Going Green in Your Apartment

Plants in your apartment can be extremely beneficial; they provide a cost-effective and easy way to spruce up your apartment while also supplying health benefits.

Benefits of Indoor Plants

Plants add color and a touch of nature to your apartment, which can help boost your mood. In fact, just having a couple of plants around can improve your emotional well-being and even lead to lower levels of stress. Some indoor plants are able to get rid of pollutants and toxins that can build up in your home, such as formaldehyde in furniture and other products. If you have a respiratory condition, such as asthma, eliminating these irritants can help your lungs and airways stay healthy.

Best Indoor Plants

What kinds of indoor plants should you get?

• Plants that are easy to care for and don’t need much water include ZZ plants, aloe, pothos, umbrella trees and rubber plants.
• Plants that clear air pollutants from your home include peace lilies, dracaena, orchids, Boston ferns, bamboo palms, ficus, spider plants and snake plants.
• Plants that can boost your mood, improve concentration and lower stress levels include anthurium, bromeliads and lucky bamboo.

What to Do About Low Levels of Light

If you’re in an apartment that doesn’t get much sunlight, choose indoor plants that don’t require a lot of light, such as dracaena, philodendron, bromeliads, spider plants and snake plants.

If you really want flowering plants or other plants that do need sunlight, you can take steps to increase the amount of light they get, such as keeping your windows clean. Opening sheers and blinds to let in as much light as possible can also help. You can also try using artificial light for these plants, such as halogen lamps or fluorescent lights for a certain amount of time each day.

Best Places to Put Plants

This depends on the amount of light your plants need. Those that need a high amount of sunlight should be near windows that get a lot of sun during the day, such as windows that face south. Just make sure that it’s safe to have these plants in direct sunlight.

You’ll also need to pay attention to natural lighting conditions during different seasons. For example, move plants away from south-facing or west-facing windows during the summer months, so they won’t get too much light and heat. North-facing windows are generally safe, although some flowering plants won’t do well near these windows during the winter months since they don’t get much sunlight.