Question about Folio books and Plants

Hello, I am a new Folio collector, I found my passion for books and especially Folio in the summer of 2021. Since then I have amassed a full bookcase and I am looking to expand into a 2nd. My question is, will placing a potted plant of some kind on my bookcase have a negative effect on my pristine Folio books, by, for example releasing harmful gasses or attracting bugs etc?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the madhouse! Personally, I'd keep the plant away from my books. Plants need water, and water is the books' worst enemy. Even if you carry the plant away from the bookcase each time you water it, it might still create unwelcome humidity in the immediate vicinity.

Bugs can crawl into the safe haven of a slipcase. I once read here on the forum the poor soul that received a folio book with slipcase only to find out when pulling it out a spider (was it a female spider's nest? or was that my imagination spiralling). I always cringe slightly when sliding out the book from the slipcase

Edit: autocorrect “call” to crawl

I have books all over the house, and my wife has plants all over the house. They do not seem to have interfered with each other’s lives, but I live in a relatively dry climate. I probably wouldn’t want them to touch, though.

Spiders are like cats. They have this uncanny ability to be wherever they want to be. They won’t do any damage unless you squash one of them on a page.

Maybe it depends on your climate and the particular varieties of bugs it fosters. I've a multitude of houseplants and very little household wildlife, just a spider here and there - only cacti and succulents in the library, though, as there's a dehumidfier keeping the air in there drier than most plants would enjoy. I'd not worry unless spilling water seems a justified fear. I do have a few older volumes showing evidence of bookworm attack, but no signs of any current activity.

>3 ironjaw: No, you weren't imagining, it was both mummy spider and her egg sack.

>1 OoSirBelt: If it's a common houseplant and you don't live in the tropics then I don't think it's going to be a big issue. You can take additional steps to minimize potential local humidity problems such as re-potting it using something like Pon substrate, a soil alternative that doesn't retain moisture as well as soil, in which the water will quickly percolate to the bottom of the pot leaving the top to dry in short order.

The room I keep my books in is a veritable forest of Aroid plants and while they're on the other side from where the shelves are (not right next to each other) with the help of a large fan to help air circulation I've had no issues with mold or moisture.

I'd say the bigger consideration is that any plant (especially with soil) will always have the potential and likelihood of attracting gnats which are annoying as hell and with your plant so close to books are likely to soil the surfaces of your books as their toilet grounds. Probably any such stains would be too small to notice but still not a pleasant thought.

>1 OoSirBelt:

>6 wongie:'s mention of pesky gnats was enough to prompt me to check your location, and I see that, like me, you're in Norfolk, England. That makes me only the more confident that you've nothing to fear, and I'm not sure I've ever in my life met an indoor gnat, just mysterious little clouds of them gnatting around outside on summer evenings.

Thanks for the advice, I think just to be safe I will put a shelf or two up to put some plants on to brighten the place up. Even if the risk is small I have to keep my Folio books safe at all costs!

I have plants all along the tops of my bookshelves and never had any issues with bugs or interactions with the books ( although I’m high up in an apartment building which might limit some bug infiltration possibilities)

There was a time when folio book were cheaper in general on the second hand market and as a recent bookseller in Norfolk told me “the country’s filled with folios” I believe, ignoring the booksellers statement it might be worth the extra step in taking good care of your folio books just in case, somewhere down the line, you would require to sell them, and make a tidy profit on your service as a reader and caretaker, which ever you choose. I’ve always found folio collectors to be extra protective of their books and have not until now found a second hand book with a spider or damaged. Bumps or scruffs to slipcases i don’t mind.