The 6 Best Plants for a Healthy Home

The Indoor Plants Grading System

Resilience
How tough is your new friend.

Why Are They Healthy?
Indoor plants have special abilities, such as repelling insects or removing toxins from your home environment.

The Cost
You want to make sure you’re getting bang for your buck.

The 6 Ideal Indoor Plants for Your Home

Is this plant almost impossible to kill? Experts believe so. Ensure it is in a low light area, lightly spray leaves daily and don’t over-water the soil. The tropical leaves will be an aesthetically striking addition to your home.

Resilience
Water once a month because the plant is great at storing water. It only requires standard potting mix and should be kept out of direct sunlight.

Why Are They Healthy?
The Zanzibar Gem is resilient to pests and diseases, and it is also able to remove many toxins from your indoor air.

The Cost
The price varies from around $20 for a 25cm plant (size of pot not included in measurement) to $100-$120 for a 70cm plant.

Note: These plants can be toxic, so wash hands following handling and keep them away from kids and pets.

The look of these plants is stunning, and they thrive in warmer temperatures. Spider plants will produce small flowers first before their signature spider-like fronds.

Resilience
These are a great choice for novice gardeners. They prefer bright, but indirect, light and need to be watered once a week.
When watering, don’t saturate the plant and keep it in a cooler part of your home. Use distilled or rainwater to stop leaves from turning brown. The fluoride usually found in tap water causes salt build up in your soil and those brown marks.

Why Are They Healthy?
The spider plant reproduces quickly and absorbs mould and allergens, while targeting indoor air toxins such as formaldehyde and xylene.

The Cost
These plants are really affordable, priced at between $5-$10.

This one is a favourite and there are plenty of reasons why. They need minimal care, look fantastic in most rooms and have many benefits.

Resilience
Water deep into the roots every few weeks during warm months and less during winter. An Aloe Vera plant will thrive in a moderate temperature placed in indirect natural or artificial light.

Why Are They Healthy?
Your new Aloe Vera plant has myriad uses, from treating cuts and burns thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties to eliminating carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene and more. It’s completely non-toxic, too!

The Cost
You can pick up a small Aloe Vera plant at Bunnings for $10.50 as a starting point. If it survives, I’d probably spend a bit more to get a nicer and larger one.

This is a popular choice for bedrooms, mostly because it helps with sleep. It only needs minimal light and brings a little personality into a boring bedroom. Here’s the rundown.

Resilience
As one of the hardier indoor plants available, the Snake Plant will look cared for even if you haven’t touched it for weeks. They’ll survive low light, drought and pest problems.

Why Are They Healthy?
Enjoy the benefits of cleaner air as your plant converts carbon monoxide into oxygen, improving your sleep.

The Cost
A 19cm plant costs $30 from Ikea. There are many varieties (it’s also known as mother-in-law’s tongue), so do your research.

These retro style plants are back in style. While they do require a little more care than the others, there are some great benefits.

Resilience
Ensure the plant is kept in a warm environment; colder temps will slow or stop its growth. You should only water it when the soil is dry. These ones are also prone to pests, which can be prevented by cleaning leaves regularly.

Why Are They Healthy?
The Swiss Cheese Plant is effective at humidifying air-conditioned rooms. It looks great and will need plenty of space to grow. Just keep it away from your pets and children, as the leaves may be poisonous if ingested.

The Cost
You can find fairly priced options on Gumtree, while a 24cm plant will cost around $50 from Ikea.

Look-wise, these are certainly my favourite but they are of course the most expensive and the hardest to care for.

They are worth it if you want to challenge your green thumb.

Resilience
Monitor this one a bit closer to get the water ratio right. It’s definitely worthwhile getting a self-watering pot – you should be able to get a standard pot for between $15-$30.

Why Are They Healthy?
This is another plant that absorbs air pollutants, namely toluene and acetone.

The Cost
Expect to pay at least between $20-$50. However, take good care of it, and they will last about 10 years.

 Note: The availability of these plants is seasonal. This is a rough guide based on research and my experiences with attempting to grow indoor plants. Get some advice from an expert if you need more information.