Adding gorgeous indoor plants to your home can feel like a challenge when you share the space with a dog or cat who likes to chew on unsuspecting foliage! Don't worry, there are many pet friendly house plant choices that will satisfy you both. Take a look at our top list of pet safe plants:
Our Top Pet Safe Plants
- Most varieties of ferns such as Boston ferns
- Staghorn ferns with their beautiful unusual fronds
- Prayer plants, in a variety of colours and sizes.
- The popular peperomia plant
- Easy to care for spider plants
- Most varieties of succulent plants
- Blooming African violets with fuzzy leaves
- Bright and colourful tropical bromeliads
- The tall and bright green money tree plant
- Easy to care for cast iron plants
A Few To Stay Away From
When you're out plant shopping, there a some tropical plants you don't want to bring home for your pet to chew on. They can make your dog or cat sick (and cost you a trip to the vet! Don't let your pets chew on fiddle-leaf fig plants, dracaena, aloe vera, golden pothos, philodendren and snake plants.
Other Ways To Keep Your Pets Safe
Even if you only use pet friendly plants, it's still not a good idea to have your pets chew on them. Who want's teeth marks on their plant leaves? Even pet friendly plants can cause digestive issues if they're eaten on a regular basis. Here are a few tips:
The easiest solution is to keep your houseplants out of reach; high on shelves or behind closed doors.
Also, make sure your pets have enough safe chew toys, even if they keep getting lost behind the couch!
If things get really tough, you can spray your plant leaves with a diluted mixture of lemon juice and water. The citrus smell will often keep plants from smelling appetizing to your pets. (Lemon and orange peels in the soil will also have that effect).
Jason shows you a few of our favourite pet friendly plants (and some you should stay away from) in our cat-errific video above! Have fun creating a beautiful, green home for your and your pets!