Do Plants Release Only Oxygen? Do Plants Release Carbon Dioxide? Maybe Both?

The topic of feng shui of plants in the bedroom and either it is good feng shui or bad feng shui to have them in your bedroom triggered a lot of e-mails from our readers. Feng Shui-wise, as I stated before, plants are not recommended in the bedroom because:

1. Plants have a strong and vibrant energy of growth and movement - yang energy - which is not the feng shui energy recommended for the bedroom. There are many excellent areas in your home to have lush, vibrant plants, such as, for example, East and Southeast feng shui areas. Your bedroom, however, is not the best feng shui area to have plants.

2. Plants do release CO2 at night. The amount depends on many factors, but insisting that plants release only oxygen is like saying you only inhale air without ever exhaling it. 

It is very important to keep in mind that humans (& animals) release CO2 with every breath, all day and all night (and we are not harming ourselves by doing so). If a person lived in a greenhouse (full of spinach or soybeans) that was kept cool during the day then warm during the night, there would be some concern.

• Did you know….90% of the Earth’s oxygen supply comes from the blue green algae in the Oceans?”
  In addition to Cheryl Dawn’s explanation, let me direct you to The New York Times Learning Network with info on plants respiration.

Although the amount of CO2 released by plants at night is not outrageous, feng shui-wise, plants are not recommended for a small to mid-size bedroom.