There are many benefits to having indoor plants in your home or office. To begin with, they add an attractive touch to bare floor spaces, desks, and tabletops. Indoor plants also provide an uplifting spirit that can calm and relax you when your feeling stressed or bent out of shape. And let's not forget about the improved air quality and oxygen they provide so you can breathe easy and stay healthy.

As you can see, there are plenty of good reasons to add indoor plants to your living space. But before you spend one penny on a new plant, let go over a few key points before you get started turning your home into an indoor rain forest.

Do you have any children or pets in your home? If you do, listen up. As innocent as most plants appear, many varieties are known to be dangerous and toxic to kids and domesticated animals. There are many plant varieties when swallowed or handled can trigger a serious illness. For example, I'm sure you've heard of poison Ivy and the rashes it causes.

Okay, now that you know many indoor plants are known to be dangerous, here is what your must do before you spend a dime. Take the time to research the plant you want to bring into your home. For example, you want to know exactly what potential dangers the plant has, the symptoms a person can expect to experience, and the most effective way of treating such symptoms. As far as children are concerned, the best protection is constant adult supervision. Moving the plants out of reach whenever young children visit is just one step you can take to keep children safe.

Now that we've covered the potential danger of poisonous plants, your next step is to decide what area of the home will the plant be placed in, and the sunlight it will receive there. If you put a plant that needs plenty of sunlight in a dark corner of the house, it will weaken and die.

The temperature of the room where the plant is kept is another important plant growth factor to consider. I'm sure you're aware some plants prefer warm climates, while other do well in colder temperatures. So, if you place a warm, sun loving plant in a cool, dark basement...don't expect much success with that plant.

Indoor plants that flower need more sunlight for their growth than a plant that does not flower. Tropical plants like the Croton thrive in moist, sunny locations. Succulents and cacti need dry air and little water to survive. Some plants need frequent fertilizing while others need little or no fertilizer at all.

Here's the bottom line...research is step one to successfully growing and caring for any indoor plants. You can learn what you need at the library, web or a visit to your local gardening store.