The purifying reasons to include activated charcoal in your plant pots

Activated charcoal seems to be infiltrating all aspects of your life: In addition to charcoal beauty products, there’s now soot-colored smoothies, juices, cocktails, and even pizza crust. Yet, considering how ubiquitous the buzzy and beauty-boosting ingredient is, you might still be surprised to learn (I certainly was!) that it can also help save the life of your plants.

Activated charcoal rids the soil of impurities, repels insects, and prevents mold and odors. It’s also extremely porous, meaning that when you drown your leafy friends in water, it will absorb the excess, thereby preventing root rot.

Adding a layer of activated charcoal to the bottom of your plant pot, underneath the soil, can help your plant’s health in a number, according to Apartment Therapy. The substance rids the soil of impurities (which is why it’s sometimes a great health and beauty ingredient), repels insects, and prevents mold and odors. And, since activated charcoal is extremely porous, when you accidentally drown your leafy friends in water (just me?), it will absorb the excess, thereby preventing root rot.

And in addition to it not only being totally possible to overwater your plant babies (yep, #guilty), Apartment Therapy reported that doing so is actually one of the most common ways to kill them. If you’ve ever had a plant turn brown and yellow, that just may be what happened. Luckily, it’s in solving precisely this dilemma where activated charcoal shines.

So the next time you treat yourself to a charcoal face mask, treat your plants too. And if all else fails, you can always opt for some chic faux greenery.

To house your plants, try one of these pet-friendly hanging planters and these vases that double as sculptures.