We all know abut the benefits of house plants in bringing more oxygen to your home – but which house plant produces the most oxygen?
All plants are beautiful, but some provide more health benefits than others. Let’s have a look into which will bring the most breaths of fresh air into your home!
What You'll Learn Today
12 Plants Producing The Most Oxygen
Plants with the largest surface area are the best oxygenators, as they have the most opportunity to photosynthesize.
Areca Palm
Dypsis lutescens is amazing at producing oxygen, as well as filtering out harmful chemicals from the air.
It is a large and elegant plant, with long leaves – it is the large surface area that helps produce the oxygen.
It likes bright but indirect light, as direct sunlight can scorch the leaves. Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and mist it a few times a week to give it its preferred humid conditions.
Money Plant
Crassula ovata, although it won’t make you rich, can improve your life enormously – by making it rich in oxygen! See what I did there?
This plant is great for bringing oxygen to its surroundings and filtering out CO2. This is largely due to the great number of leaves with a large surface area.
You won’t have to worry too much about this plant; it can survive happily in poor soil with little water. It is also happy in bright light as well as shade.
Snake Plant
Sanseviera trifasciata is also known as mother in law’s tongue, but unlike these intimidating women it can really improve your living space!
They can absorb a lot of CO2, and they mainly do this at night, making them a great plant to have around your home.
They like bright light conditions, but will still thrive in low light – they just won’t grow as fast. Give it a nice bed of potting mix; one that is suitable for cacti and succulents is ideal.
Gerbera Daisy
Gerbera jamesonii is a pretty little plant that will not only clean your air, but it will look absolutely gorgeous while doing so!
Often used as an outdoor plant, the Gerbera is fantastic at cleaning the air of harmful pollutants – and it is especially useful for those who suffer from sleep apnea.
They like to be kept warm, making them ideal house plants. Well drained soil is an absolute must, and you may have to keep them warm in the winter if your house is chilly.
Chinese Evergreen
The Aglaonema is a very popular house plant, due to its attractive appearance as well as its air purifying qualities.
It is very good at filtering out toxins, making it very useful for a house plant – particularly in highly polluted areas.
It copes very well in full shade positions, and doesn’t need direct light. The soil should be well draining but remember that this plant, unlike many others, likes to be kept moist.
Peace Lily
Spathiphyllum wallisii is a truly beautiful plant, and one that can happily show off its white blooms for most of the year.
Peace lillies can increase the oxygen content in a room by as much as 25%, making this a great choice for those who want to improve their air quality.
This tropical plant likes to be warm, so keep it sheltered from droughts. They like humidity, so a bathroom is ideal for them. They like their soil to be moist, so keep on top of watering, and they will benefit from regular feeding.
Pothos
Epipremnum aureum is actually considered the best plant there is for oxygenating, because of how fast it coverts CO2 into oxygen.
It is a beautiful plant, with heart shaped leaves and trailing tendrils, so you can grow it high up and enjoy it trailing down.
In return for its oxygen gifts, the Pothos requires very little maintenance – it will grow just as well in poor soil as it will in nutrient rich compost, and it is happy in bright as well as low light.
Weeping Fig
Ficus benjamina is really helpful at oxygenating your home and removing CO2. It will also filter out harmful things like formaldehyde and benzene.
A pretty plant with attractive leaves, you won’t necessarily get flowers blooming but the plant itself is so elegant you won’t mind!
In its natural environment the weeping fig likes semi shade, but if grown indoors it will need some indirect light, with a little direct sunlight thrown in. It likes standard potting soil, but it must have good drainage.
Orchid
The Orchidaceae gets a bad reputation for being very hard to keep, but with the right care it can really thrive.
Due to those wonderful glossy green leaves, this plant is an excellent oxygenator. It releases oxygen at night, so you can enjoy its beautiful flowers in the day and breathe better while you sleep!
An orchid should have bright light but not direct sunlight, and will only grow in bark based orchid compost rather than normal soil. They only need a tiny bit of water – too much wet will kill them.
Spider Plant
Chlorophytum comosum is a wonderful plant; don’t be put off by the name if you are an arachnophobe – it will certainly enhance your living space!
This plant can improve your productivity, reduce your stress, and it has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression and fatigue.
Spider plants will pretty much grow by themselves; they doesn’t need feeding or over watering, and will thrive in just about any soil conditions.
Christmas Cactus
Schlumbergera bridgesii is a succulent, as the name suggests, but it is more likely to flower than other types of cactus.
It actively produces oxygen during its photosynthesis, and produces even more at night, making it a great plant for cleaning the air in your home.
This plant likes to be semi shaded and kept out of direct sunlight. It also thrives on humidity, so mist it occasionally and use moistened, gravel filled saucers to sit it on.
Dumb Cane
Dieffenbachia is a beautiful plant, with large variegated leaves that will look stunning wherever you place it.
As well as looking gorgeous, this plant has been shown to reduce the levels of CO2 in the air quite considerably, meaning that it’s great for your health.
This plant is great for indoors as it will tolerate full shade – though it prefers indirect light or partial shade. Don’t over water this one!
Final Thoughts
Now that you know which house plants will benefit your health the most, you can fill your house with these beauties.
Going outside is all well and good, but having a home filled with oxygen is even better. Fill your house with oxygen giving plants, and you will really notice the difference.
Will my plants still produce oxygen if they are dusty?
They will, but the amount that is able to get through will be reduced! Give your plants a wipe over with a damp cloth occasionally – this will not only help them be healthier, but it will increase the benefits for you.