Working in a drab, boring office can bring down the morale of employees. Luckily, there are many ways to make your office environment more pleasant and creative with plants!
There are many benefits to incorporating plants into your office environment. Research has shown that office plants can increase employee productivity, improve air quality, reduce stress and anxiety, and lower the risk of getting sick.
This blog post is dedicated to our green, oxygen-producing friends. Let’s start digging in. Pardon the pun.
5 Things to Consider When Choosing Office Plants
1. Focus on easy-care indoor plants
Office environments can be full of stress and anxiety, which can negatively affect employees.
If you’re looking for low-maintenance office plants for the office environment, consider succulents or cacti.
They require little watering, love direct sunlight (bright windows welcomed), and will survive in hot temperatures and dry air, common in most office settings.
What’s more, they come in many different sizes so you’ll find one that is perfect for your office, no matter how big or small.
Aloe vera is another easy-to-care-for low maintenance succulent, but make sure it has enough space to grow.
2. Choose a plant that reduces air pollutants
In addition to increasing productivity and reducing stress, plants have been shown to reduce the level of toxins found in office spaces.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the environment and release oxygen, making them a smart addition to any office and research has shown that having just one plant in an office space can reduce air toxin levels by 25%.
A shortlist of the best office plants for cleaner air:
- Snake Plants
- Mother-in-law’s Tongue
- Spider Plants
- Peace Lilies
- Aloe Vera
- English Ivy, and
- Boston Fern
3. Get to know your office plant
It would be best if you learned about your plant’s specific needs to improve its’ overall health.
The best way to do this is by researching each type of office plant before bringing them into the workspace.
Keep in mind though that different types of indoor plants require different levels of sunlight and water.
Generally speaking, plants that come from the desert require more direct sun and less watering.
On the other hand, tropical plants require a bit more moisture and humid conditions to survive in an office environment.
The best thing to do is take a trip down to your local garden center or indoor plant store, where you can speak with an expert who will be able to provide the perfect type of office plant for your workspace.
4. Natural Light and Indirect Light Needs
Different types of indoor plants need different amounts of sun light to thrive indoors. For example, succulents do very well with about six hours of sun exposure per day, while most tropical plants prefer to be placed near a window that gets at least 12 to 14 hours of sunlight.
Considering the office setting, we recommend choosing plants that require less sunlight.
Although no one likes to sit in the dark, it’s important to keep your employees productive and happy by choosing easy to maintain office plants that require very little light.
Plants that love low light to moderate light, such as heart-leaf philodendrons and Chinese evergreens grow well in dark corners of the office without much natural light.
That said, these low light level areas do make it easy to forget about watering plants, which could cause them to die so to combat that this create a watering schedule that everyone can participate in.
The top ten most popular indoor plants for low-light conditions and first time plant parents:
- Chamaedorea, the most resilient
- Japanese Sago Palm, who doesn’t need a mini palm tree for their office desk.
- Dragon Tree, the fun leaf textures have an unexpected pop of red to them.
- Spider plant, this fun, and spiky plant is also an indoor clean air purifying plant.
- Weeping Fig Tree, don’t let the name fool you, the weeping fig is quite a happy plant.
- Heart-leaf Philodendron, aka the sweetheart plant.
- Devil’s Ivy, one of the most eye catching office plants.
- Chinese Evergreen
- Dieffenbachia, prefers filtered light.
- Snake plant, also a succulent recognized in removing pollutants from the air.
5. Temperature & Watering Needs
Generally speaking, most plants can thrive at temperatures anywhere from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, some plants do better at certain temperature ranges than others, so you must learn about each type of plant before choosing a specific variety for your workspace.
There are also many different types of indoor office plants, and they all have unique watering needs and light exposure requirements.
Bright light, infrequent watering, direct sun vs filtered light – the options for indoor houseplants are endless. Start simple and modest and you’ll be a plant whisperer in no time.
To determine the best indoor plant for your office environment, you should first consider what type of sunlight exposure each variety requires and what your office can offer.
For example, some plants come from very dry climates, so they require a lot more light than others which helps them survive in dryer conditions.
7 House plants you barely have to water that make them perfect for the office
- Air plants, can literally grow anywhere.
- ZZ plant, tall and rubbery these plants are somewhat indestructible.
- Succulents, our tried and true office plant friends.
- String of pearls, these little gems from South Africa can smell like cinnamon.
- Pregnant Onion, besides the unique name, this plant’s soil can go completely dry between waterings.
- Ponytail Palm, can go weeks without a good watering.
Let’s Talk Plants: Common Low Light Office Plants in All Their Glory
Snake Plant
The snake plant is one of the “most recommended office plants” because it requires very little water and low light.
If you’re looking for an easy to care for plant that is perfect for reducing nasty pollutants in your office space, then this might be the right variety for you.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
The Spider Plant has long, slender leaves with white stripes or spots that are visually appealing. Apart from desktops, they also work best in hanging baskets and large containers.
Peace Lillies
The Peace lily prefers low amounts of sunlight, so they’re perfect if you have an office environment where you don’t get much natural sunlight.
Peace lilies are another one of the “most recommended office plants” because they require very little water and low light, making them an easy to care for low maintenance houseplant.
These plants can be grown in hanging baskets or a pot on your desk.
ZZ Plant
ZZ plants are also one of the most recommended plants to have in your office because it requires very little water and low light as well.
Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
The Lucky Bamboo is a plant known for its luck-bringing properties.
And lucky for you, this bamboo requires very little water and low light, making it another great choice if you don’t get much natural sunlight in your office space.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
The Lemon Balm plant has a wonderful minty smell, making it a sweet-smelling addition to your office.
It requires little water and low light, so it’s a very easy variety to take care of.
The Lemon Balm plant can grow up to two feet tall with the right soil mix and proper care! High ceilings are highly recommended.
Aloe Plant
Aloe plants have long been known for their medicinal properties, and they’re also one of the most recommended plants. They’re great under low-light conditions and also function as a self-regenerating first-aid kit.
Peacock Plant (Calathea)
Make a bold statement with a Peacock Plant. It can be grown in either a hanging basket or a small pot on your desk. It too requires low amounts of water and little sunlight, so you don’t have to worry about taking care of this variety!
The peacock plant has large exotic-looking leaves that are dark green with light blue veins, making them a visually appealing addition to the office.
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
The Dumb Cane is another of the most popular office plants because it requires little water and little light, thus they are simple to maintain at work even if you don’t have much light.
The dumb cane has large green leaves with white patterns, which are very interesting to look at.
Devil’s Ivy or Pathos Plant (Epipremnum aureum)
The Devil’s ivy plant has long been known as an excellent air-purifying indoor plant. It requires low amounts of water and low light, so it is very easy to care for even if you don’t get much natural sunlight in your office space.
It was even named one of the most air-purifying indoor houseplants by NASA, so you know that this plant can do wonders for your workspace!
Pineapple Guava Tree (Feijoa sellowiana)
The Pineapple Guava tree is an evergreen shrub that produces edible fruit in the winter months and fragrant flowers in spring.
It makes it a great choice for any low-light office environment where you want plants with year-round appeal.
5 Quick Best Office Plant Tips
1. Go vertical with office plants
Most office plants are very short, but if you’re looking for office plants that can bring some height to your office environment, consider Bamboo Palm or Lemon Balm.
2. Add office plants to common areas
Add office plants to your reception areas, office kitchen, and common areas to greet visitors and staff with the positive impact of greenery.
3. Create a green wall of office plants
A green wall of office plants, when executed correctly, may be an attractive addition to any contemporary workplace seeking a little splash of nature indoors.
4. Use office plants to divide space
Office plants can be used to divide office spaces and create separate areas without closing off the space completely.
5. Change office plants out seasonally
Change office plants out seasonally with office plant pot seasons that better suit your office.
Bonus Tip – Make it easy on yourself
Start with one plant and the rest will follow. For office plant newbies, succulents are excellent choices because they only require water every now and then so your office can have some greenery without too much maintenance!
It’s easy to see why many offices are incorporating low light office plants to benefit their workplace.
Not only do they improve the aesthetics of an office, but research has also shown that adding indoor plants to work areas can reduce noise levels by up to 7 decibels.
On top of lowering stress and anxiety, houseplants have been linked with increased productivity in the workplace.
Do you have a green thumb? Are there plants in your office? How about your home office?
If you’ve got any best plants tips or gardening hacks – share them with us in the comments below and let’s help make the world a bit more green.
