Houseplants clean stuffy indoor air and are a great source of stress relief. But some common types can be toxic to kids and pets. Here’s how to tell.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Many people believe houseplants are good for you. They’re cheerful, they’re calming, and they’re natural cleansers of stuffy indoor air. But a lot of houseplants can be toxic if nibbled on by pets or small children.
I’m going to give you a few tips to help avoid an accidental poisoning in your home.
First of all, identification is key. Use a reference book like this one – better yet, a website. If you don’t have either one of those, take your phone, get a little focus, take a picture, and then take your picture to a local gardening guru in your area. They’ll know what you’ve got there.
Once you’ve identified the plant, then label it.
Now, in a case such as this, this is a holly plant. Most of us know that this is a holly, and that you don’t eat these berries. But a small child wouldn’t be able to read the label and these little red berries might look particularly appetizing. So I have a firm rule about plants like this – when in doubt – get it out.
Be aware of these household favorites from the oxalate family.
This is a dieffenbachia. It’s really pretty. Variegated leaves. Over here, we have a philodendron, and this little guy is a caladium. These are loaded with microscopic oxalate crystals, which are really painful to the mouth, tongue, throat and skin.
Also, the lillium family, this is a star gazer. It’s beautiful, it smells great, but it’s really toxic to cats.
Make sure you’ve got the number for poison control posted prominently near the phone.
Bulbs – like this one – are especially toxic, that’s why underground creatures don’t eat your daffodils.
But you wouldn’t want to store these bulbs anywhere near your food – you can see they look a little bit like onions, you don’t want to get them confused.
There are some healthy, safe and beautiful plants. Two examples – this one here is a rubber plant, and this little guy is a spider plant. Both of these have been proven by scientists at NASA to moisten the air and also remove formaldehyde.