Considerations for Indoor Gardening Safety

It is most likely that your indoor plants will be safe from hard other than the odd garden pest.  But if you have young children or pets in the home, the danger can be for them.  There are many plants that are not recommended for indoors (or outdoors for that matter) when children or pets are present.  Some plants are poisonous, even fatal if ingested.  Listed below if a few of the more popular plants that aren’t safe to have around.

The seeds of Rosary Pea and Castor Bean plants are lethal.  Fatalities have been reported from the ingestion of just one seed.  If a young child or cat chews on one of the leaves they are sure to get sick.  You can purchase necklaces that are made from the seeds of this plant.  These are not meant for children and can cause skin irritations in adults.

Parts of the Oleander plant (the leaves and bark) are also poisonous.  It is not worth the risk to have these in the house.  Even with due diligence children or pets are bound to get into a houseplant at one point or another.  It is hard to safeguard against falling leaves or other unavoidable events.

The bulbs of certain flowering plants are considered poisonous too.  Even if you are planning on planting the bulbs outside, be careful they are stored in a safe out of the way area that is not accessible to little heads.  The flower bulbs in question are from the Hyacinth, the Daffodil and the Narcissus flowers.

If you own any of these plants and don’t have little animals or children running around to get into still use caution.  Be aware of what plants in your house are potential hazards to humans.  In addition, be a considerate host or hostess and put the dangerous plants in a safe way when young visitors are coming over.

Keeping Pets off your Plants

Cats and dogs love dirt, they dig in it, play in it and if a cat’s litter box isn’t clean they may find a back-up location in your potted plants.  Some pets will leave the dirt alone but are irresistibly drawn to the leaves, either to nibble on or bat at.  There is no fail-safe plant but there are some tips and tricks you can follow to make your pets leave the plants alone.

The biggest problem and the most damaging to an indoor plant is a cat deciding to use the dirt as a litter box.  Once a cat has done this once, the odor is there and it is going to be hard to stop them from going back.  To prevent this from happening in the first place, cover the dirt in larger pots with lava rock or wood chips.  A cat will not like the feel of either of these materials on their paws and will not feel comfortable using the pot as a bathroom.

Dogs are easier to train and keep away from plants but it is harder for other animals.   Especially for cats – a deterrent may be necessary to keep them away.  You can use a spray bottle of water to stop them from chewing on plant leaves or digging in the dirt.  Since cats don’t like anything from the citrus family you can put fresh citrus rinds at the base of the plant too – their sensitive noses will stop them from getting too close.

Keep your soil nice and moist, not only is this good for the plant, cats will not enjoy digging in wet dirt.  Some trial and error may be called for until you find the right solution that works for your pets.  If all else fails, buy hanging plants instead or put the plants in an inaccessible location.