Lots of people know about plants that are not good for pets, children, or ingestion by anything period. However, an actual list of plants that aren’t going to cause major problems for anyone can be hard to come by and several lists have conflicting plants, I found one that lists English Ivy as being ok and another that says it is poisonous. If ever you find yourself with a questionable plant, your best bet would to keep it in a place where it cannot be inspected by curious types or to just not get it at all.

In the first case hanging baskets would be an excellent solution, many species of plants such as Ferns, Ivy’s, several types of Bromeliads, and epiphytes, as well as some succulents are sold in this manner. Also, some plants used as ground covers in warmer climates can be used, such as sedum, and Creeping Fig, are well suited for this.

Some plants are known to not have adverse affects on pets or children if ingested that already come in hanging baskets or other containers include, Swedish Ivy, Plectranthus australis, Lipstick Plant Aeschynanthus lobbianus; Goldfish or Candy Corn Plant, Nematanthus gregarius; Prayer Plant, Maranta leuconeura; Creeping Charlie, Pilea nummularia; Artillery Plant, Pilea microphylla; Pothos; and Wandering Jew, Tradescantia zebrina.

As for houseplants that you do not want to have hanging or stashed on top of some tall piece of furniture try Palms; Bamboos; Gingers; Begonias; Orchids; Hoyas; African violets, Saintpaulia ionantha; Hens and Chicks, Echeveria spp.; Peperomias; Umbrella Plant, Cyperus involucratus; Snake Plant, Sansevieria spp.; Dracaena, Dracaena spp; Jade, Crassula spp.; Rubber Plant, Ficus elastica; and many others are listed at the available links below.

Most kinds of toxicity are resultant from ingestion, however, if your pet eats a lot of one of your plants and then vomits, do not think automatically that the plant is poisonous and needs to be disposed of; their digestive systems are those of carnivores and were not made to eat vast amounts of vegetation. The same thing can happen when a dog eats non-toxic Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis). It is even commonly thought that a dog will eat vegetation when it has an upset stomach so as to induce vomiting.

Also remember that in most cases, whole plants need to be eaten in order to be fatal or permanently damaging. Otherwise that plant wouldn’t be available for sale to the general public, such as with Poinsettias (Euphorbia spp.), which show up for the holidays by the hundreds of thousands, and are known to make pets and people sick by causing vomiting. If they truly were a lethal plant, the Department of Agriculture or USDA would not permit the sale of them.

Places such as Humane Societies, ASPCA’s, and your pediatricians or general practioners offices would be good places to get your hands on a hard copy list of non-toxic plants. The links below are provided by two such places.

If in the end, you still feel that you do not want to risk it, but still want plants around the home, try either permanent botanicals or plants specifically for pets like Catnip, Nepeta cataria and Wheat Grass, Caroline spp.