Is it a bad idea to put plants on my range hood?

November 24, 2019 12:34 AM

I want to put a mature Pothos with long leafy vines on my very large, flat range hood. Am I overlooking a downside beyond asthetics?

The vines would be spread out over the flat part of the hood with a few tendrils just peeking over the edge.

It wouldn’t be anywhere near the stovetop/flame/cooking food. The hood is like 2 feet deep so the plant pot is tucked way back and in no danger of falling.

Is this a bad idea for any reason?

posted by HoteDoge to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Does the surface of the hood get warm/hot during use? If so is that compatible with the plant’s preferred conditions?
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:17 AM on November 24, 2019

The hood is not meant to be a load-bearing surface.
posted by chiquitita at 2:11 AM on November 24, 2019 [11 favorites]

Personally, I'd treat anything that has the potential to get in my way or distract me while cooking to be a safety issue.
posted by carter at 4:08 AM on November 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

Particularly a pothos potentially plotting to pollute my porridge with potting soil portions.
posted by flabdablet at 4:48 AM on November 24, 2019 [22 favorites]

Another concern would be fungus gnats. If they invade your pothos, they will certainly then invade the aforementioned porridge which will look like bits of pepper, but not be as flavorful.
posted by eleslie at 5:15 AM on November 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

How are you going to water the plants in this scenario?
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:01 AM on November 24, 2019

I don't see a problem unless the plant is exposed to heat from cooking. I would note that kitchen range hoods tend to get greasy so I'd be sure to rinse the leaves every time you watered.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 9:42 AM on November 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

A pothos likes high humidity. In general the area above your stove is where you hang things to dry. If you are okay with a sick, dying or dead pothos my only concern would be the fire risk when the lovely long trailing bits dry out and then dangle into the heat and ignite.

You could potentially transfer your pothos up there when you are not cooking, and have it on the centre of the kitchen table at other times.

I'd start by putting a thermometer up there and checking how hot it gets, and a pot of earth with no plant to test how fast it dries out.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:03 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Not a good idea. Heat rises.
posted by oceanjesse at 12:58 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

No. Bad for the plant (heat!) bad for potential fires and/or dirt and bugs in your food.
posted by agregoli at 10:52 AM on November 25, 2019