January 21, 2022

The Best Plants for Your Office

By Andrea Davine
The Best Plants for Your Office

New year, new plant!

The inevitable return to office work, can be a drag after spending blissful days enjoying the outdoors or just in your own private retreat at home.

Beat those back to work blues by injecting some green into your workspace.

Aside from all the studies demonstrating how abundantly beneficial plants can be for us both physically and mentally, they also have a way of effortlessly making a room look immediately more stylish.

We know many indoor work areas aren’t generally conducive to the wellbeing of a lot of plants, so taking this into consideration we have compiled a shortlist of the best office plants for most spaces:

  1. Zanzibar

Our number one go-to any time someone asks for our recommendation for an office plant will always be the reliable Zanzibar. Naturally glossy and plump leaves line thick stems to add beautiful flow and structure to any room.

Just like that one colleague whose role you’re not entirely sure of, yet is somehow relevant to the team, the Zanzibar enjoys being left to its own devices. Super tolerant of low light situations but also happy to chill under fluorescents, a Zanzibar will easily survive a windowless office.

And when the whole team is out on leave at the end of the year, don’t worry about the Zanzibar not getting watered for a while. Highly drought-tolerant, the Zanzibar stores water in their rhizomes, with only a good monthly watering required.

Picture of Zanzibar gem. Photo credit: Interior Jungle interiorjungle.com.au  

 

  1. Pothos

Also referred to as Devil’s Ivy for how adverse it is to death and its ability to stay green when kept in low light, Pothos is one of the hardiest plants that should be a part of every indoor plant collection.

Pothos will absolutely thrive in a bright area but do very well in low light as well. Requiring minimal maintenance, a Pothos is a great option if you want a nice spread of green but don’t want to be looking after too many plants. Trailing stems will gracefully cascade, or wind them around your shelves to let them climb. Or simply let them creep across your desk.

In terms of watering, a Pothos kept in lower light situations will not have to be watered often and can afford to go a little dry in between waterings – just not for too long.

But if you’re blessed with a lot of natural light, increase the frequency of watering – generally when you see the soil beginning to dry out.

Picture of Pothos in hanging planter. Photo credit: Hannah Puechmarin for All The Green Things 

 

  1. Lucky Bamboo

Interestingly, lucky bamboo is not actually bamboo but instead belongs to the Dracaena family, specifically referred to as Dracaena sanderiana.

These cute little canes commonly make appearances in offices thanks to their ability to do well in low light as well as their super easy maintenance. Generally grown and kept in water, the only upkeep required for lucky bamboo will be changing their water every two to four weeks. This also makes them an ideal plant that you don’t have to worry about if you and your team take extended leave for the end of year break.

Picture of Lucky Bamboo and Pothos in planter. Photo credit: All The Green Things 

 

  1. Sansevieria

Also known as snake plant or mother-in-law tongue, a sansevieria will make a sharp addition to any dull office space. Available in an array of patterned varieties, many sansevierias can grow quite tall. If you’re after something more suitable for a desk, consider a dwarf variety of sansevieria. These are generally squat in appearance and don’t grow more than 30cm in height and width, so it won’t take over your surface area.

Minimal maintenance and happy to sit nearly anywhere, sansevierias are drought tolerant so they do not require frequent watering, especially if kept in lower light. An even bigger plus is that sansevierias are noted by NASA as one of the most effective plants for improving air quality, so now you can breathe a little easier at work.

Picture of Sansevieria in planter. Photo credit: Lulu & Georgia luluandgeorgia.com

 

  1. Dieffenbachia

Sometimes referred to as dumb cane for its unfortunate side effects on speech and breathing if ingested, a dieffenbachia makes for a much better indoor plant than a snack. Featuring splashes of greens, yellow, and cream, dieffenbachias are pretty and simple in looks and maintenance. They love diffused light and will tolerate slightly lower light situations. The less light they receive, the less watering they will require, but they do grow best when the soil is not overly moist. Droopy leaves will be a good indicator that your dieffenbachia needs a good watering.

Picture of large Dieffenbachia. Photo credit: All The Green Things

 

As you can probably see, these options are the best plants for low light areas. But if light is not an issue, then there are endless possibilities in creating your own indoor garden.

We’d like to give an honorable mention to the Spathiphyllum, AKA the Peace Lily, especially the Peace Lily ‘sensation’, a variety with lush, extra-large foliage. A decades old indoor plant staple, you can’t beat a beautiful Peace Lily with its gorgeous structural white flower spike.  And who doesn’t love a plant that tells you when it’s thirsty? With the Peace Lily, it’s all in the leaves… looking droopy? You know it’s time for some H2O.  

        

Picture (top) of large Peace Lily in stand. Picture (bottom) Small Peace Lily growing hydroponically in propagation station. Photo credit: All The Green Things

 

The Peperomia also deserves a mention, beautifully compact with thick rubbery leaves this is a smart choice for beginner plant enthusiasts looking to green up their office space. Typically, low maintenance, only requiring minimal care, a ‘Pep’ (Peperomia’s cute nickname) enjoys bright indirect light and is tolerant of florescent lighting.

Picture of Peperomia sp. Photo credit: All The Green Things

 

Enjoy finding the right green office buddy to enrich your workspace and brighten your mood. Trust us you won’t regret it. 

Love from Team All The Green Things x

 Authors: Denise Tsonis & Dana Gehrman