What Are the Benefits of House Plants & Plant Food?

Growing house plants requires work, but they give health benefits and make your home or office more inviting. Feeding them correctly gives your plants the benefits they need to survive.

Benefits

• Besides softening the indoors with a natural touch, house plants can improve indoor air if you allow them to thrive. Plants assist in filtering air and removing some contaminants, such as toxic gases and dust.

Effects

• Plants need proper fertilizer to do well indoors. Many varieties are available on the market, or you could use natural sources like compost and bone meal. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium make up the three most important nutrients for most plants, and the soil often provides the tiny amounts of other elements they require, according to the Extension Service at West Virginia University.

Warning

• Too much fertilizer can hurt or kill a plant. Most plants need feeding three or four times annually. Avoid fertilizing in the winter, when plants grow the least, recommends the West Virginia University Extension Service.