Benefits of Indoor Plants 

Houseplants make a home cheerier, but what do they have to do with 55+ health? The answer is simple. In addition to brightening your home, house plants filter the air so that you can breathe easier. This is important because indoor air quality is a major problem, with the air inside sometimes being as much as five times more polluted than the air outside. Cleaning chemicals and volatile organic compounds inside our homes are dangerous, but they’re particularly serious for older people. Putting indoor plants in your 55+ apartment is an easy way to help clean the air and help your lungs to work better, even if you’re living with COPD. Which are the best plants to choose? We have a list. 

  • Aloe vera is very beneficial. This lovely succulent pulls formaldehyde and benzene out of the air, absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. As an added bonus, if you get a burn, you can break off a frond of your aloe plant and use the soothing gel inside to treat it. Aloe is easy to grow in front of a sunny window, and it prolifically produces offshoots. If you’d like a hobby, replanting the baby aloe plants is a fun thing to do. 
  • Rubber plants can grow to 10 feet tall or be pruned to a more manageable height. They have beautiful, large, glossy leaves, and remove formaldehyde, mold spores, and bacteria from the air. They’re hardy, thriving in indirect light, and they’re great for vertical gardens. 
  • Snake plants are also known as mother-in-law’s tongues. At night, they emit oxygen while removing carbon dioxide from the air, making them perfect for bedrooms. Their thick, pointy foliage also removes pollutants like smog, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from the air. What’s more, they’re easy to grow, sturdy, and don’t require much light or water. 
  • Weeping figs aren’t actually fig trees, but tropical Ficus plants. They like filtered sunlight and regular watering, and they’re best planted in large pots. They can grow tall, and they are good at removing chemicals from the air, including xylene, formaldehyde, and toluene. 
  • Peace lilies have bright glossy leaves, white flowers, and soft white spikes embedded in their stems. They’re beautiful and useful, cleaning indoor air of chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia, acetone, and xylene. Be careful if you have pets or frequently entertain small children because peace lilies are toxic to those who chew on their leaves. 
  • Gerbera daisies provide a pop of color to your home. In addition to being pretty, they remove formaldehyde and benzene from the air. They’re best kept outdoors during the day, though, because they require a lot of light. 
  • Need more ideas? There are oodles of other plants that remove formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, benzene, carbon monoxide, and xylene from the air. Red-edged dracaenas are a beautiful shrub, though, sadly, not pet friendly. Spider plants have pretty green fronds with tiny white flowers, and don’t complain at a lack of watering. English ivy needs constant watering and doesn’t like a lot of light, and golden pothos features vines that cascade from a hanging basked and grow best in filtered sunlight. Talk to your local garden store- they’re sure to have even more ideas for you!

When you’re ready to find a luxurious active adult community where a healthy lifestyle is prioritized, consider Larkspur at Creekside. A family-owned and managed 55-plus community, we offer resort-style apartments and cottages in New Braunfels, Texas, with an emphasis on active living. We give our residents the chance to transition from the responsibilities and burdens of home ownership to a lifestyle of convenience and luxury, full of new friends, new activities, and new adventures. To learn more about life at Larkspur at Creekside, call 830-625-2277, or contact us through our website.