Live Plants vs Artificial Plants - The Good & The Bad

Are you debating between a live plant or an artificial plant? We're about to dive into the pros & cons of each to decide a winner...

Pros of Live Plants

• Health Benefits: We've all heard about the benefits that live plants have on our mood, productivity, & memory retention. In a study done by the University of Michigan, showed memory retention improving by up to 20% when spending just an hour in nature! Learn more about health benefits from plants.

• Air Purifiers: Not only do live plants provide the health benefits mentioned above, they also purify your air through a process called photosynthesis. Plants absorb volatile organic compounds (VOC's) into their leaves. They're then able to convert the VOC's into delicious plant food. During this process, they release healthy clean air into your home. Here's our top air purifying houseplants.

• Continued Growth: Is there anything more satisfying that watching your plants evolve into mature plants? The sense of ownership & pride that you get from growing plants is something that is tough to beat. 

Pros of Artificial Plants

• No Light, No Problem: Are you looking to add greenery to places in your home that don't receive light? Say your basement, bathroom, laundry room, etc.? Look no further than artificial plants. Fake plants give you that wanted greenery look in places where live plants wouldn't thrive.
• Very Low Maintenance: While there are low maintenance live plants, artificial plants take low maintenance to a whole new level. The only maintenance needed to keep artificial plants looking beautiful is the occasional dusting that may collect on their leaves.
• Last Forever: One of the best things about artificial plants & trees is that you know it's going to last forever. You don't have to worry about overwatering or bugs/insects potentially killing the plant. What you see is what you get... forever!

Cons of Live Plants

• Maintenance: Now depending on your likes/dislikes, you may find the daily chores of keeping plants happy peaceful and relaxing. However, what happens when you go on a vacation? Do you need someone to look after your plants? Are they going to be okay while you're gone or are you going to come back to unhealthy plants? These are things you don't have to worry about with artificial plants & trees.
• Plant Living Conditions: Unfortunately, every area of your home probably is suitable for optimal plant growth. For example, if you have a basement that doesn't receive much light, this may be the perfect place for an artificial plant. There are live plants that can tolerate low light conditions, but there's nothing comparable to artificial plants. One of the best live plants for low light places is the Snake Plant.
• Allergies & Toxic To Furry Friends: Unfortunately, certain live plants may aggravate your personal allergies or be harmful to your furry friends running around the house. While there are lots of pet-friendly houseplants, there are some houseplants that are toxic to pets. It's important to research your plants to make sure your pets are not getting themselves into a plant that isn't pet-friendly.

Cons of Artificial Plants

• Lack of "Real" Look: One of the biggest concerns when buying artificial plants is, how real is it going to look? In most cases, this is reflected in price. The higher the cost, better quality of materials, the more likely the plant is going to have that "real" look & feel. Our artificial plants & trees are hand-crafted with the highest quality materials to capture nature in its finest moments, and assure that "real" look.
• Lack Air Purifying Qualities: Unlike live plants, artificial plants don't undergo photosynthesis to help purify your air. If you're looking for greenery that's going to increase your homes humidity and purify your air, stay away from artificial plants and move towards live plants.
• No New Growth: With artificial plants and trees, what you see is what you get. There isn't going to be any growth in size, foliage, or flowering. They're going to always have their same, beautiful, look.

And the winner is...

Unfortunately, there isn't a clear cut answer. Every home, every person, is different. The key is finding the correct plant (live or artificial) for you. If you have a home more suitable for live plants & their living conditions, embrace the challenge of growing live plants and reap their benefits. If your home doesn't have the best living conditions for live plants, then artificial plants is the way to go. Artificial plants provide a tremendous amount of benefits and greenery to any home. 

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