Just about every living thing in this world needs to breathe, and this includes plants. But, do indoor plants need fresh air or is the air in your house enough?
Let’s have a look into what is the best thing for your inside jungle, and whether you need to be putting them outside all the time.
What You'll Learn Today
Do Indoor Plants Need Fresh Air?
In a word, yes. All plants need air to survive, almost as much as they need water, good soil and nutrients.
Air is actually a vital part of a plant’s health; they need the fresh air to help them grow, and to help get rid of their waste products.
Plants survive and thrive using the gas carbon dioxide in order to grow and flourish; this combined with water and sunlight allows them to photosynthesize.
If your plants don’t have enough carbon dioxide to photosynthesize effectively, they will not flourish as well as they might.
If your plants are shut away in a stuffy room and you are wondering why they’re not thriving, try opening a window to blow the cobwebs away!
Another reason for adding a breeze to your indoor plants is that it can actually help them to grow stronger and more robust.
In the wild, your indoor plants would be subjected to outdoor wind, which can help them plant to build up their strength.
Also, a bit of fresh air blowing through the place can help to dislodge bugs and creepy crawlies that may take up residence on plants that don’t move much.
Air flow can also provide some much-needed humidity for your plants, and can prevent mold and mildew from forming on them.
Can Plants Survive Without Fresh Air?
If you were to place a healthy plant in a vacuum, it would certainly not stay healthy for very long!
Even if everything else was perfect, without the CO2 in the air, a plant cannot photosynthesize and will quickly die.
Knowing that your house is not a vacuum, even if you never open a window, your plants should survive without fresh air circulating daily.
However, you should do whatever you can to ensure that they get some fresh air daily, even if this simply means opening a window or a door for a bit.
If you live in a city or a polluted area, comfort yourself with the fact that your plants will be filtering the toxins out of this air as fast as they can!
Your plants can survive without fresh air, but they will not do as well. Without a bit of outside air, they may struggle to perform as well as they can.
Here is a little article explaining photosynthesis in a bit more depth.
How Do You Give Indoor Plants Fresh Air?
It’s pretty easy to create the illusion of fresh air in your house if you are not prepared to move your houseplants in and out of doors all the time (and who could blame you!)
- Open a window. This is a super easy and simple way of getting more air to your houseplants – and it should be nice for you too!
- Use a fan. This will not give FRESH air, but it will at least circulate the air around so that they can take in as much CO2 as they can.
- Ensure that they have room. Crowding your plants together may look great, but it won’t give them the opportunity to have air circulating between them.
- Keep them near windows. This means that they will be closer to the breeze when it does come in, meaning that you don’t have to keep the windows open all the time.
- Pop them outside. If the pots are not too heavy and it is convenient, why not place your plants outside for a few hours every now and then?
Does Fan Air Affect Indoor Plants?
If all else fails and you really have no other way of introducing fresh air, you can place a fan in the room with your plants, so at least they are not too stagnant.
However, the fan simply circulates existing air around the room; it cannot produce new, fresh air.
If you can place your fan near an open door or window, it will suck air in from outside and blow it around the room – this would be ideal for your plants.
You must be careful about where you place your fan – too close to the plants and they may get damaged by the concentrated air blowing on them.
This video explains to you the importance of ensuring that your plants get plenty of air:
Should I Open Windows For Plants?
If you have windows and you can open them, you should definitely open them for your plants. Even a tiny bit of fresh air coming in will help your green babies no end!
In the summer, of course, you can happily leave your windows open for most of the day – but what about the winter?
Obviously, winter air is much colder, and this can cause your plants problems, so you should just open windows for a short while during these months.
Allowing your plants to get too cold will not go down very well; ensure that you keep them warm enough when your windows are open in the cold months.
Whatever the weather outside, try to keep your plants away from cold draughts – they need the air, not to be blown out of their pots!
Especially for an indoor plant that is not used to the cold or the wind, make sure it is placed where it gets the benefits of the air circulating, but not any heavy gusts of wind.
Final Thoughts
Fresh air is an essential part of life – just imagine being cooped up in the office all day and night, with no chance of a breeze!
Giving your plants a bit of fresh air will help them to grow stronger and healthier, and they will reward you by being their best selves. It’s worth it, trust me!
