There are many reasons to bring plants indoors. They help clean the air in your home, and add oxygen to the air you breathe. Plants add a touch of the outdoors to indoor living spaces, and they add green to your life in winter. Aside from that there are so many interesting plants available it can become habit forming to collect them. At Rice Road Greenhouses we are collectors as well, constantly on the lookout for new and interesting plants and trends. A visit to our houseplant section will reveal many unique foliage plants, cacti and flowering houseplants.

There are as many houseplants as there are reasons for growing them. We have compiled the following lists of plants for various needs to serve as a guide to selecting the right plant for your situation.

Best Houseplants for average to low light. These plants will live away from bright windows and even in artificially lit environments.

Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) Pothos Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant) Sansevieria (Snake plant or Mother-in-laws Tongue) Dieffenbachia Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)

Dracaena Chlorophytum (Spider Plant) Ferns Philodendron Ficus (Rubber Tree)

Best Low Maintenance HouseplantsThese plants are tops for ease of care. As with most houseplants allow them to dry between watering. Perhaps the easiest of all houseplants is the Sansevieria. I water mine four times a year and it lives happily in my basement.

Aloe Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant) Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) Draceana

Pothos Schefflera (Umbrella plant) Sansevieria (Snake plant or Mother-in-laws Tongue) Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)

Best Plants for Cleaning the AirWhile all houseplants are suspected to filter poisonous gasses from the air in our homes, the following plants proved superior at cleaning the air in laboratory tests.

Aloe Ficus Benjamina Boston Fern Chinese Evergreen Croton Dracaena English Ivy

Areca Palm Lady Palm Peace Lily Philodendron Pothos Snake Plant Spider Plant

Pet Friendly Plants More and more people are asking whether specific plants will be harmful to their pets. The following list was compiled from several web pages on the topic posted by various animal advocacy groups.

African Violets Aralia Baby Tears Banana Begonia Burro’s Tail Cast Iron Plant Cryptanthus Boston Fern Button Fern Rabbit’s Foot Fern Gold Fish Plant

Hoya Jasmine Living Stones Palms (most types) Peperomia Prayer Plant Song of India Dracaena Stephanotis Spider Plant Umbrella Plant Venus Flytrap (Unless you have pet bugs)