What houseplants clean the air? I am surprised at a couple of them. You have them in your garden growing now.

image from evertricks.com

GOOD morning, and what a lovely morning it is.  The low humidity and temperature are enjoyable.  I know it is going to change, this is Iowa, and it is July.  Hot and humid will come back.  Enjoy this while we have it.  I have the windows open, and the fresh air is awesome. 
We got back from the fair and unloaded. Now I need to do the next step which is composting the plants which isn’t my favorite so I will take my time to do that.  If you need some plants give me a call at 641-794-3337  or cell 641-903-9365 and I will let you know if we have it.  Email at [email protected]
We will be going to the Herb Fest in Greene on July 28th Sunday.  Looks like it might be a bit warm, but we will have the awnings set up so you can shop in the shade.  It is a great shopping experience for your gardening.
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I have been asked what plants to help clean the air.  I found this article about that.  I learned so much as what we know as outside plants can be grown as house plants.  AWESOME and I have some of them here. 
 Discover Air-Purifying Houseplants For Your Home by Robin Sweetser
Did you know that houseplants help purify the air in our homes? We’ve long known that indoor plants improve our mood and reduce stress levels, but improving air quality is an additional benefit! See the best air-purifying houseplants.
Today, Americans spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors, often in places with little or no ventilation. The air inside our super-insulated modern homes and offices is often unhealthy due to harmful chemicals called “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs), which can cause short- and long-term medical problems.
Plants, on the other hand, can absorb these airborne chemicals through their foliage, break them down in their root systems, and turn them into sugars, amino acids, and other useful “building blocks” of life.
Indoor pollutants come in two major varieties:
Particulates such as dust, mold spores, and pollen.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases released from paints, fabrics, wallpaper, carpeting, plastics, and solvents commonly found in most homes. Even household chemicals such as bleach, ammonia, detergents, furniture polish, carpet cleaners, and moth balls give off harmful gases.
Mechanical or electrostatic filters can be effective in trapping particulates, but airborne chemicals are difficult to eliminate entirely unless we remove the source.
What Do Plants Have to Do with Indoor Air?
Let’s review a basic bit of botany: plants absorb carbon dioxide (Co2) and release oxygen (O2), which is used by all humans and living beings to breathe. Outdoors, tree planting makes use of that concept to atone for the effects of air pollution. So, would indoor plants do the same with indoor air?
Back in 1989, a NASA Clean Air Study tested 19 different species of plants to see if they would be effective at cleaning the air. They found that in just 24 hours, up to 87% of the formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene was removed from the air by the leaves and roots of the plants, while oxygen was returned to the room. Bottom line: common, low-light houseplants absorbed toxins and helped purify the air!
…Or so we thought. A 2019 study by the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology concluded that the effect of indoor plants on indoor VOC levels has been a bit overblown. While they do purify the air, they do so at such a slow rate that it doesn’t make much of an impact in the end.
A study in India (2008) showed that workers in plant-filled office buildings had 24 percent fewer headaches, 52 percent less eye irritation, 34 percent fewer respiratory conditions, and a 12 percent higher lung capacity than workers in plantless environments.
An Australian study (2010) showed that ‘Janet Craig’ dracaena and the peace lily reduced negative moods (e.g., anger, anxiety, depression, stress) in office workers by 40 to 60 percent over 3 months.
We say: Every little bit helps! And, frankly, it’s not surprising that some houseplants purify the air.
Some of the best air-purifying houseplants are:
1. Spider Plants
Spider Plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are powerful air purifiers that are able to remove formaldehyde, a gas that is emitted by cigarette smoke, dry cleaning, synthetic carpeting, fingernail polish, and more. Spider plants also remove carbon monoxide, which you may find in rooms with fireplaces or stoves. Fortunately, spider plants are very easy to grow and maintain. Just keep it moist in a semi-sunny to a shady spot, and it will thrive.
2. Philodendrons
Philodendrons, one of the most popular houseplants, are also excellent air purifiers and remove formaldehyde gases from the air. Plus, they are practically bullet-proof plants with quick-growing trailing vines and pretty heart-shaped leaves. They can take full sun to shade if watered regularly. Heart-leaf, Philodendron selloum, and elephant ear philodendrons are the best air cleaners.
3. English Ivy
English Ivy (Hedera helix) is also a popular, hardy plant that is easy to grow. It removes most pollutants. Ivy doesn’t like high temperatures and prefers to stay cool. Keep moist and spray the leaves weekly to discourage spider mites.
A very effective air purifier that can take on benzene, as well as other compounds, English ivy tolerates fairly low light (although varieties with variegated leaves will lose their markings in too much shade).
4. Peace Lily
The Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) is a beautiful plant with a lovely white flower that thrives nicely in average indoor temperatures. Peace lilies are known to clean the air of alcohols, acetone, trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde. Keep moist in a semi-shady location.
5. Snake Plant
The Variegated Snake Plant (Sansevieria trivasciata), also called “Mother-in-Law’s Tongue,” is very easy to grow. Water heavily, then let it dry out before watering again. It can survive any location, from sun to shade.
Snake plant (this 35-year-old Mother-in-Law’s Tongue actually did come from a mother-in-law).
6. Bromeliads
Bromeliads win a gold star for cleaning up most pollutants. They release oxygen and remove air pollutants at night while you sleep! These pretty plants, with their bright flowers and green foliage, do best with bright, indirect sunlight or fluorescent office lighting. This drought-tolerant plant doesn’t need much maintenance, but it will get root rot if you over-water it or don’t provide good drainage.
NOTE:  I thought I should know what these are so this is what I found out.  Tillandsia which are the air plants.   
Bromeliads are a group of tropical plants with colorful and ornamental foliage and flowers.  They can be grown as houseplants or outdoors in warm climates. They are either terrestrial or epiphytic, meaning they can grow on the ground or on other plants.  Bromeliads are slow-growing and long-lived, and they rarely have diseases. There are many types of bromeliads, such as Aechmea, Ananas, Billbergia, Cryptanthus, Dyckia, Guzmania, Neoregelia, and Tillandsia.
7. Dracaena
Dracaena likes to be kept moist in a semi-sunny to a shady location. Warneck, Janet Craig, red-edged, and cornstalk dracaenas have been rated the highest in removing air pollutants. The Janet Craig is especially good at removing trichloroethylene; this is easy to grow and tolerates neglect; buy one for your office and keep one next to your computer desk at home. 
NOTE:  on the dracaena, which I knew one variety is what use as a thriller in our containers outside but can be grown as a house plant.
Is Dracaena Spike An Indoor Plant?
The beauty of growing the Dracaena indivisa is that you can grow them nearly anywhere. The plant can thrive in partial sun to bright shade, which means it can be placed both indoors and outdoors, where you want some natural color.
 Furthermore, dracaena spike plants don’t mind growing in containers as long as it’s the right size. As a general rule, you’ll want to have a pot that’s a few inches bigger than the plant’s root ball. Fill it up with a well-drained potting mix and it should stabilize in a few days. In regions where temperatures plummet in winter, the spiked dracaena can be brought indoors so it can survive the season. If this is the case then you won’t need to cut the foliage or do a hard prune.
8. Weeping Fig
Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) likes bright indirect light, high humidity, and warm temperatures. Water is when the top of the soil feels dry, and mist the top regularly.
9. Rubber Plants
Rubber plants (Ficus elastica) tolerate dim light and cool temperatures and remove air toxins from any indoor environment. This plant is especially good at removing formaldehyde, the most common toxin in the home. It grows slowly and tops out at about 10 feet tall indoors.
10. Areca palms
Areca palms (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) are beautiful, easy plants that remove all indoor air toxins. They also humidify the air (a tall areca palm will add a quart of water a day to your home’s humidity). It is an especially good remover of toluene and xylene.
More Plants That Clean the Air
If you would rather have flowering plants, two that fared well in the testing were Chrysanthemums and Gerbera daisies. They are effective at removing VOCs and producing blossoms, too!
Chinese evergreens (Aglaonema) like warm temperatures and medium to low light conditions. Allow it to dry a bit between waterings. Keep out of drafts, which can cause the leaves to brown.
Reed or Bamboo Palms thrive in low light as long as they are kept evenly moist. An excellent all-around air purifier that will cleanse your home or office of benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene, these palms are very easy to maintain.
Other great air-purifying houseplants include Boston ferns, aloe vera, and bird of paradise.
No need to turn your home into a jungle, though: In a house with 8 to 9-foot high ceilings, only one or two plants per 100 square feet of floor space is beneficial. The roots and micro-organisms in the soil play as important a role as the leaves, so plants should be in 6- to 8-inch wide pots with the soil surface exposed to the air. Soaking up toxins seems to have no adverse effect on the plants studied. Research shows that they safely metabolize the compounds by breaking them down to harmless carbon, water, and salts.
We clean our homes of dirt, so why not clean the air—especially if it is as easy as adding a few more houseplants?
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/10-indoor-plants-clean-air
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected] 641-794-3337  641-903-9365