Keeping houseplants can enrich our lives and beautify our homes. Unfortunately, many popular houseplants are toxic if ingested by your pets or fellow humans. To keep your furry friends and family safe it’s important to know which plants are safe to keep in your home. Here we’ll go over some of the best choices of pet-safe houseplants.
Areca Palm
Areca palms are a hardy and widely available plant that are easy to care for. They have long, fan-shaped leaf arrangements sprouting from tall fronds that can grow several feet tall. These are great plants to add to sunny rooms in your home to transport yourself to the tropics. The bonus is that they’re completely safe for pets if eaten. You may still want to keep your cat away however, as areca palms are extremely tempting for them to play with.
Peperomia
The peperomia species has a long list of unique and colorful plants that thrive indoors. With such a diverse array of colors and textures, you have a lot of freedom to explore distinct features as part of your decor. No matter the type, every peperomia is safe for cats and dogs. Some varieties are quite delicate but others like the peperomia obtusifolia or baby rubber plant have thick and hearty leaves that can withstand occasional visits from curious pets without harm to either party.
Calathea
Calathea plants are notorious for being difficult to care for, but they are a simple choice when it comes to safety. These tropical plants come in a wide range of leaf shapes, colors and patterns and love a shady room. No matter what type of calathea you have, you can rest easy knowing that your pets won’t be in danger. The plants themselves, however, can be delicate, so it’s best to keep them out of reach.
Orchids
Commonly bought as gifts, orchids are stunning flowering plants that can live for years as houseplants. The flowers come in every color of the rainbow and many can bloom more than once per year for weeks at a time. Orchids are totally pet-safe which makes them perfect statement plants to add color to a room. It also makes them a safe choice of a gift for friends or family who might have pets as well.
Haworthia
If you like succulents, the haworthia is your go-to pet safe option. Haworthia make excellent alternatives to the popular aloe plant which are toxic to dogs and cats. These succulents thrive under very little care as long as they have bright sunlight and occasional watering. What’s even better is that haworthia are very diverse in shape and color—while most commonly spikey and star-shaped, some are more rounded and plump like gummy candy.
Whether you want them for aesthetic appeal, air purification or simply for hobby gardening, live plants make excellent additions to any home. Luckily, it’s easy for them to coexist with pets as long as you know which types are safe. These are just some of the most popular options but there are many more available. Information about pet safety and toxicity is easily available, so do a little research before bringing home a specific plant.
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