9 outdoor plants that are best for the bedroom

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A bedroom is designed to be an oasis of relaxation to get away from the noise and chaos of everyday life. As in a literal oasis, plants are a necessity in bedrooms. Not only are they soothing to the eyes, but they also purify the air and increase the amount of oxygen in the air. In return for this, all they need is to be watered everyday.

Not all plants can flourish indoors. The amount of sunlight required is an important factor to be considered while choosing plants for a bedroom. Plants that need a lot of direct sunlight are not suitable to be used as plants in a bedroom. Plants that are generally categorized as indoor plants have a low tolerance for cool temperatures, a long lifespan, and can thrive in containers. Indoor plants are both flowering and non-flowering with a majority being the latter. Here are nine plants that are ideally suited for bedrooms.

Snake Plant

While most plants emit oxygen only during the day, the Snake Plant has a unique ability to absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen at night. This sets the Snake Plant apart from other plants and makes it ideal for bedrooms. Along with this, it also filters other harmful toxins from the air. Growing a Snake Plant is relatively easy as it tolerates low light, is drought-tolerant and is rarely attacked by insects. There are around 70 evergreen varieties of Snake Plants that grow up to a maximum height of 12 feet. The most common species of Snake Plants that is grown indoor is the Sansevieria trifasciata. It is also often known as the ‘mother-in-law’s tongue’.

Orchids

Orchids are beautiful flowering plants that bloom all through the year. Though orchids are considered high maintenance plants, they are in reality quite easy to grow. They love humidity and thrive under indirect sunlight. Bedside tables or window sills of north- or east-facing windows are ideal places to grow orchid pots. Orchids are available in a variety of colors, ranging from the popular purple orchids to the pure white dove orchids and dainty yellow dancing girl orchids. According to Feng Shui, another reason to have orchids in a bedroom is the positive influence they have on relationships.

Parlor Palm

Though the Parlor Palm grows up to 4 feet tall, it has an attractive and dainty appearance. It is easy to care for and tolerates low light and low humidity. Like most palms, it is sensitive to over-watering and needs soil with good drainage. Amongst indoor plants, the Parlor Palm is one of the most efficient air cleaners, making it also one of the most popular bedroom plants.

Pothos

Pothos or the money plant is one of the most common indoor plants. Golden Pothos with variegated leaves is the most commonly available variety of the Pothos plants. Pothos does well in indirect sunlight and requires moist soil. This hardy plant is undemanding and does well in soil, as well as when rooted in a vase of water. Pothos is said to be particularly efficient at absorbing carbon monoxide from the air, making it the ideal bedroom plant. When rooted in soil, Pothos can be grown as hanging vine or on moss sticks as a tall creeper. Like in the picture, Romero Duarte and Arquitetos, architects from Recife, Brazil, have used Money Plants, in combination with other plants, to liven up the living space.

Rubber Tree

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The Rubber Tree is not the source of rubber used in erasers or tires and contrary to what the name suggests, does not grow in the form of a tree. Instead, these are tall plants with large greenish-red leaves. Rubber Trees excel at filtering air and are the least fussy to take care of. Rubber Trees prefer bright, indirect light and they need to be kept moist. While growing a rubber tree as a bedroom plant, take care not to touch the sap that flows out of the plant on breaking a leaf, as it can be poisonous. This is the reason most parents do not plant rubber trees in children’s bedrooms.

Peace Lily

The Peace Lily is another efficient air cleaner, known not only for its ability to balance oxygen and carbon dioxide, but also for its ability to filter harmful toxins. Peace Lilies are also known to increase the moisture content in the air by 5%, thereby weighing down allergy-inducing airborne microbes. Peace Lilies grow well in low light as well as medium sunlight, however plants grown in low light tend to have lesser flowers than those grown in more light. Peace Lilies are very drought-tolerant and need to be watered only when the soil is dry.

Lavender

Lavender is best known for its fragrance, which when inhaled has a soothing and sedating effect. This makes lavender an ideal plant for bedrooms. Lavender requires plenty of sunlight and regular watering and needs to be protected from drafty winds. Amongst all the lavender varieties, the French Lavender is most suited as an indoor plant, but even French Lavender needs to be taken outdoors in the flowering season.

Gardenia

With its aromatic flowers, Gardenia is a popular bedroom plant. However, it demands attention and can be tricky to grow. Gardenia needs a lot of indirect sunlight, balanced with cool temperatures and high levels of humidity in the air.  An ideal place in the bedroom for a Gardenia plant is near a south-facing window. If you feel your Gardenia plant isn’t getting enough sunlight, you could install a lamp beside it to provide artificial lighting as well. To maintain the high levels of humidity required by the Gardenia plant, it can be misted daily or placed on a saucer filled with pebbles and water.

Aloe Plant

Aloe Vera has a number of health benefits and grows well both indoors and outdoors. One of its features that also make it an ideal bedroom plant is that, like the Snake Plant, it can absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen at night. Aloe Vera requires plenty of direct sunlight and doesn’t require frequent watering making it easy to maintain.

Other plants that are good air-purifiers and suited to bedrooms are Bamboo Palms, Spider Plants, and Jasmines.

For those wanting to know more, Indoor Plants and Vertical Gardens is yet another interesting read on a related topic!

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