hey all. the family room is being repainted tomorrow, we're starting the ceiling tonight. my concern is that i have a lot of houseplants currently situated in the family room. i've temporarily relocated a handful to ensure no ceiling paint gets on them tonight, but i'm worried about whether or not the fumes as the paints dry will be harmful to the plants or if i should leave them relocated to the other room until after all the fumes clear.

i assume different plants are more sensitive than others; my dracaena marginata, norfolk pine, woodsorrel, african violets, poinsettia, nerve plant, and opuntia are the plants to be potentially impacted, and the formermost 5 listed are the ones that have been relocated.

if someone could confirm whether or not they'll be ok, that'd be great. thanks in advance to any input/advice. ive had a handful of these plants for quite a while and im very attached to them so i just dont want to risk their health if i can help it

Get all of your plants out of any room being worked on. Things get knocked over for one thing. No one, animals or plants like bad air. Why run the risk?

thanks for your respons gene. but yeah thats a fair point. i'll feel better once theyre back in their normal spots, but i think i'll hold off after we're done painting for a few days. the only thing about their temporary spot in the living room is that they're probably not getting as much light but if it overall is better for them to stake out over here, then that's what i'll do. they'll probably be okay for a few days though. livig room gets light in the evening mostly, which is a bit of a change for them.

There are cloudy days sometimes. Your plants will be OK in a dark closet for days.

Quite a few years ago there was a lot of concern about paint fumes causing serious leaf drop of Ficus trees. I have not heard about that being a problem in recent years. Perhaps, they have changed the paint formulas but I don't know that as a fact. My hunch is that your plants would be okay, but you may want to play it safe with any plants that have special value to you.

If you move the plants temporarily for a day or two and then air out the room, I think it would be safe to return the plants after a day or so.

thanks, guys. i dont think paints are nearly as heavy with the fumes as they used to be but this is pretty much the first time any of my plants have been around while we're painting, so its not something im familiar with for plant care, and i do want to ensure their health. i definitely do want to play it safe, as all of my plants are very special to me. i'm gonna keep them in the other room for a couple days afterward per your guys' feedback.