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How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office Paperback – April 1, 1997
| B. C. Wolverton (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Plants are the lungs of the earth: they produce the oxygen that makes life possible, add precious moisture, and filter toxins. Houseplants can perform these essential functions in your home or office with the same efficiency as a rainforest in our biosphere.
In research designed to create a breathable environment for a NASA lunar habitat, noted scientist Dr. B.C. Wolverton discovered that houseplants are the best filters of common pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and benzene. Hundreds of these poisonous chemicals can be released by furniture, carpets, and building material, and then trapped by closed ventilation systems, leading to the host of respiratory and allergic reactions now called Sick Building Syndrome. In this full-color, easy-to-follow guide, Dr. Wolverton shows you how to grow and nurture 50 plants as accessible and trouble-free as the tulip and the Boston fern, and includes many beautiful but commonly found varieties not generally thought of as indoor plants. He also rates each plant for its effectiveness in removing pollutants, and its ease of growth and maintenance.
Studies show that Americans spend ninety percent of their lives indoors, which means that good indoor air quality is vital for good health. How to Grow Fresh Air will show you how to purify the environment that has the most impact on you.
- Print length144 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin Books
- Publication dateApril 1, 1997
- Grade level12 and up
- Reading age18 years and up
- Dimensions9.4 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
- ISBN-100140262431
- ISBN-13978-0140262438
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin Books; First Edition (April 1, 1997)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 144 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0140262431
- ISBN-13 : 978-0140262438
- Reading age : 18 years and up
- Grade level : 12 and up
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #146,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Respiratory Diseases (Books)
- #18 in Lung & Respiratory Diseases
- #89 in House Plant Gardening
- Customer Reviews:
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The first part discussed indoor air pollution and the health problems caused by it (with a chart showing what sources--like carpeting, paint, and plywood--gave what harmful air pollutant). The author then described how plants produce oxygen, put water into the air, etc. He then talked about studies done on the effectiveness of using houseplants to remove harmful air pollutants and what they found. He included charts showing the results for the ability of various plants to remove four different harmful air pollutants and charts for other findings. The last seven pages were a basic plant care guide on light level, planting medium, watering, and pest management.
The plant listing had a 2-page spread for each plant listed. The first page had a small, full-view picture of the plant, the plant's name (common and official), and some information about the house plant, its selection, and its care. Along one edge of the page, the following information was briefly given: name; origin; how much light it likes (full sun, semi-shade, etc.); preferred temperature range; pests and problems; care; and what to plant it in. A chart at the bottom of the page rated the plant on its ability to remove chemical vapors, ease of growth and maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, and the amount of water it puts into the air. The second page was a full page, close-up picture of the plant's leaves.
I bought this book several years ago because my house just "felt sick" to me. I had only three small house plants since I was growing so many plants outdoors. I found this book very interesting and immediately bought several more houseplants. They flourished, and my house stopped feeling so "sick" to me--plus I stopped getting sick all of the time. So I do think this information helped. I'd recommend it to people who feel mildly sick most of the time or are concerned about their indoor air purity.
There are many positive aspects of this book - nicely shot photos and overviews of many plants, including various rankings for each plant: Removal of Chemical Vapors, Ease of Growth and Maintenance, Resistance to Insect Infestation, Transpiration Rate. It also does a good job explaining why each of these aspects is important.
CONS:
I took off one star for how brief and general the overview and care are - while this is a good basic listing of plants, you're going to need another reference for tips on purchasing, planting, placement, etc.
I took off another star for something I find much more important - it's probably enough to knock off the two stars on its own. There is NO indication on any of the plant pages as to toxicity. For those of us who have pets and/or children, it is critical to know what in our homes is poisonous. I specifically checked the pages for plants that I know offhand to be toxic - Poinsettia and Peace Lilly - and neither mentioned anything about it.
This could be a forgivable omission in a general listing of plants, but for a book that claims to "Purify Your Home or Office" it seems unnecessarily reckless.
For example, it recommends the Peace Lilly, saying its "ability to remove indoor air pollutants and its excellent performance in all categories make it a most valuable houseplant," without mentioning that if ingested by pets, it can cause symptoms leading to "convulsions, renal failure, coma and death." [...]
I plan on going through the book, searching online to find out how toxic each listed plant is, and labeling them as such in the book. If you're willing to do this, then the book should be useful to you.
Put this book on your reference shelf if you are concerned about the air you breathe in your living space-your own house, an apartment in a retirement community, your room in a boarding home or assisted living facility. Good reference for activity directors planning activities in retirement communities. And use the photos to identify the plants where you live, you may want to add some new ones or change the variety of the plants you are currently growing.
Since purchasing this book I am finding plant care research being like any other research and that is that each source has a little something that the other does not. One page is dedicated for each plant. Great info to get you started.









