I just read an article in 'Natural Awakenings NYC" magazine about a recent study done by the American Source for Horticultural Science, 2009 stating that certain plants release harmful gasses into the air instead of sucking up harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and breathing out oxygen like most plants do. Two of the plants they listed are the peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii Regel) and the snake plant(Sansevieria trifasciata Prain). I have several of both these types of plants, four peace lilies and three snake plants. I am wondering if I should get rid of them or if it takes a lot more plants than I have to actually notice any harmful effects from the plants in the air? Please share your ideas on the subject.

Thanks,
JEN

wow really never heard of that .. doyou have a link to the article? i recently read a top 10 list of best plants to clean the air in your home and snakeplant (mother in laws tongue its called also) was llisted as nmber one lol



...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

The article is on page 23 of 'natural awakenings" New York Magazine. Their website is NaturalAwakeningsNYC.com. Yes I too read that both the peace lilly and snake plants were great for cleaning air, which is why I bought them. I am a bit perplexed at this point.

Here's where Natural Awakenings NYC got that info:

[www.ashs.org]

Note, the VOCS emitted aren't from the plants themselves, but uptaken from the planting mixture or from the synthetic materials of the pots in which they were planted. Plant them naturally, and your peace lily and snake plants oughtn't to be death machines : )

Interesting. I only have spider plants, jasmine and hoya because I have cats and they are deemed cat-safe. I used to have some lovely cacti but they got eaten.

Thanks for the advice and linking the full story, Tamukha. I bought my plants from whole foods and the farmers market so I am hoping they are pesticide free and I will have to invest in some natural pots. What a shock it was when I first read this article. I feel better now, though I will probably stick to golden pothos and rubber plants which seem a little safer.

Klandestine- I didn't know pets liked to eat cacti, how did they manage that?

JEN

rubyjewel Wrote:
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>
> Klandestine- I didn't know pets liked to eat
> cacti, how did they manage that?
>
> JEN


Jen - I have odd cats. One likes greenery and one could care less (except for the spider plant - apparently it is a hallucinogen for them. (Great, I live with drug addicts.) Not sure why the one cat thought the cacti was appetizing. He has an iron stomach. This particular cactus had two inch super sharp spikes on it. He scaled a four foot tall entertainment center to get at it. I came home one day and he was happily devouring it, spikes and all. I do not set a Christmas tree up anymore because one year he ate a few of the light bulbs off of it. Surprisingly there were no repercussions. He will also eat any lint or fuzzies off of the floor so I have to vacuum regularly. I have to do a "floor check" each day before I go to work to make sure there is nothing for him to chow down on. Sometimes it's like having a 2 year old around.

Sounds like you have a cross-bred animal - a goat-cat! We once had a dog that would eat anything that wasn't fastened down. Funny thing, he lived to be the oldest dog we ever had!

Weird. I have a daughter like that. Sure, she'll put any and everything into her mouth and she's nearly 3 now! Freaky kids of mine...
I have a new wandering jew cutting from my mom and the little man has a scooby doo chia pet (hee hee). That's it for plants in this house, I move around too much to have many of them. Anything we plant this year will be outside I think