Is your beloved pet a plant nibbler?
Many dogs and cats show a particular interest in plants around the home, and many well-meaning pet owners may not be aware of how many toxic plants they have around the house and garden. When considering purchasing plants for your home and you have pets, some planning may be necessary to ensure you are getting plants that are non-toxic to your curious cats and determined dogs.
It may be helpful to go through the plants you currently have in your home or outside that are used in your landscaping and check how safe they are if your animals were to get ahold of them. Familiarizing yourself with any symptoms that may occur as a result of consuming toxic plants, as well as having a phone number for pet poison control handy and knowing where your nearest emergency vet is can help prevent catastrophic consequences if your pet does accidently get into a toxic plant.
To ensure you pick the safest possible plants for your home and landscaping projects, we’re here to help you learn what plants are and are not safe for your pets! For the purpose of this article, we are only going to focus on plants that are commonly found and grown here in the Southeast and are appropriate for our climate and growing zone.
Most of Western North Carolina is in growing zones 6A to 8A, which is important to know when selecting plants most appropriate for your home and garden. If you are looking in to plants that are meant for use as houseplants, the growing zones don’t matter quite so much as they do for plants you are intending on putting outside.
(Note: Keep in mind that your pet ingesting any type of plant or foreign material can cause GI upset including vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy, depending on what is consumed. GI upset warrants a trip to your veterinarian if symptoms persist more than 24 hours, due to the risk of dehydration, and even sooner or immediately if you suspect a toxin is responsible for the symptoms.)
Now onto non-toxic plants!
Houseplants
1. Venus Fly Trap- These are fun plants that are a very interesting addition to your home. Well known for their predatory behavior as the name states, Venus fly traps are interesting, easy to care for and non-toxic to your pets. These plants offer the added benefit of being native to North and South Carolina, especially near the coast in Wilmington, growing naturally within a radius of 75 miles of the city.
2. Boston Fern- A favorite amongst houseplant aficionados, the Boston fern is shaggy, wild looking, and tolerates shade and low light conditions, making them a great choice as a houseplant that is also non-toxic to your pets. Cats especially may be drawn to these types of plants as they will likely love to bat at the leaves, and because of their long fronds, dogs may like to try and play with them as well and bite at them.
3. Areca Palm- A beautiful tropical houseplant, this is a popular palm that is non-toxic to your pets. If you’re looking for something to add a little tropical flair to your home, and you’ve got a bright, sunny room where it can go, you may want to consider this one for a pet safe houseplant. Cats will likely love to swat at its leaves, but it’s a safe option if they happen to be plant nibblers as well.
4. Polka-Dot plant- A multicolored plant that doesn’t need special conditions to flower or bloom, as it is a leafy plant that can tolerate shaded areas. Available in many different colors, Polka-dot plants are eye catching and ornamental, as well as non-toxic to pets unless your pet has a sensitive stomach and consumes large quantities of it, where it may cause mild GI upset. Some of the colors of the “polka dots” are pink, white, and red!
5. Friendship plant- A textured, interesting looking plant that does especially well in high humidity conditions such as in a terrarium, friendship plants are non-toxic to curious pets. Because of the special conditions needed to thrive, this plant does best in a covered terrarium, making it even more challenging for a pet to even get a small nibble of it. When it blooms, tiny pink flowers appear, adding even more visual interest to this neat plant.
Outdoor Plants
1. Forsythia or “Golden Bells”- These large bushes featuring yellow flowers that bloom in the Spring are a popular sight in the Southeast. Without pruning, these plants can get too upwards of 10 feet tall and even wider than that, as each branch of this bush that touches the ground will put down roots, causing it to spread further and turn into a thicket if left alone. Nonetheless, they work well for privacy and adding some visual interest to your yard and are non-toxic to pets, making them a contender for a space in your yard.
2. Camellia- What’s the Southeast without a Camellia flower mention? These puffy, large flowers are a popular addition to southern gardens and are non-toxic to pets. Coming in many shades of pink, red, white, and others, they can do well in containers and are a popular arrangement flower. Since these bushes can get quite large, they can also serve as privacy hedges. Some Camellias can bloom throughout the year, including the winter, if the climate is mild enough. They are fairly easy to grow and can be used as a companion plant for a variety of other popular landscaping varieties. Once established, they can keep you enamored with their beauty for years to come.
3. Marigolds- A beautiful little annual, marigolds have many practical uses and they are non-toxic to pets. Coming in shades of red, orange and yellow, these flowers also have an added benefit of being a natural form of pest control to protect your edible garden plants from beetles, slugs, and other harmful bugs while also attracting bees! They can be kept well in containers and add a pop of color to even the drabbest of backyards. Some of them smell fairly nice as well!
4. Magnolia Bushes and Trees- In the southeast, magnolias are so popular, you’d be hard pressed not to see one in every single neighborhood. These large, stately trees famous for their handsome form and flowers, are non-toxic to pets and with an added benefit of fragrant flowers, what’s not to love? Sure, these trees can get truly massive, but did you know that the come in a bush form as well? For those with less space in their yards to spare, magnolias are a worthy contender in your yard beautifying projects.
5. Snap Dragons- A popular flower commonly used in landscaping to beautify the front of backyard; snap dragons are another plant that is non-toxic to pets. Coming in quite the array of colorful blooms and easy to start from seed as long as you’ve got full sun in the yard, these are worth considering for your projects and can also make a lovely arrangement flower.
6. Hibiscus- A lovely, tropical bush that is similar to a tree in proportions, tropical hibiscus is completely safe for your pets, and depending on the type (hibiscus sabdariffa or roselle), is safe for you to consume as well in salads or in tea. These flowers come in a variety of colors such as red, yellow, white, pink and others. They make great privacy hedges, and are popular in the Southeast to add visual interest to your outdoor landscaping with their large, beautiful flowers.
For more information on plants that are SAFE for your pets, check out the resources below:
Rover
Plants to Avoid-
Note: This is not an exhaustive list; this is only a few of the plants that are commonly used in the home and in landscaping projects in the Southeast known to be toxic.
For more information on toxic plants, as well as non-toxic plants, we recommend that you check out the ASPCA’s Toxic and Non-Toxic plant lists, or call your local veterinarian for more advice on plants you can or cannot have in your home for the safety of your pets.
1. Lilies (peace lilies, day lilies, tiger lily, Easter lily etc.)- Most lilies are extremely toxic to pets, especially cats, so it’s not worth taking a chance on adding any lilies to your home or garden if you have pets. Lilies are especially toxic to cats, and they are at the highest risk for death due to the consumption of lilies, as the toxicity can cause kidney failure ultimately causing death. Other symptoms to watch out for are vomiting, inappetence, and lethargy. In dogs, depending on what species of lily was eaten (Peace lily for example), symptoms are oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of the mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing. Our best advice is to eliminate this risk completely and we advise you don’t try to add any types of lilies to your home to keep your pets safe.
2. Poinsettia- A winter blooming flower, poinsettias are a popular decoration and gift people receive during the holidays. Well known to be toxic, it is worth discussing in this article as well because of its commonality and popularity during winter. Symptoms indicating the ingestion of this plant by your pet are drooling, vomiting, lip licking, diarrhea, and eye and skin irritation are common to see if this toxicity is present, especially during the winter months.
3. Aloe – A popular medicinal plant that poses little risk to humans, aloe vera is toxic to pets. Vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea are common symptoms of this toxicity, but can also present as tremors, changes in urine color or inappetence. If you must keep aloe vera on hand, put it somewhere your pet cannot access it, and keep an eye on them when you harvest aloe for sunburns or wounds, ensuring that pieces of it aren’t just lying around inviting a curious pet to eat them.
4. Azalea- Part of the rhododendron family, azaleas are extremely toxic to pets and can be lethal to them. The primary toxin in these plants is called, “Grayanotoxin” which causes vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, fatigue, seizures, blindness, tremors, drooling, abdominal pain, arrythmia, and cardiac failure/death, if left untreated. If you have pets, you may want to reconsider putting this plant around your home, due to the severity of the toxin and its subsequent symptoms and high risk for casualties.
5. Hydrangea- These plants are incredibly popular in the southeast. Ranging from blue, to white to purple and pink, the color of these flowers depends on the acidity of the soil they are in. They are also toxic to cats and dogs, and when consumed can cause symptoms such as lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea in your pet. They can be hard to avoid, because of their popularity, so keeping your pets contained in the backyard or on a leash to prevent them from consuming your neighbor’s hydrangeas is ideal to prevent toxicity and poisoning from this plant.
If you suspect that your pet has gotten into any type of toxic substance, including through the consumption of toxic plants above, call the pet poison control number right away for advice, or head straight to your nearest veterinarian or emergency vet for treatment. The phone number for the Pet Poison Control Line is: (888) 426-4435
For more information on the safety and toxicity of plants you may want to consider putting in your home and garden, we recommend you check out the following resources: