Must Have Pet-Friendly Houseplants

Pets do the most bizarre things—silly, brilliant, and stupid. When your dog learns to fetch, shake, and sit, you are awestruck. But it's not so fantastic when he rolls around on roadkill or eats his own faces.

You want to keep your dogs safe no matter what they do in their spare time. It's also not always a good idea to nibble on houseplants. In fact, certain houseplants can cause significant illness in pets. You want your home to be a safe refuge for your pet, whether it's a dog, cat, or bunny. Proper training is the first step toward ensuring your pet's safety. If there are pet-friendly houseplants then there are also some plants that are toxic to cats.

Train your pet that plants are off-limits, provide plenty of toys for them to play with, and spray the outside of your planters with a pet-repellent spray. Other safeguards for both dogs and plants include:

• Plants can be placed on a high shelf or hung from the ceiling for cats.
• To deter pets from digging in the dirt, cover potting soil with pebbles.
• Use heavy pots that are difficult to topple.
• Drip trays should be free of standing water.

We've compiled a list of pet-safe houseplants for you because we can't control everything.

Chlorophytum Comosum aka Spider Plant

Although the spider plant looks like attractive grass, it is a perennial flowering plant. It thrives in indirect light, well-draining soil, and consistent watering. To maintain your spider plants happy, healthy, and productive, fertilise them twice a month during the spring and summer, and repot them once a year.
With proper care, they will produce shoots with small white blooms and baby plantlets that resemble spiders, thus the name. Cut the baby spiders off and pot them individually to propagate.

Schlumbergera aka Christmas Cactus

The Christmas cactus, which is native to the Brazilian jungle, is easy to grow and rewards you with star-shaped white, red, or yellow flowers around the holidays. It prefers modest amounts of water applied frequently, indirect light, daily misting, and temps around 60 degrees.
Make sure your Christmas cactus gets 10-12 hours of darkness per 24 hours to encourage blooming. A well-cared-for Christmas cactus can live for up to 100 years.

Phalaenopsis Blume - Orchid

This orchid, often known as moth orchid, is the easiest to grow for beginners. This pet-friendly houseplant needs a bark-growing medium with lots of air circulation for the roots, as well as robust, dark green foliage and arching branches of beautiful flowers in colours of pink, violet, or white. Orchids thrive in a warm, humid environment. Water weekly, keeping the bark damp, and place in an east or south-facing window for plenty of filtered light.
Having a pet isn't a reason to give up your other interests, such as indoor gardening. If you enjoy having houseplants, consider a handful of these non-toxic kinds. Alternatively, visit your local garden centre for a wider selection of pet-friendly plants.

Ponytail palm - Beaucarnea Recurvata

This pet-safe indoor plant is easy to grow and is named by its resemblance to a pony's tail. It's also not a palm, but rather a succulent. It collects water in a massive bulge at the base of its trunk, despite its thin, grasslike leaves. Give it lots of sunshine and grow it in a palm, succulent, or cactus mix soil. But just water once or twice a week, and then thoroughly.

Banana Plant - Musa Oriana

This pet-safe indoor plant is easy to grow and is named by its resemblance to a pony's tail. It's also not a palm, but rather a succulent. It collects water in a massive bulge at the base of its trunk, despite its thin, grasslike leaves. Give it lots of sunshine and grow it in a palm, succulent, or cactus mix soil. But just water once or twice a week, and then thoroughly.

Bromeliad

The Bromeliad, an imposing plant with strappy leaves that produces a brilliant flower for that perfect pop of colour, is an imposing plant with strappy leaves that produces a showy flower for that perfect splash of colour. The type of care required is determined by the plant's genus and species. Bromeliads, on the other hand, thrive in fast-draining soil that retains moisture, but they don't like a lot of water.
Weekly, add a small amount of water to their central cup or the soil. Temperatures of 55 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels of 40 to 60% are ideal for them.

Boston Fern—Nephrolepis Exaltata

The pet-friendly The Boston fern requires a chilly, humid environment with indirect lighting. Set the fern on a tray of pebbles filled with water if your home is dry. The humidity your fern craves will be provided as the water evaporates.
Using a spray bottle to mist it a few times a week would also assist. Check the fern's soil daily for moisture. Increase the humidity surrounding the plant if the fronds become yellow.

Saintpaulia – African Violets

When your outdoor flowers are dormant for the winter, the soft, delicate African violet, reminiscent of the Victorian era, brings a bit of cheer. African violets, which come in a variety of hues and sizes, require a warm environment with plenty of filtered light.
Grow African violets in a soil mix made of equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite, or make your own. when the soil seems dry to the touch, tepid water at the plant's base To avoid damage, keep water away from the leaves.

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