Last updated on September 26th, 2022 at 01:41 pm
Everyone loves fresh air. So, we tend to prioritize plants that provide us with clean air. If you have peace lilies, you may wonder whether they provide these benefits.
So, if you want your peace lilies to purify air, at least two big-sized plants occupying 100 square feet of indoor space will do the trick. It is difficult to say the exact number of plants that should be used in air purification.
This is because the purification of air by plants depends dominantly on how big the plant is and its leaf size. Nonetheless, peace lilies are pretty effective at cleaning the air.
How Do Peace Lilies Clean the Air?
Peace lilies clean the air using photosynthesis, phytoremediation, and transpiration.
Air purification has become a major area of concern in recent times. Measures have been put in place to reduce contamination of air.
There are natural methods of air purification and using plants like peace lilies constitute these methods. Some of the ways peace lilies clean air mentioned below.
1. Photosynthesis
Plants clean the air by trapping and converting the carbon dioxide that we breathe out into oxygen. They do this by converting carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight, whose outcome is sugar they need for energy.
Oxygen is then given out as the by-product of this process. In other words, photosynthesis reduces the accumulation of harmful substances like carbon dioxide in the air.
2. Phytoremediation
Phytoremediation is the process whereby plants can remove contaminants in the air, water bodies, and soil. This process gives peace lilies the ability to trap harmful substances in the air.
3. Transpiration
During the process of transpiration, peace lilies speed up the rate of the reaction. Transpiration is the process by which water and chemicals are released into the atmosphere by evaporation.
Plants then circulate air and trap airborne toxins into their leaves and roots. Stomata are the parts of the leaves used in absorbing these toxic substances.
Peace lilies are also known to remove benzene and trichloroethylene in the atmosphere by absorbing them into their leaves and then transporting them to their roots, broken down by the soil microorganisms.
The removal of these toxins from the atmosphere makes it safer, advantageous and cleaner to a very good extent. Peace lilies also clean the air by exposing their pot topsoil to air.
This way, toxins are absorbed into the soil and acted upon by microbes. To achieve this, you should remove all plants’ dead materials and organic parts to give space for soil and direct air contact.
How Many Peace Lilies Do I Need to Clean the Air?
The exact amount of peace lilies to use in your house or garden to clean the air is dependent on the size of the room you are planting it in. If you want to plant it in your garden, you can measure the space in your garden and carefully estimate the number of plant lilies you will need.
Air purification is influenced by the size and surface area of plant leaves. Typically, one house plant can clean the air in a room of 4 meters by 5 meters which is about 13 by 16 feet. Furthermore, the air quality of the room would increase by 25%.
Two plants are capable of cleaning the air by 75%. Meanwhile, ten plants kept in a room give approximately 100% air purification.
Nonetheless, in a much bigger room, however, you’ll most likely require more than ten plants to get 75% improvement in air quality and a maximum of 32 plants to give an outstanding result.
These results vary because of factors such as the size of the plant, leaf surface area, and the size of the pot in which plants are grown.
How Do I Maintain my Peace Lilies?
Peace lilies are plants that help to clean the air in our environment. Peace lilies are not difficult to take care of and can be maintained by providing certain conditions for their growth and well being. These conditions include:
1. Light
Peace lilies are plants that grow well in indirect light. They do well in indoor environments and do not necessarily need so much sunlight. Furthermore, they can utilize fluorescent or dim lights to grow well.
Sadly, if your peace lily gets too much light, it tends to develop yellow leaves and brown leaves as a sign of exposure to too much sunlight.
To avoid this, you can choose a spot in your house with enough light, but not too much, and not too dim where your peace lilies can grow well.
2. Watering
Peace lilies are tolerant to underwatering, but not so much for overwatering. They require that you water them even before their soils become dry, loose, and cracked.
Overwatering your peace lily can cause its leaves to droop, wilt, and die off. Wilting may also be a sign of death or rotten roots due to overwatering. To avoid this, make sure that your plant enjoys good drainage.
3. Fertilization
Fertilizing your plants should be done at least twice a year. Peace lilies do not like chemical fertilizers, so you should apply organic compost or manure on it once in a while.
4. Repotting
When repotting, propagating, or replanting your plant lilies, it is best to do that in a much bigger pot. If the reason you are moving it to another planting pot is that your plant has outgrown the pot you’re moving it from, then doing so is the best option.
Repotting plants is an opportunity to multiply your plant. You can do this by dividing your plant roots and stems and potting them.
Conclusion
Peace lilies are plants that clean the air. NASA has listed it as one of the many eco-friendly plants that remove toxins and toxins from the environment.
You need about 3 to 4 big peace lilies to clean the air in your room. Bigger rooms require more plant lilies to clean the air in them. Plant Lilies can clean the air because of their leaf size and surface area.