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<p>These <strong>top 5 houseplants that clean the air</strong> are great plants to have in your home or office to help clear the air of common toxins that we are all subjected to from modern-day living.</p>

<p>These <strong>top 5 houseplants that clean the air</strong> are great plants to have in your home or office to help clear the air of common toxins that we are all subjected to from modern-day living. NASA was the first to study clean air with houseplants in the 1980s, and they found many able to absorb toxins at quite a pace! Some will even continue to do so overnight. Plants really are fantastic!</p>
<h2>Five houseplants that clean the air</h2>
<ol>
<li>Pothos (Devils ivy): One of the easiest plants to grow in any home. The Pothos is a trailing plant and can be propagated easily by cuttings. Instead of trailing, they can, even with support, grow up the wall and around the tops of cupboards for maximum green effect. Ranging from darker green foliage to variegated foliage, they can reduce formaldehyde and benzene along with more toxins from your home. A great plant to clear toxins.</li>
<li>Chlorophytum comosum (Spider plant):&nbsp;Grown in many households in the 1970s, the spider plant never goes out of fashion! Another houseplant needs&nbsp;very little care and produces lots of ‘spiderettes’. These can be propagated by potting up for even more free plants. They filter out harmful toxins such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde, so they do a great job cleaning the air.</li>
<li>Spathiphyllum (Peace lily): The classic and popular white flowers make the peace lily instantly recognisable. Needing very little care but a little more watering than the previous two, you will know it is time to water it if you spot it wilting. Not only is it a pretty plant, but it is also working hard to clear the air of toxins, including carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, to name a few.</li>
<li>Sansevieria (Mother in laws tongue): There is another&nbsp;well-loved houseplant that no home should be without. They are used frequently in office spaces due to how easy they are to care for. Also called the snake plant, they are one of the toughest houseplants. The Sansevieria is a perfect plant for beginner houseplant enthusiasts and anyone who simply forgets to water plants! One of these can clear the air of numerous toxins in the home or office, as found in the NASA clean air study.</li>
<li>Hedera helix (English ivy): Ivy is more commonly recognised as an outdoor plant, but they are perfect trailing houseplants that remove many toxins from home. Happy growing in shade or sun, with plain or variegated foliage, they can live for many years in a house doing an excellent job of cleansing the air for you too.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<p>Clean the air in your home with houseplants from our in store collection.&nbsp;</p>

Top 5 houseplants that clean the air

<p>Here are our <strong>top tips on how to train your climbing houseplant</strong>.</p>

<p>Houseplants can do so much more than simply sit on a shelf. Climbing houseplants can turn your indoor space into a lush green zone that resembles a tropical paradise by twining elegantly around a support or up a trellis. Here are our <strong>top tips on how to train your climbing houseplant</strong>.</p>
<h2>Choosing a climbing houseplant</h2>
<p>Many indoor plants sold as trailing plants for hanging baskets can be trained to climb, and some will actually do better as climbing plants than if left to trail. Here are a few to look out for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Philodendrons – a huge genus of plants with long stems and heart-shaped green leaves. The stems produce small aerial roots that will attach themselves to structures if given a chance. Philodendrons are easy, undemanding plants, preferring bright but indirect light.</li>
<li>Pothos (devil’s ivy) – have heart-shaped leaves similar to Philodendrons but are usually gold and green variegated. Pothos are easy to grow in bright, indirect light and can be cut back as needed to keep them under control.</li>
<li>Tradescantia – These attractive plants produce long trailing stems with purple and silver-variegated leaves. The trailing stems can be tied to supports to encourage them to climb. Tradescantias do well in bright, filtered light.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Tips on training climbing houseplants</h2>
<ul>
<li>Using pipe cleaners, you can train trailing plants against a wall by putting up hooks and tying the stems. However, bear in mind that in time, the plant’s aerial roots are likely to attach themselves to the wall and may pull the paint off when removed. If you don’t want this to happen, put up a support structure like a trellis for the aerial roots to cling to instead.&nbsp;</li>
<li>If you want to put a stake into a plant pot to give your plant something to twine around, the best way to do this is to repot the plant, placing the stake in the new pot at the same time. This reduces the risk of damaging the plant’s roots, which is very likely to happen if you simply push a stake into a pot that already contains a plant.</li>
<li>Plants will naturally grow towards the light, so consider this when supporting your plant. It’s always easiest to encourage the plant in the direction it wants to go!</li>
<li>Train vines gradually upwards to reduce the risk of snapping them.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Caring for climbing houseplants</h2>
<p>A trailing houseplant may start to grow faster once it has been trained to climb, as it gets more light, so be prepared to feed and water it more often. And don’t be afraid to prune vines that are getting out of control. Pothos, philodendrons and tradescantia all respond well to being cut back.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Give your home a new look this year with a few climbing houseplants. We have a fantastic range of indoor plants in our centre, so visit us today to find the right one for your home!</p>

How to train your climbing houseplant

<p>If you are wondering how to take hardwood cuttings during this season, read the below advice.</p>

<p>It’s the perfect time for <strong>taking winter cuttings</strong>, meaning more plants for free - and who doesn’t like that? Taking cuttings can be really fun and a great way to keep your green fingers active over the winter months. Hardwood cuttings are taken from mid-autumn through to late winter, so you have plenty of time to get some into pots ready to settle in before root growth in spring. If you are wondering how to take hardwood cuttings during this season, read the below advice.</p>
<ol>
<li>When to take cuttings&nbsp;</li>
<li>What can you take cuttings from</li>
<li>How to take cuttings&nbsp;</li>
<li>What to do with your cuttings next&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<h2>When exactly should I start taking winter cuttings?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>You now know that winter cuttings are taken from mid-autumn to late winter, but there will be periods within those months you should avoid. If the garden is particularly wet and frozen, avoid taking cuttings until there is a dryer day. They can be taken any time but generally may root better just after the leaves have fallen or right before buds start to open.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Taking winter cuttings from your plants&nbsp;</h2>
<p>If you wonder what you can take cuttings from at this time of year, there are many to choose from. Most deciduous shrubs are ideal for taking winter cuttings, such as dogwood, flowering currants, roses, honeysuckle, gooseberries and figs. You can also take cuttings from trees such as willow and poplar. You can take cuttings from a few evergreens, including holly and skimmia.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>How to start taking winter cuttings for success</h2>
<p>Have a good look at your plats and take cuttings with a sharp snip. They should be healthy and current years growth. Remove the soft tip and cut it into sections, so each is no more than 30cm long. The cut should be above a bud at the top, sloping away from the bud and straight at the bottom. You can dip the base into a rooting hormone or not (results vary with either).&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What is next when taking winter cuttings&nbsp;</h2>
<ul>
<li>When you have your cuttings ready, they can be placed into a prepared trench outside.</li>
<li>The soil needs to be well-drained with well-rotted organic matter dug in.</li>
<li>Make sure two-thirds of the cuttings are below the ground, and it can be helpful to layer some sand at the bottom of the trench.</li>
<li>Please make sure the trench is in a place where the cuttings can stay until the following autumn when you can pot them on and don’t allow them to dry out.</li>
<li>If you only have a few cuttings, they can also be grown in containers with a well-drained, gritty compost in a sheltered place.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p>For containers, grit, compost, cutting tools and accessories - visit us in store.&nbsp;</p>

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