Pet-friendly indoor plants

As many of you may have noticed we have recently updated our reception area to include a range of indoor plants. Here at Brudine we love our indoor plants but there are a few things to be mindful of when mixing pets and plants. Cats and dogs are curious creatures and the addition of a new indoor plant to your home is a potential invitation for them to chew, eat or play with it so it's up to us to ensure that any plants you bring into the home are safe and non-toxic. With the exception of edibles like cat grass, it's always better to keep houseplants out of a pet's reach if you can, as just because a plant is non-toxic doesn’t mean it won’t cause a tummy ache if they decide to eat a large amount. If in doubt, consider suspending plants from the ceiling in hanging pots so they're kept away from curious paws!

Below are a couple of common indoor plants that are recognised as being non-toxic to cats and dogs. Most of the plants we have at Brudine fall into this category and are up for sale, so if any of the plants on our shelves catch your eye let us know!

Here are a few non-toxic indoor plants to get you started on your plant journey….

1. Calathea – These beautiful plants have a variety of great artistic patterns on their leaves. They can be a little fussy with their watering and humidity requirements but make for a beautiful addition to your home. They are one of my favourite groups. Common names include Peacock plant, Rattlesnake plant and Zebra plant.

2. Pileas – This family of plants is an easy care option which is both easy to propagate as well as being non-toxic to your furry family.

3.Polka Dot Plant (Hypoesties) – These add a lovely splash of colour to indoor gardens or terrariums.

4. Ferns – Ferns such as the staghorn fern or Maiden’s Hair fern bring a lot of beautiful green foliage into your home. When choosing a fern please take care that they are a TRUE fern, as these are a family which is non-toxic. Some plants are labelled ferns incorrectly, like the Asparagus “Fern” or Foxtail “Fern”, and are NOT part of the TRUE fern family at all and are toxic to your pets if eaten/chewed.

5. Spider plant – These are possibly one of the easiest houseplants to grow and it is fun to grow more spider plants from the babies that the mother plant produces to share with your family and friends.

6. Air plants (Tillandsia spp.) – These fascinating plants thrive on air (alongside watering – I like to soak mine in a water bath for roughly half an hour once weekly). They are epiphytes (they grow on rocks and trees) and as such do not need to be potted in soil. They do particularly well in a humid location like your bathroom and a great hit with kids.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are concerned your Animal has consumed a toxic plant, please give us a call, or if after-hours you can call the Animal Emergency Centre or Canberra Veterinary Emergency Centre.

Other important numbers are:

Australian Poisons Information Centre: 131 126

Australian Animal Poisons Hotline: 1300 869 738