Houseplants improve indoor air quality

Take note of what houseplants will do for your home. NASA researchers found that houseplants play an important role in cleaning the air you breathe in your abode. These air fresheners produce their own food through photosynthesis. They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen as part of the photosynthetic process, something we dearly need.

NASA learned that common houseplants also absorb other harmful gases. They studied various methods of cleansing the atmosphere within their spaceships to keep them fit for human habitation over extended periods of time. Isn't that interesting how our common houseplants became their solution? Plants are able to scrub those harmful gases out of the air during photosynthesis.

There were three major polluting offenders -- benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene -- commonly found in new homes and offices. These pollutants come in furnished materials such as synthetic carpeting, fabrics, laminated counters, plastic-coated wallpaper and other materials known to release pollutants into a building's interior environment.

Then to add insult to injury, we are making better, energy-efficient homes insulated and sealed tighter to increase heating and cooling effectiveness. Although these improved homes save money and energy, they also trap pollutants indoors that are not able to dissipate to the outside.

If you have an older home that allows drafts to filter in and out, you don't need to worry about the above pollutants. But if you live in a tightly sealed home, or work in a building in which the air feels stale and circulation seems poor, houseplants would be the easiest way to improve indoor air quality.

Researchers also found soil and roots helped remove airborne pollutants. They found soil microorganisms become more efficient at absorbing pollutants when they were exposed to the roots and soil. And when NASA removed the plants' lower leaves for more soil surface contact, it increased the houseplants' effectiveness at removing pollutants.

NASA scientists studied 19 species for two years. These common houseplants do well in our homes year-round.

Most of these plants evolved in tropical or subtropical forests, where they received filtered light through taller trees. Because of this, their leaf composition lets them photosynthesize more efficiently under relatively low light conditions. This in turn allows your houseplants to process gases in the air more efficiently.

Here is a list of plants NASA investigated and found improved home air quality:

■ English ivy (Hedera helix);

■ spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

■ golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

■ peace lily (Spathiphyllum "Mauna Loa")

■ Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum);

■ bamboo or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii);

■ snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata);

■ heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron scandens "oxycardium");

■ selloum philodendron (Philodendron selloum);

■ elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum);

■ red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata);

■ cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragrans "Massangeana");

■ Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis "Janet Craig");

■ Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis "Warneckii"); and

■ weeping fig (Ficus benjamina).

Many of these houseplants are used in our casinos because they adapt to such low light conditions. NASA recommends that you use 15 to 18 good-sized houseplants in 6- to 8-inch diameter containers in an average 1,800-square-foot house.

MASTER GARDENER TRAINING

Nevada Cooperative Extension will have an information and registration session at 8:30 a.m. Friday for the upcoming spring training course that starts March 12 at 8050 Paradise Road.

The program is open to people willing to commit to 80 hours of instruction in sustainable desert gardening practices, including proper plant selection, care, pest management and water-efficient gardening. They also must volunteer 50 hours to many worthwhile community projects per year. You don't need a gardening background, just an interest and a desire to share it with others.

PRUNING FRUIT TREES

Stumped about how to prune apricots, plums and pluots? Then let Bob Morris from Nevada Cooperative Extension show you how. Classes begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and are repeated each hour until noon at the Master Gardener Orchard at 7700 Horse Drive in North Las Vegas. For details, call 257-5555.

Linn Mills writes a garden column
each Sunday. You can reach him at
linn.mills@springspreserve.org or 822-7754.