Best Houseplants for Students

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Plants will listen to all your problems, are fairly easy to care for, and best of all, they don't talk back when you say something that they don't agree with. So whether you live in a college dorm or in a suite or a room at home there are unique houseplants that make ideal student companions.

If you are heading off to college you don't have to go alone. A houseplant is the perfect companion to accompany you. While you cannot take your pet to college with you, it is nice to know that you are usually allowed to adopt a living plant to come live in the dorm room with you. These quiet house guests not only help to create a cheerful and relaxing atmosphere in your room, but they can also help to clean the air there as well.

Plants That Make Great Conversation Starters

The Bonsai tree is a very unique plant for adding a little extra décor in to a room. It is cool to have a miniature tree in your living space, and most people will feel the charm of this small houseplant.

Another excellent plant for students, and one that will make an excellent conversation piece as a virtual potted pet, is the Venus flytrap plant. These little guys really do catch and eat flies and other small insects. In a dorm room setting Venus flytraps rarely have to work too hard to acquire food. Helpful students are always willing to feed them.

The Venus flytrap is a plant that tends to be given the honorary status of mascot or pet and as such, it is generally also appropriately named. A few names suitable for this carnivorous companion are Dracula, Spike, Ralph, Frank, Crazy Harry, and Priscilla. I really like the Venus flytrap but have heard rumours that they do not like chlorinated water so to be extra careful you may want to get them fresh rainwater or use bottled water

Herbs and Medicinal House Plants

If you are looking for a plant that will add a nice fresh aroma to the room and be of other beneficial use as well then you may want to consider an herb plant. Herbs such as mint, lavender, chives, lemongrass, parsley, or thyme are plants that are relatively easy to care for and they generally grow well in small containers. Best of all they don't usually mind if you snip off a clipping or two to add to your favourite beverage or meal.

An aloe vera plant is like having your own personal pharmacy sitting on your desk. The sap/juice of the aloe vera plant is known to aid in the healing of cuts and burns. You can easily break off a small section of the leaf to acquire the fluid of the aloe vera plant. If you are an accident-prone sort of person, you might want to invite an aloe plant to live with you.

Plants That Help to Clean the Air Are Ideal for Any Home

Small, enclosed spaces can easily become rather smelly, which is why adopting a plant to simply help keep the pollution levels down in your dorm might be a good idea.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducted a study on the best houseplants for cleaning the household air around them, and one of these very helpful plants might just be the perfect addition to your dorm room.

The common spider plant and golden pothos were two of the best plants for removing formaldehyde from the air around them. (Yes, this is a common air pollutant in buildings, scary huh?) If you are not hip on flowering plants then consider one of these species of plants to purifying your indoor air.

The flowering Gerbera daisy and the chrysanthemum are the best plants for removing benzene from the air. If you like flowers, then you might want to consider one of these for your room. Chrysanthemums are very decorative and are available in a wide range of colours but take note that they do require a well-lighted area.

Keep it little. Smaller plants are naturally a good choice because a dorm room is not all that large. This eliminates most plants that eventually grow into trees, shrubs, or bushes from your list of options (other than the Bonsai of course).
Air-Purifying Plants

Bamboo palm
Dracaena massangeana cane
Mother-in-law's tongue
English ivy
Peace lily
Fig tree
Chinese evergreen

A Good Luck Charm

A good luck charm is always a thoughtful gift choice for a friend or family member, so why not adopt a lucky plant? There are a few choices in this category, but the top three would be these delightful items:

bamboo plant
money tree
lucky shamrock plant.

Any one of these would be a delightful addition to a student's desk.

Plants That Do Not Require a Lot of Sunlight

Low light plants are ideal for enclosed spaces which makes them ideal for a student's dorm room. When a student goes off to school, getting a dorm with windows is not always an option. Even when there is a window in the room, the lighting can still be quite dim. Low light plants:

Bamboo palm (a.k.a lucky bamboo)
Philodendron
Spider plant
Janet Craig dracaena
Dragon tree
Peace lily
Snake plant
Pothos vine

A very low care plant for students is the poky old cactus. Famous for not requiring a great deal of water, cacti come in hundreds of varieties and the best thing about them is that they really do require very minimal care. If you tend to be a little careless, forgetful, lazy, or just plain old confused, then one of these green houseplants may be the perfect plant for you.

My Personal Favourites

There are many houseplants that are excellent for removing toxins from the air. Indoor pollution can be a real problem and especially so in the winter months. One of my favourite plants for this is the spider plant. It is easy to care for and ranks high on the list as an air cleaner.

I have always loved spider plants and the golden Pothos so I was very pleasantly surprised when I did research on plants and pollution to discover that both of these rank very high for their air-cleansing abilities. They always have been my personal favourites but are even more so now. I am known for accidentally killing some plants, so easy-care plants are high on my adoption list. Jade plants and violets cringe if they see me walk by.