What plants to keep during smoggy weather
Today's tip sharing: Content about home decoration, what plants to keep during smoggy weather. Next, let's introduce some information by our site's editor.
Every winter is mostly affected by smog. Some plant lovers have asked, what plants to keep during smoggy weather, preferably those that can absorb smog. From a scientific perspective, plants cannot absorb smog, so it's useless to keep any plants during smoggy weather. Let's look at the analysis below.
In the flower market, some vendors even advertise "smog and formaldehyde prevention" directly. From common plants like epiphyllum, bamboo, aloe vera to various plants like红豆杉 (cedar), desert rose, etc., prices range from十几元 to over a hundred yuan per pot. Some Taobao online store operators even claim that "plants with large leaves generally can absorb smog, and with smog absorbed by plants, less is inhaled by people." Is this really effective?
Mentioning plants, everyone naturally associates them with air purification. It's common knowledge that plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis to produce oxygen, and some plants can absorb harmful gases like formaldehyde to purify the air. So, can plants really remove dust and defeat PM2.5?
The answer is no. Relying solely on green plants is impossible to remove PM2.5, and it's quite difficult to solve indoor air pollution problems with green plants.
Experts conducted an experiment where they lit three cigarettes in a sealed room. An hour later, the PM2.5 value in the room was 460. After placing many green plants in the room for 20 minutes, PM2.5 was reduced by only 73.5, with the smog index still as high as 386.5. It can be seen that plant absorption of smog is just a marketing tactic by vendors.
Then some people may ask, if plants can purify the air, why can't they combat smog? Theoretically, plants do not have the function of absorbing particles. Even for some plants, such as kaffir lily and English ivy, which do have a "smoke clearing" effect, their PM2.5 absorption capacity is very limited. Plants can only absorb gases because they exchange gases with the environment through surface stomata, such as photosynthesis and respiration. Plants do not have an active function to absorb particles; dust particles can only settle on the plant's surface, and any particles in the air can fall on it.
Planting plants indoors can maintain indoor humidity and indeed have a dust reduction effect. However, to achieve a significant effect, a large area of plants is needed. It is quite difficult to solve indoor air pollution problems with green plants.
Moreover, the photosynthesis of green plants is limited on smoggy days, so the effect of green plants on improving air quality on smoggy days is also not significant. Plants not only cannot effectively reduce smog, but planting too many green plants to prevent smog may also trigger allergies and other issues. Moreover, these seemingly harmless plants may compete with humans for oxygen at night, affecting sleep.
The above-sharing content about what plants to keep during smoggy weather (do not be deceived) is for reference by plant enthusiasts, hoping to solve your problems in green plant and flower management.