Book review: How to Grow Fresh Air by BC Wolverton

I've been delaying and delaying getting a plant for my desk at work, but I am starting to regret that having started to read Dr BC Wolverton's book How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office. The author carried out research for Nasa looking at air quality in spacecraft and for potential lunar bases, in the process discovering that certain houseplants are brilliant at filtering pollutants that are rife in modern homes, such as formaldehyde, xylene and benzene. A range of health complaints are attributed to exposure to these pollutants, found in everything from particleboard to fabrics. Indoor air pollution could also be a major factor in sudden infant death syndrome, Wolverton says, as most new babies go into freshly-painted, carpeted rooms which are therefore full of pollutant emmissions. Yikes. Reading further about how efficient plants are at dealing with the likes of formaldehyde, it made me want to run out and buy a load of new plants for every room in the house right now.

Dr Wolverton helpfully gives each of the plants he features a rating out of 10 based on removal of chemical vapours, ease of growth and maintence, resistance to pests and transpiration rate. The number one rated plant is the areca palm, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, which he describes as "consistently rated as one of the best houseplants for removing all indoor air toxins tested". Other high scorers include the rubber plant, Ficus robusta, common-or-garden ivy (Hedera helix) and various members of the Dracaena family.

I've already got several of the book's top 50, but I'm also aware I have no plants in my daughter's room or my bedroom - places where a bit of pollutant removal should be a priority, it seems to me. The top performer of the areca palm looks like a must-have, but they seem fairly pricey as they're usually sold as largish specimens of 1m tall or more, but I just spotted they have them in Ikea: a 120cm tall plant for £16.99. Sanseveria trifasciata, commonly known by by its un-PC title mother-in-law's tongue, only scores 6.3 on Dr Wolverton's scale, but fascinatingly it differs from most plants in that it produces oxygen at night rather than carbon dioxide - a good one for the bedroom perhaps?

If you're one of those people that can't reall see the point of houseplants, this book is worth a read. If you're into houseplants already, it'll shed new light on your hobby. Just don't buy all the areca palms from Ikea before I get there, ok?!

Comments

[twitter.com/stopwatchgarden]

My houseplants seem less inclined to commit suicide now that I keep them in the unheated conservatory. How to get houseplanty goodness into the air of the rest of the house, éspecially the bedroom, without killing off the do-gooders? Heat is on full blast against the gales blowing over the Scottish tundra outside.

[L. Perrone]

was just about to put the areca palm I got from ikea in the alley. It is mostly dead due to my neglect. On reading your review am considering reviving it. If all the leaves are brown do you think I'll have any luck?

[Jane Perrone]

Sounds pretty dead to me, Louise. If there's no green left, consign it to the alley and buy a new one!

[Ofer]

Hi Jane,

Great important post.
What is amazing is that this research by NASA was over 15 years ago- but still not just most of us not aware to it- the Way the houses are built and what we tend to have is included more and more things that create this 'pollutants'.

So it is actually important to publish it as much as possible. There is a lot of research that show that were there are more indoor plants -children getting better results at school (not surprising as plants make people more come and relaxed).

In the coming weeks, hoping to launch- new line that we presented at glee and improved since of little planters to hang on the window/wall indoor - saying that as it an help growing indoor plants in the best place in the room.

wishing you great 2010

[Dirty Girl Gardening]

Great post, thanks.. another book to check out if you really want to go over board with worry is: The Sick House. I'm not sure the author right now, but you can google it. It shows how we can improve on all aspects of our home environment.

[Dirty Girl Gardening]

It's so nice to have plants at work... makes for a much nicer work day.

[Amanda]

I have a lot of houseplants, but I've never thought about which ones would be better to have around. Thanks for the article - very interesting.
I'll start paying more attention when I buy plants now!

[Patic Isme]

Does the author actually state the amounts of pollutant removed by what weight of plant? The last figures I saw (from the NASA research) showed that you would need a couple of rooms fully forested with plants in constant growth with forced ventilation to make any difference to pollution in a room.

We appreciate houseplants because we evolved around plants and they make us feel at home. The best ones to have around are the ones you love to look at, not those recommended by a Daily Mail scare headline.

If you want to reduce the pollutants in your home the best thing is to get a extractor fan blowing into your house through a carbon filter. Apart from adding fresh air to the room without the chemical pollutants that come from building materials this will also ensure that your home is free of particulate (which has been shown by research to cause a small increase in sudden infant death) and pollen. Ventilation is ignored by many people in air-conditioned, centrally-heated rooms. People seem more likely to spray an "air-freshener" than open a window.

I love houseplants (that is why I am reading your lovely blog) and am all for luddite solutions (I wash my clothes in the bath) but in some cases the technological fix is the best one.

Please don't help to propagate the myth that plants produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide. Having a pet or partner in the room with you will produce much more carbon dioxide than a room full of fast-growing soya plants. Again, the ventilation in your room should be sufficient to stop you asphyxiating on your own exhaled carbon dioxide. If it was built before ventilation was legally enforced by building standards then consult an architect or get some fans installed.

The carbon dioxide myth was common in hospitals as a reason for clearing away the patient's flowers every day for the convenience of the matron. Blinding by science is seldom so obvious. Modern hospitals realise the benefit of flowers for patients and don't pretend that they are unhealthy. I know I probably come across as a bad-tempered science crank but that is because it is annoying that a lie can run round the world while the truth is still putting its boots on. Playing on people's understandable fears with bad science is an excellent way to sell a book.