Photo credit: Chicago Tribune

The Wall Street Journal is writing about the role of houseplants in cleaning our increasingly polluted indoor air.

We spent about 90 percent of our time indoors, where the level of pollutants can be five times greater than outside, the Journal writes, especially as we try to conserve energy with more insulation and tighter windows.

Researchers are trying to determine which plants do the best job of cleaning our air and if plants can be bred to be better at it.

Makes you want to go out and buy a philodendron...

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Houseplants
        

 Croton Codiaeum variegatum pictum

Photo credit: Virginia Williams

Michael Tortorello writes in The New York Times that his house has always been a halfway house for houseplants.

"Halfway between a cozy berth in someone else’s home and a pauper’s grave in my backyard."

In this light-hearted essay on what I will agree are the toughest plants to keep alive, Tortorello asks some experts for their advice on what to try.

And there is a slide show of houseplants as well.

Orchids are on the list. I will agree that they are tough to kill. Re-blooming is another matter entirely.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Houseplants