often referred to as the Clean Air Study, concluded that certain plants can improve air quality not only by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, but also by eliminating significant amounts of certain potentially harmful air pollutants.” – Self

There are some house plants that are extremely beneficial to have around that are also really difficult to kill, if that’s your excuse for not buying real plants. I will always recommend buying natural rather than synthetic materials for anything around the house. So let’s look into the easiest house plants to keep alive and any other benefits they have.

Easy House Plants to Keep Alive

Aloe Vera

Health Benefits

• Helps to clear formaldehyde and benzene from the air (commonly found in household cleaners and paints).
• The gel can be used to soothe sunburn.

How to look after an aloe vera plant

• Keep them in indirect sunlight as harsh sunlight can make the leaves turn brown.
• For best results use a soil that drains well. For smaller pots any kind of potting compost will do as they will drain quickly anyway as long as the pot you use has a drainage hole.
• Don’t overwater your aloe vera. You can water it maybe once a week in winter. In summer give the soil a good soak and then wait for it to dry before watering the plant again.

Best rooms to keep them in

• Lounge, Bedroom, Bathroom

Snake Plant

Health Benefits

• One of the best plants for clearing formaldehyde.
• Absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen at night. (Most plants do this during the day apparently).

How to look after a snake plant

• Keep them in indirect sunlight.
• Use a good draining soil and pot with a drainage hole.
• Don’t water them too much. Like the aloe vera ensure the soil has drained before watering them again.

Best rooms to keep them in

• Bedroom, Bathroom

Spider Plant

Health Benefits

• Helps to clear formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide and xylene (used in the leather, rubber and printing industries).
• Safe for pets.

How to look after a spider plant

• Keep them in bright but indirect sunlight. They will survive in darker areas though. They don’t like extreme heat.
• Use a good compost that drains easily.
• Water regularly during summer, but allow the top of the soil to dry out between waterings. Mist the leaves occasionally and trim any brown tips off.

Best rooms to keep them in

• Any room is good for a spider plant.

Dracaena

Health Benefits

• Helps to clear formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene (found in some household cleaning products).
• (Keep them out of reach of cats and dogs).

How to look after a dracaena plant

• Keep them in bright light but out of direct sunlight.
• Use good draining soil in a clay pot with a drainage hole.
• Don’t allow the soil to get completely dry but you can water dracaena well once a week. Water slowly until you see some water draining out of the bottom.

Best rooms to keep them in

• Lounge, Bedroom

Bamboo Palm

Health Benefits

• Helps clear formaldehyde from furniture, benzene and trichloroethylene.

How to look after a bamboo palm

• Best in bright, indirect sunlight but does well in shady areas.
• Well draining soil in pot with drainage holes.
• Keep the soil moist in summer, and reduce watering in autumn and winter.

Best rooms to keep them in

• Lounge (they can grow quite tall)

If you want to have house plants to brighten up your room decor, try out the five above to start with. As far as I’m concerned, no matter what the label says, there is no such thing as an eco-friendly artificial house plant. The health benefits of real plants outweigh any potential benefits to owning artificial house plants. Having plants indoors also helps your mental wellbeing as well as reducing indoor air pollution.

Learn how to decorate your home the eco-friendly way.

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