7 exotic pot plants to revive a plain bathroom
An injection of lush foliage can work wonders, particularly in an environment where low levels of light through small or frosted windows, high humidity and warm temperatures are commonplace. Why not take advantage of the surroundings and turn your bathroom into a tropical paradise?
What’s more, houseplants are nature’s air purifiers, so adding the right plants could be a win/win situation. Here are our top 7 bathroom picks.
1. Orchids
Give your bathroom that luxury spa feel and add an elegant and serenely beautiful orchid. Place it on a windowsill with a modicum of indirect sunlight – too much sunlight can scorch the leaves. Orchids will thrive in warm and humid conditions, which is their natural growing environment.
There are over 20,000 species of orchid; they are one of the largest families of flower plants. The relatively compact flower makes it perfect for smaller bathrooms – orchids don’t need much space and they are quite happy perched in the corner of the bath or next to the sink.
2. Ferns
Lush and leafy, ferns naturally grow in tropical forests – they love high humidity and indirect, filtered light which makes them ideal for bathrooms.
Place a fern in the corner of your bathroom or in a hanging basket and forget about it – well almost. Ferns are very low-maintenance as long as the air humidity is high. Their delicate leaves (‘fronds’) can be used to soften the lines of the bathroom design and hard surfaces such as metal, ceramics and glass.
What’s more, ferns act as air humidifiers and purifiers, and can eliminate traces from formaldehyde from the air.
3. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is a succulent with healing properties. Extremely low maintenance, it’s the plant that keeps on giving! Place it on the windowsill but out of direct sunlight (it can burn!) and water it when the fancy takes you. Aloes are known to be virtually indestructible; the humidity in the air meets all its needs for water.
As well as their striking beauty, Aloes are a very useful plant to have in your bathroom. The plant has been proven to improve indoor air quality, filtering out benzene from the air, a substance often found in paint and some chemical cleaners.
Aloe vera is perhaps best known as a healing plant for minor cuts and abrasions, insect bites and dry skin. By way of first aid, simply rinse the injury under the cold tap, then break off an aloe leaf and apply the gel as a topical treatment to the wound for an immediate cooling effect.
4. Peace Lily
Peace Lilies have glossy rich green leaves and love low light tropical conditions, so as long as there’s a bit of indirect sunlight at some point in your bathroom, it should be fine. Don’t water it too often; in fact, a daily misting or position next to the steamy shower should be ample. With minimal sunlight and a moist soil, you may even get a good show of white flowers.
Able to filter household impurities from the air including benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde toxins, peace lilies are on NASA’s Clean Air Study list of best houseplants for improving air quality.
5. Lucky Bamboo
Lucky bamboo must be the most Zen like plant you can have in your bathroom. The bamboo stalks have no roots and will grow with not much light and no soil! Just place the architectural looking stalks – you can get straight and twisted varieties – into a container with a bit of water and some pebbles (not forgetting to change the water every 2 weeks or so) and they will root quickly.
Lucky bamboo is a compact plant that takes up little room but beware that bamboo is a fast growing plant. Should you decide to get a potted bamboo plant, watch out!
6. Snake Plant
Also known variously as Mother-in-Law’s Tongue or Sansevieria, the Snake Plant is perfect for bathrooms. It is one of the hardiest and easiest-to-look-after houseplants around, being extremely flexible when it comes to its light, temperature and water needs.
With its long vertical leaves with yellow or white edging, it’s a compact choice for small spaces. The Snake Plant is also mentioned in NASA’s Clean Air Study as a great air purifier. It is known for cleansing nasty household toxins from the bathroom air, such as formaldehyde which is commonly found in many bathroom products: cleaning products, tile grout and adhesive, toilet paper and tissues, even cosmetics.
7. Ivy
One of the easiest houseplants to keep, ivy loves most and humid conditions and only requires moderate sunlight exposure. It’s an evergreen vine that is happy to trail from a hanging basket or high window ledge, or alternatively up a moss stick or trellis, making it a great choice for small bathrooms where space is at a premium.
English Ivy is one of NASa’s top plants for air purification, able to remove feces and mould from the surrounding air.
Article provided by Mike James, an independent writer working together with London based specialist the Bathroom Discount Centre Ltd.
Comments
Post a Comment