10 Best Plants for Your Office

Most offices are not that attractively decorated, if at all.

One way to give a little color or focal point in your office is to put in a plant or two.  For office houseplants, you want something that requires very little maintenance.

10 Great Plants for the Office

In addition to decorating your office, plants can have other benefits. With lots of furniture and heavy traffic in the office building, the air quality is not that great. Electronics like computers are leasing dust in the air that could be bad for our health.  Plants are good at purifying the air and making it easier for us to breathe.  They also increase the humidity in the air.

1. Devil’s Ivy

This is a very popular office plant. The exuberant vines and oily green leaves are visually pleasing.  It is one that when looking at it, it will soothe your tired eyes.  According to research, it is equivalent to an air purifier in a room with 80-100 square feet.  It can absorb the harmful substances in the air like benzene and formaldehyde.  It can be kept in a vase full of water or grown in soil.  Although it can grow in a wide range of conditions, it does better with good light.  If it is planted in soil, it must have moist conditions and when it is grown in water, the water should be changed weekly.

2. Spider Plant

This is also known as an airplane plant and is a perennial herb.  It has delicately hanging branches with slender curving leaves.  At the knob of the low hanging branches, you will find small white flowers.  They blossom during warm seasons.  It is easy to grow and can be grown in a bottle of water or soil.  It also excels in purifying the air.  Their ability to absorb formaldehyde is very strong.  They prefer scattered sunlight but avoid direct sunlight as this can sunburn the leaves.  If the air is dry in the office you should spray water on the leaves and branches.  You should also duct the leaves to keep from drying out.

3. English Ivy Plant

This is a perennial evergreen that likes to climb.  The widely spreading vines and vibrant leaves make it ideal for vertical landscaping.  There are many different species with different shapes and colors of leaves.  The English Ivy is the specie that is most popular.  It is great in absorbing formaldehyde and research has shown that for every 10 square feet of leaves it can absorb 1.48 mg of formaldehyde in the air.  It can also purify the air by trapping dust along with taking in other harmful substances.  This needs a warm, moist environment.  It needs partial shade or scattered sunlight.  Only water when the top layer of soil is dry.

4. Snake Plant

This plant has dark green variegated leaves with gray-green stripes.  It is also known for air purification by absorbing hazardous substances like formaldehyde.  It is easy to care for and needs a warm, moist environment with good drainage.  

Also read:

• Do Snake Plants Need Light? Here’s Their Light Requirements
• The Best Soil for Snake Plants – How to Grow and Maintain

5. Aloe Vera

This plant is not only great for the office but also for its beauty and medicinal purposes.  It has plump sword-shaped leaves that are edged with small teeth.  As an air purifier, it is constantly taking in carbon dioxide and then releasing oxygen.  It is also good at absorbing xylene and formaldehyde.  If you accidentally spill hot coffee on your hand, you can cut off a small piece and use the gel on the burn to soothe it.  They need sandy soil with good drainage and gentle sunlight

6. Coin Grass

This plant will help to soothe your eyes after you have been squinting at the computer for a long period of time.  It has round leaves that look like money coins and the dense leaves create an umbrella-like appearance that is mesmerizing. It will also ease your stress and help to refresh the air by increasing the humidity.  It likes gentle full sunlight and can be grown in water or soil.

7. Lucky Bamboo

The beautiful standing stems and verdant leaves will help to refresh the office, boost your productivity, and comfort your eyes.

8. Monstera

This plant will help to clean the air by absorbing harmful substances like formaldehyde and releasing oxygen.  It has tortoise shell-shaped leaves and delicate stems.  It cannot stand strong sunlight and likes it warm and humid.

9. Bamboo Palm

This is an evergreen foliage that grows in dense multi-stemmed clusters.  It has palmate leaves and bamboo like trunks.  It has a low requirement for light.  With the big leaves, it helps to purify the indoor air.  It takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen.  It also has the ability to reduce harmful substances in the air.

10. Peace Lily

It has distinguishing short stems, flame-like flowers, and long oval-shaped dark green leaves.  It can help to filter certain air contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene.  It will also help to humidify the air.  The plant will also help prevent nasal mucosa from becoming too dry.  They like scattered sunshine with sandy soil and good drainage.  It needs high humidity so make sure that the soil is kept moist.  You should also spray water on its leaves to help improve the surrounding moisture.

Conclusion

Most people spend about a fourth of their day in the office.  To make the day better, make your place a more attractive, relaxing place to stay in.  The above plants are not only decorative pieces but they can help lower your anxiety and stress with their beautiful green landscape.  They also help to purify the air by absorbing contaminants, dust, bacteria, and more.  These are not the only plants that can do this.  Because you are always busy at work make sure that the plants you have are low maintenance.  They also need to be able to grow in your office environment.  When going to a nursery to get a plant, ask them which would work best if you are not sure which to choose.  If you do not have time to make sure it gets the right amount of water, choose one that you can grow in water.