Whether you have a dog or cat, when in doubt, consult a vet before deciding on indoor plants for your home.

Adding indoor greenery is a great way to beautify your home, and there are many house plants you can choose from. But for home owners with a dog or cat in the house, you should take some precaution.

Some common and easy-to-purchase plants in your home can be harmful to your pet. When consumed by your dog or cat, it may cause gastrointestinal upset, vomiting and other dire consequences.

Some of these common plants to avoid include the Azalea, Daffodil, Dieffenbachia, Kalanchoe, Aloe, Arrow-Head Vine, Lily, Ivy, Caladium, Jade plant, Chives, Cycads, Philodendron, Dracaena, Caladium, Ficus, Garlic, Snake Plant, Lantana, Leek, Lemongrass, Lime, Mint, Morning Glory, Portulaca, Onion, Parsley, Caesalpinia, Periwinkle, Alocasia and Brunfelsia.

Here are seven common indoor plants that should pose no harm to your pets and will surely add colour to your home.

Areca Palm

Name: Dypsis lutescens
Family: Arecaceae (Palmae)

Photo credit: Boo Chih Min

This plant is often seen planted along Singapore’s streetscapes as it can be grown in sun or shade. The soft, spirally-arranged fronds that are usually yellowish-green to bright green not only add colour to your home, but can become the centrepiece of your indoor garden.

Bamboo Palm

Name: Chamaedorea seifrizii
Family: Arecaceae

Photo credit: Vicky Lim Yen Ngoh

This plant is commonly known as Bamboo Palm due to its multi-stemmed growth that resembles a bamboo plant. It makes a good screening plant as it can grow up to 4 m in height and up to 2 m wide when grown indoors.

Boston Fern

Name: Nephrolepis exaltata
Family: Oleandraceae

Photo credit: Boo Chih Min

This plant has dagger-shaped fronds and thrives in a cool place with high humidity levels and indirect sunlight. This makes the indoors one of the best places to grow it. The plant is commonly seen hanging by the windowsill or planted in pots at home.

Staghorn Fern

Name: Platycerium coronarium
Family: Polypodiaceae

This epiphytic plant is native to Singapore and can be found perched on the upper branches of mature trees in lowland rainforests, mangrove forests and along the roadsides. In its natural habitat, the fern is known to die off naturally after a few years, and the dead nest-fronds continue to serve as habitat for other ferns as well as small animals such as snakes and rats. The plant can be mounted as part of a feature wall in your home.

Venus Flytrap

Name: Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis
Family: Droseraceae

The original habitat of this carnivorous plant occurs in open, sunny areas of the savannahs with moist, sandy, nutrient-deficient soil. As a result, the leaves are modified to trap insects in order to obtain nutrients. Although it is a dangerous plant to most insects, it is almost harmless to your pet.

Spider Plant

Name: Chlorophytum comosum
Family: Anthocerotaceae

Photo credit: Boo Chih Min

The Spider Plant derives its common name from its plantlets that are formed along the stalk and produces attractive small white star-shaped flowers. This is a versatile plant as it can be planted in a hanging basket or in a pot.

Lipstick Plant

Name: Aeschynanthus parvifolius
Family: Gesneriaceae

Photo credit: Tamako Kobayashi

Native to Singapore, the Lipstick Plant gets its common name from the bright red, tubular flowers surrounded at the base by a dark red, tubular calyx that look like lipsticks. Having this plant at home will surely brighten up your interior.

Plant material, even if it is non-toxic, ingested by an animal may result in signs of vomiting, depression or diarrhoea. So check with your vet is you are unsure.

Learning More
Need more gardening tips? Join our Community in Bloom (CIB) programmes, form your own gardening interest group, or check out our book ‘My Green Space: indoor gardening made simple’! If you want to involve the entire family, join us at our monthly Gardener’s Day Out @ HortPark and meet fellow gardening enthusiasts, participate in eco-friendly workshops and shop for new plants.

Be fully immersed in horticulture and gardening and come down for the Singapore Garden Festival HortShow happening at the newly-opened Jurong Lake Gardens, happening from 27 April to 5 May. The festival will have various horticultural competitions, workshops, activities for the whole family, retail booths and more!

For more gardening resources including instructive videos and tips for caring for your plants, click here. You can also learn more about our flora and fauna here.

Text by Enna Lam