8 Aromatic Indoor Herbs that Purify Air Naturally

This is a collection of some house plants that can help clean the air in the room — from pollution, bad smells or odors, and that will lower carbon dioxide naturally.

Some of them also repel biting insects, while others invite useful wasps that kill the parasites on the other plants.

Most of those plants below will live in perfect coexistence near each other (except the mint, if planted in the same box or pot).

They will also not grow too tall and wide, so you can fill small spaces around your windows and not risk stumbling upon them all the time.

Rosemary

• Some use this herb for cooking, other use it as an herbal tea.
• As with all plants having needle-like leaves, the rosemary is evergreen. It can be held indoors for the entire winter season and still give off a pleasant aroma.
• Most needle-leafed plants are very good purifiers, especially for humid winter air. They breathe carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Rosemary is no exception here.
• The most important function of this herb is its ability to improve cognitive function and shield the brain from free radicals.
• Also, the presence of this plant in the room is enough in the long run. Rosemary still exhales some of its essential oils in the room (you don't need to boil it in a tea infusion to benefit from it).

Lavender

You need to confirm that you aren't allergic to lavender before you decide on this one. If you're not, this herb makes very good house plant because:

1. It is an excellent insect repellent.
2. The aroma relaxes the lungs and helps for calmer night sleep.
3. The aroma (also) helps one relax if you suffer from anxiety.

If you don't want to buy an oil lamp for aromatherapy or sleep with a lit aroma candle beside your bed, have a pot of lavender growing on your bedroom window instead. It loves sunlight, so don't deprive it or it will refuse to bloom.

In late autumn, the sunlight will be insufficient. So, gather the seeds when the plant withers and reseed them at early spring.

The soil should be sandy and not too rich (don't use compost and fertilizers with it). The plant is best kept in a pot with good drainage. Don't drown the roots, or you risk losing the whole plant.

Basil

Basil is a very well-known herb and spice.

• While it is most commonly grown in Asia and North Africa, it can easily be cultivated for all climates and be domesticated.
• It grows about 1-2 feet long with small white blossoms and wide leaves.
• The fruit is a small, 4-seed nut that dries and drops by itself at autumn and can be reseeded in the next spring.
• The rich aroma and the pleasant peppery taste make up only one side of the coin. It can be also used as herbal tea and as all other plants will reduce the carbon dioxide in the room.
• Gather some leaves for the salad and leave enough smaller leaves for it to grow.

Mint

Mint — the best herbal tea for winter, and the best plant for indoor planting.

There are many subspecies also called mint. This includes plants suitable for cooking with dry beans, plants suitable for baking with meat, others suitable for extracting fragrant oils for perfumery and scent lamps, and dozens more.

All these subspecies have a few things in common:

• They make the air easier to breathe if you have lung disease.
• They have a very pleasant aroma.
• They attract one small wasp when blooming. The wasp kills some parasites on other plants or injects eggs inside them.
• They make excellent herbal tea or a tasty cooking spice.
• They love sun and water, but are incredibly easy to grow.

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You can cut a branch and leave it in a glass of water for one week. It will grow very potent roots and you can plant it everywhere. Also, from the main root system, additional spin-offs will often grow, which you can then use or replant elsewhere.

The mint is often partly rooted and removed in my own terrace garden, because the root is quite invasive and strong. (It smothers and kills other plants around the mint.)

Jasmine

• Jasmine opens its flowers up between 6 and 8 PM, when the temperature is lower. The aroma in and around your house when dining is very pleasant.
• Having jasmine tea is also very good. (Just bruise some petals in a cup and pour boiling water. Cover for 10 minutes with a small dish). In China and India, it is mixed with green tea leaves and tumbled until the green tea absorbs all the fragrance from the jasmine. In fact, jasmine tea bags bought from store are actually green or Oolong tea with a jasmine scent.
• Even if jasmine is not completely robbed of all its healing properties, it is better used as an evening house fragrance and air purifier.

I strongly recommend you grow this plant. It is not very expensive and smells great.

Geranium

Geraniums come in more than 200 varieties. All of them contain the following positive qualities:

• Excellent aroma, if you can tolerate it.
• Mosquitoes repellent.
• Doesn't attract most parasites, which suck plants dry.
• Looks excellent when blooming.
• Purifies air.
• A detached cutting can be grown by just re-planting it. It takes about a week to grow new roots.
• They don't need much care. Geraniums can live without water for two weeks on cold days.
• More sun means more blossoms.

If you are still not convinced or you just don't have too much botanical knowledge, this is the best houseplant for beginners.

Even more: Rose geranium can be used as a helpful herbal tea to aid those with diabetes melitus (type 2), as it lowers the blood glucose levels very quickly.

Coffee Plant

• Coffee plants can be domesticated easier than an avocado seedling.
• There are above 120 subspecies of coffee plants, with sub-gene arabica being most famous and easy to grow at home. They are spread and grown worldwide, but you probably don't know how good this plant can be indoors.
• It blooms in white and smells so refreshing in the morning that you will probably skip your morning coffee beverage and just breathe instead and be satisfied.
• The normal coffee plant can grow to a small tree (3 meters), but indoors in a pot, it is quite compact — 1 meter (3 feet).
• They take about four years to start blossoming. At that point, if you allow sufficient sunlight and help germination from small wasps and bees, you can grow your own coffee beans. Roast and grind them to coffee :) One plant provides about 50 grams of dry coffee mass (around 2 ounces), which is enough for about a week's supply.

Woodbine

• Otherwise known as European honeysuckle or just common honeysuckle.
• This plant is very useful for indoor stairs, especially if your rooms have sufficient sunlight.
• It is a forest semi-parasitic plant growing over tree trunks and it can be domesticated and dwarfed.
• You can grow it in pot with a wooden log or dry branch planted in the soil, so the vine can climb on it.
• It has very sweet scent, especially at night.
• Can be grown from a seed, and takes about 2 years to start blossoming indoors.

Kamal Meattle's discovery.

Be sure to watch the video in this TED talk issue. It is a very good addition to what you may already have from the list above!

I am amazed by this guy. I already have two of the mentioned plants on my balcony and plan on growing them indoors near the window this winter. They are:

• Sansevieria trifasciata (mother-in-law's tongue)
• Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Areka palm)
• Epipremnum aureum (Money plant)

Comments

Ana on October 27, 2019:

Excellent info. Thanks

BufordBone on January 28, 2019:

Wow

Lisa Bean from Nevada on December 14, 2018:

Great info here! Thanks for sharing!

Diana on May 08, 2017:

Thank you for good thinks☺ nice work!

RK Sangha from USA on April 21, 2017:

Useful.

Lucyca Jeny from Dhaka on December 27, 2016:

Hey

Thanks for such a resourceful article.

It is fine that the Indoor Herbs Purifies Air Naturally. I think, we should careful about the producing of insects from them.

Jason Mackenzie from 7 Steel St, Willagee WA 6156 on December 17, 2016:

Awesome hub...I do have some of these plants in my garden and am now planning on getting the others too. Many thanks for the detailed info.

Sean OCallaghan from Liverpool on December 10, 2016:

Lavender is my favorite

Margie's Southern Kitchen from the USA on November 03, 2016:

Awesome, I have light asthma, thanks for the info!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on November 03, 2016:

I am not sure it is cleaning the air. Can be, because it is a good treatment for asthma and very good antiseptic for small wounds.

Need to explore more.

Margie's Southern Kitchen from the USA on November 02, 2016:

Very interesting article! I have a ome lemon thyme and it really smells good! But I noticed it was not on the list.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on September 27, 2016:

Rosemary is very capricious regarding water, sorry. I am using a 0.5 litre water bottle with small hole punched in the cap when I am not at home for long.

Push the bottle in the soil (cap pointing down) where the roots are.

It will keep them moist for few days.

Ann Leavitt from Oregon on September 19, 2016:

This was SO interesting. I've grown basil on my windowsil all spring but then transplanted it to outdoors in the summer and it exploded into health! I think it liked the bigger space for roots and the sunlight.

My rosemary plants always die. They go one day without getting enough water and they just don't recover. Do you have any ideas?

I love the lavender on the bedroom windowsill idea, and having jasmine in the house sounds heavenly. (my husband loves the jasmine flower smell!)

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on June 29, 2016:

Great hub on these useful indoor herbs. I'm thinking of getting lavender and jasmine this summer to grow, or just buy the potted plant. Thanks for sharing.

Snakesmum on April 13, 2016:

Interesting article - I have several varieties of mint growing in my garden, and agree with you that they tend to take over by spreading. I do love the scent of it though. One of my favourites is our Australian native mint - it smells great when you brush against it.

val on December 01, 2015:

just be aware that all coffee species grown outdoors have the potential to become invasive weeds, spread by birds, in northern Australia.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on July 28, 2015:

I'm sorry for your bad-grammar experience Vanessa. My native language is not English and It happens sometimes to make mistakes.

Vanessa on July 28, 2015:

This was an awesomly helpful article and I definitely will be growing at least half of these plants in my house VERY soon.

One thing I would really like to say (but I have to because I was raised by a women who had wonderful grammar and taught me to be super vigilant of my work before submitting or posting) is that I noticed quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes in your article. Do you have someone who could proof read your articles before you post to protect you from this problem in the future? If not you may want to look into getting somebody to do this for you. Best of luck in your future!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on November 13, 2014:

I suppose you can get them cheap on eBay. Unfortunately, it takes about 4 years to grow into a considerably big bush (1 meter / 3 feet).

Breeea on November 13, 2014:

Where do you get the coffee plant from? Can you buy raw beans??? Thanks.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on October 15, 2014:

Most of the house plants can grow from cutlings and I rarely use seedlings nowadays. It takes a lot of time to get fully grown plant from a seed.

Rosemary is incredibly strong if you don't dry or drown it :) I've seen one trying to sprout from the snow in late February (worst cold in Bulgaria).

shannon on October 15, 2014:

I put some cuttings of basil in a jar of water thinking I would use them but they've grown roots. I will get them planted in the house soon for over the winter. My rosemary has survived a winter in a pot outside. I'll be starting some cuttings of those soon.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on May 01, 2014:

Coffee and Jasmine will be a bit problematic, because they are not okay with cooler nights. Coffee starts to wither and dies below 10 degrees Celsius.

Woodbine will probably be happy but needs to be watched closely. Plant the roots in shade, but leave the top of the plant under some sun, because it may not bloom at all.

All others can be grown in your garden or behind your house. They are quite sturdy. Not sure if you will benefit from their air cleaning properties though.

Kelly on May 01, 2014:

I have a lot of shade around my town house...how do they thrive in shade?

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on April 01, 2014:

Well, most of them are based on my experience with herbs and house plants. Only for the woodbine, I took the information from a blogger friend who specialized in plants but it is in Bulgarian and you will stumble on language barrier.

Lynda on April 01, 2014:

Interesting article. Do you have a link to your sources/research articles you used to compile this list? I'd like to read more. Thanks!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 17, 2014:

Sorry for your unsuccessful attempts Alex. It takes time to grow it from cutting. I had luck with it because it grew roots in 5-6 weeks while I simply abandoned it in a glass of water near the window.

Here is some more complex tutorial: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/propagate-jasmine-cut...

Alex on March 17, 2014:

Thank you for the wonderful information! I love Arabian Jasmine but my attempts to grow it from the cuttings has always failed! Could you share some tips? Thx!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 02, 2014:

I am not sure Celdy, you need to check with the local flourist what plants can be grown in humid climate.

Deltachord from United States on March 02, 2014:

This is great information and some good reasons to give growing herbs a try.

Musu Bangura from Nation's Capital on March 02, 2014:

Great article. I have a serious scent fettish and will use this info this spring when I get into gardening and fixing up my home. I'm pinning this, sharing on StumbleUpon and voting it up!

celdy on March 02, 2014:

i'm from the manila philippines. what aromatic indoor plant can i grow.? considering the climate humid and sometimes rainy especially during rainy seson. hot during summer.

delva midgette on March 01, 2014:

like your collum

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on February 16, 2014:

Yes, Justperfect. All plants mentioned here are pet-safe. At least my cat never gets sick when she occasionally grazes on them.

I mentioned a list and a link above in the comments - which plants are poisonous to cats. If you have any of them in the room, I suggest you get them away.

Justperfect on February 16, 2014:

Great Info!

Would love for you to elaborate a bit more on these herbs and our pets...

I have 3 cats.....that we rescued from kittens......they literally get into everything (especially plants) I had to put 2 live plants in a birdcage to keep the cats from getting to them.....

So the plants will have to be very safe for my cats (just in case) Are These Choices Safe?????

Thanks

Maree Michael Martin from Northwest Washington on an Island on December 21, 2013:

Getting my herb garden to last through the winter is a challenging task. No more, bringing them into the house, now. Thanks for this great hub on what great house plants they will make.

torrilynn on December 20, 2013:

thanks for this hub it speaks on what plants and flowers have these smells and how they benefit in others ways such as being mosquito repellent. voted up and pinned.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on September 16, 2013:

From the list above - only lavender and rosemary will be tougher to maintain during winter.

You need warm room or windowed terrace with enough sunlight.

Most of the others will survive with 1-2 hours of sun daily. Watering once per week is sufficient.

Jenni on September 16, 2013:

Thank you Mordor for a great article. Hopefully this thread isn't closed.

It is very late summer in the central, northern part of the US. Could you suggest any plant/herbs that I could start growing now that might last thought the winter, indoors?

Thanks!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on July 10, 2013:

You are welcome :)

Toy Tasting from Mumbai on July 10, 2013:

Cool..I am glad I have at least two from the list: Basil and Mint

Thanks for sharing! :)

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on July 06, 2013:

Thanks madgeharr. It really gives very good aroma but I could not make it grow on my windowed terrace this spring. Probably there was not enough sun there.

madgeharr on July 06, 2013:

I would include lemon balm. If you squeeze the leaves, it smell like you just cut a fresh lemon and it grows like mint

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on May 12, 2013:

Thank you for reading and commenting bugsmeo2, basil is very easy to grow. I succeeded keeping it blooming until late December and kept it in the pot indoors for fresh leaves. Now it is a small bush with branches and starts to bloom again.

Sorry about the jasmine, not cool to be scammed with fake plant. I took mine from a cutling taken from a grown jasmine. It took 2 months to grow roots.

Patricia Hurst from Hamilton, Ohio on May 11, 2013:

I love your article about the plants! I have planted all but the honeysuckle! The jasmine is not as easy, I found out the hard way that not all jasmine are real jasmines! I had hard time finding the true jasmine but found it on Amazon and bought a plant, seeds are impossible to find!

My basil is growing like crazy, the lavender is starting to grow. I love watching the plants sprout and grow! That is why I selected seeds to watch the process plus I feel as though I really accomplished something!

Thank you for the info!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 15, 2013:

Thank you for reading and voting nArchuleta and LongTimeMother.

Unfortunately Aloisia Citrodora L. can't thrive in Bulgaria. We have quite chilly winter with 20% sunny days and I don't think I can grow a small bush or tree indoors without good strong garden light.

I prefer more durable plants who can thrive in temperate climate.

It is still interesting to try it as an annual plant in a pot though. I will try to find seeds or fresh cutlings.

Nadia Archuleta from Denver, Colorado on March 14, 2013:

No, I read I was supposed to wait until spring. When it went dead mid-summer, though... Like you said -- maybe too much loving!

LongTimeMother from Australia on March 14, 2013:

lol, nArchuleta. It is in fact possible to kill a lemon verbena with too much loving, but that's pretty hard to do when its in a pot. :)

I hope you're not throwing yours away thinking it is dead just because it looks like a dry stick by the end of winter are you? It is not uncommon for them to shut down completely in the cold, then spring back to life during springtime.

My husband was guilty of tossing out anything that would hibernate before he met me. I still have to remind him to wait for springtime. Every winter he wants to throw away my potted mulberry plant, and every summer he loves the mulberries. lol.

Nadia Archuleta from Denver, Colorado on March 14, 2013:

Aww, in Colorado lemon verbena plants must not get that "chance" you're talking about -- I've never managed to nurse one through a winter! And they are indoors the whole time. I like that they are strong -- better than melatonin even, IMO!

LongTimeMother from Australia on March 14, 2013:

Nice hub, m0rd0r. Voted up.

In response to nArchuleta's question about lemon verbena, I grow lots of that as well. Given the chance, it grows into a tree. Leaves are great to use in a tea made with lemon balm and raspberry leaves. I only use one or two lemon verbena leaves at a time though. They are very strong. :)

Nadia Archuleta from Denver, Colorado on March 14, 2013:

Rosemary is my favorite -- I can't pass by a rosemary plant without rubbing my fingers along it and sniffing the fragrance. As an urban gardener (windowsill only), I have never successfully grown mint, though. Have you grown lemon verbena? In Moracco they sell it as a tea, but I can only find the plants here. It's better than chamomile!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 14, 2013:

Coffee cherries, raw, ripen (fully red) and if possible gathered recently.

That's if you want to grow it from a seed, but it may take up to 10 years until it starts to give fruit.

Better try to find a store with ready sprouts (yearlings or older) grown in compost or good soil.

Avoid online stores.

Be watchful for yellow leaves (the plant had no adequate watering in the last 2 -3 weeks)

Brown spots on leaves - soil was poor.

Curly leaves - not enough light.

Yearlings have green main stem.

Older plants (3-4 years) have flaky bark on main stem.

Healthy plant has good, dark green leaves with hard veins. Even if the plant is older, but in good health - take it. You will wait less until it starts blossoming.

Liz on March 13, 2013:

Hi Mordor,

I would LOVE to grow the coffee plant! What kind of a store did you go to in order to purchase your coffee seeds? Would they have them in a nursery? What do I ask for? Coffee cherries?? Sorry for all the questions, just would love to start this and want to make sure I go about it correctly. :)

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 13, 2013:

You are welcome Michelle and I share your experience. Dogs menu of choice can be really strange.

I had huge Bulgarian shepherd dog 20 years ago. For some reason he loved peppers ... still can't fully understand why. Some of them were really pungent.

Michelle on March 13, 2013:

Thanks!!! Yes, the plants will be out of their reach. We can't let our rat terrier in the garden or she will eat all of our broccoli until she is too stuffed to move and my cattle dog is obsessed w carrots and brussel sprouts so, we always have to keep that in mind w edible plants. Love that my dogs are health nuts ;D Thanks again for the info!

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on March 13, 2013:

All of them are pet safe. (Except for my cat who got punished few times for trying to have a bite)

Well, for the sake of the Plants, I suggest you keep them separated ;) Doggies tend to chew everything or try to dig something out.

The worst Flowers and plants that cause death (I googled them):

Agapanthus

Azalea (in large amounts)

Cyclamen

Delphinium

Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)

Foxglove

Lantana

Larkspur

Mistletoe

Oleander

Rhododendron

Sago Palms

( source: http://www.1stinflowers.com/articles/poisonous-pla... )

Michelle on March 13, 2013:

Great info!! Could you tell us if any of these are poisonous to my dog children? :)

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on February 13, 2013:

No, sorry. I heard from a friend that cold coffee can be used on plant stems.

Caffeine tends to be nerve-poison for slugs.

The problem is, it will be washed away in the next rain if you plant them outside and also - coffee is a bit acidic and not all plants like acidic fertilizing.

shireen alton on February 13, 2013:

i would love to grow herbs outside my flat but there are lots of slugs and snails, any suggestions on herbs the slugs don't like please , x devon england

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on February 09, 2013:

Thanks Kona, I envy you for the climate :)

I have to keep them from the winter chills and we have a whole month with almost no sunny days, so I have to light a lamp to keep them happy.

Kona-Allie from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on February 09, 2013:

I love this article. I have several of these herbs outdoors and even though I live in Hawaii and never close our windows, I will bring some inside!

I have a May Day Lei Day party each year that is also a fun plant/seed exchange for the guests. Everyone brings a couple of small plants, puts them all on a big table then we pick one or 2 that we want after our lei-making is over.

nikkiwikki one of the best things for people with asthma or breathing issues is to get rid of all carpet! Limit fluffy stuffed animals and lots of fabric in the child's room.

Stoill Barzakov (author) from Sofia, Bulgaria on February 05, 2013:

Peggy, it's actually not hard to find them.

I found the Coffee and Woodbine in a store and nursed them from a sprout. Only the coffee survived though.

All the others can be grown from seed or from a small branch soaked in water for two weeks. You either get them from a friend or buy the seeds online.