How do I take care of my office plant?
Everyone’s office eventually has indoor plants. A new hire comes in and makes their desk a bite like home with the placement of a wonderful indoor plant. The plant is always green and adds a bite of character to the office and then you notice that next week more and more desk now have plants. Your office has now become a contest of who’s looks better or flowers longer.
Here are some simple and easy things you can do that will keep you at the front of the race.
1. Make sure to purchase health well maintained indoor plants. Many large chain stores tend to abuse the plant with poor watering or too much or too little sunlight.
2. The right pot is essential to making any plant thrive. So once you’ve purchased, you’ll probably need to re-pot. Terra cotta pots such as the hothouse pot by Guy Wolff are an excellent choice that prevents overwatering (the clay absorbs any excess moisture).
3. Buy plants that work with the sunlight in your office space. Plants like Zamioculcas zamiifolia or ZZ plant is a great low light plant that requires little water or maybe a golden pothos.
4. Many office plants grow well from cuttings. Take cuttings from plants in other offices or your even that cool plant in your neighbors yard. Once you put your cutting into water, it can take from one week to six months to root. Plants that do well from cuttings root quickly, while others can be more difficult, and some will not root at all.
5. Make sure to water each week and do not allow the plant to dry out. When plant dry out they become stressed and easy pray for insects. The best way to manage insects is to follow a very good program of care, feeding and water.
6. On the other hand, most plants die from over- rather than under-watering. Too much love can kill your plants, so stick your finger in the dirt before you water. Most plants (with the exception of succulants like Jade Plants or “hens -n- chicks”) need water about once a week
7. You always want to ensure that whatever plants you use for decorative purposes are low-maintenence, and do not need a large source of light, unless they can be placed by a window that provides a good amount of consistent sunlight.
8. Plant food is optional, but will help your greenery grow healthier, larger, brighter colored leaves. For plants that only need a small amount of light and water, use a liquid houseplant food, and apply four to six drops directly to the dirt once every month or so, before regular waterings.
9. To maintain the plant’s beauty, dust the plant periodically to allow the plant to breathe. If using leaf-shine products, don’t use too often. This could actually prevent the leaves from breathing and dull the plant’s beauty.
10. Use Clean Pots and containers: It is important to the health of your houseplants that the containers you use are clean. If you are re-using a pot, clean it thoroughly. We recommend you soak the containers in a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water to kill any molds and bacteria that may be present. If you are re-using claypots, make sure to soak them for a few hours. Clay pots will absorb salts and chemicals in their pores.
Here’s a good selection if indoor plants from which to choose especially if you are a beginner
- Evergreen plants keep their leaves or needles year-round. Evergreens do drop old leaves or needles, but only those that are two or more years old. that grow well in tubs are holly, boxwood, palms, euonymus, cleyera, cocculus, umbrella plant, dwarf banana, croton, yucca, podocarpus, agave or century plant, banana shrub, sweet olive, dwarf juniper, pittosporum,.
- Rubber Plantsare easy to grow and care for and do well in a variety of conditions. They are excellent plants for beginners. Rubber trees can easily grow 6 to 10 feet tall Rubber trees are grown for their glossy, leathery, large leaves. The leaves are oblong to oval, 8 to 12 inches long and in various colors of dark green, deep maroon or marked with yellow, cream, pink or white.
- The Pothos, one of the most common houseplants, is the perfect plant to start with. It is extremely easy to care for, can be “broken up” and replanted to create more plants, and requires very little attention. The pothos also grows very quickly, so it’s much more budget-savvy to buy a couple of smaller plants at once versus one large plant. It also adds a beautiful touch of greenery with its long, flowing stems and bountiful leaves. They’re perfct as hanging plants and can be either potted in a regular pot, or hung from the ceiling in a basket.
- The Corn Plant (not the vegetable), is a perfect addition for a large foyer or open waiting room type setting. It looks very similair to a palm tree, but requires minimal lighting, and can tolerate artificial light extremely well. This is the perfect plant to display in main entryways, and gives a pleasant odor in the spring when it blooms white flowers. If cared for correctly, it can grow to be almost 6 feet tall.
- Ivy is another plant that is almost fail-proof for an office setting. Not only does it give life and decoration to a dull desk or shelf, but it helps to clean the air and is extremely easy to maintain. Ivy only needs to be watered when its soil has gotten almost entirely dry, which usually equates to about once per week
- Peace lilies are attractive indoor foliage plants that also produce showy white flowers. They are one of the few foliage plants that will flower in low light. Most peace lilies grow between 1 to 4 feet tall and wide. Peace lilies are sturdy plants with glossy, dark green oval leaves that narrow to a point. The leaves rise directly from the soil. These plants also periodically produce lightly fragrant white flowers that resemble calla lilies.
Even with all the love and care that an office full of people can give a couple of indoor plants problems can still arise. The following are some common problems for indoor plants
Symptom: Leaves are turning yellow
Possible causes: This is a common problem. Unfortunately this may be due to a number of problems including too much or too little light, and too much fertilizer. It could also be caused by too much water.
What to Do: In the order listed above, adjust your plants environment. Hold off adding any additional fertilizer until the problem is resolved. Watch carefully to see how your plant responds.
Symptom: Base of stem is soft or mushy
Possible cause: This is a common result of over-watering.
What to Do: Let the surface of the soil dry out between waterings. If the pot does not have drainage holes, re-pot your plant into one that does. While re-potting, make sure to use soil that drains well. Add coarse sand to improve drainage.
Symptom: Leaves tips turning brown
Possible cause: Like yellowing leaves, there are several causes of this. The most common cause is too much or too little water. Too much fertilizer is also a common cause.
What to Do: Follow the proper procedure for watering your houseplants. Hold off adding fertilizer for three to four weeks. Repot in fresh soil.
Symptom: Dry and brittle leaves
Possible cause: Too little water or low humidity.
What to Do: Follow the proper procedure for watering your houseplants. Increase the humidity in your home. Use plant misters.
Symptom: Leaf Drop
Possible cause: Too much sun or fertilizer. Too much or too little water. Exposure to cold or draft.
What to Do: Follow the proper procedure for watering your houseplants. Hold off adding fertilizer for three to four weeks. If you have your plant in a sunny window, move it to a location with less light. Check the temperature of where you have your plant.
Symptom: Leaf Drop
Possible cause: Too much sun or fertilizer. Too much or too little water. Exposure to cold or draft.
What to Do: Follow the proper procedure for watering your houseplants. Hold off adding fertilizer
Symptom: Yellow or Brown Spots on Leaves
Possible cause: Too much sun or too much water.
What to Do: If the plant is in a sunny, southerly window move it to an area with less light. Check to see if the soil is too wet.
Symptom: Slow Plant Growth
Possible cause: Too little sunlight, water or fertilizer.
What to Do: Provide more direct sunlight or gro-light. Add water. Add liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks.
The pots and containers you use are a reflection of you, your decorating tastes and needs. Fortunately, there is an endless variety to choose form. Then, if you can’t find the “perfect container” for your houseplants, you can always improvise and make one from just about anything that will hold soil and water. The shape and style of your pot is not important to the plant, it is important to you.
What is important to your plant is that the container you select has holes in the bottom to provide good drainage as most plants do not like to have their “feet” wet for extended periods of time.Most pots are made with a drainage hole and a dish below the pot. Often the dish is glued or attached to the pot so it does not separate.
The Business End
• Check your building’s policies on having plants in the workplace. While most would be happy to have some foliage, some businesses can be quite inflexible about allowing these things, because of fire codes and other policies.
• Some plants can aggravate allergies. A plant professional should be able to help you avoid these, but you may also end up needing to exchange one kind of plant for another if your co-workers have adverse reactions.
• In the unlikely event that you have animals in your workplace, exercise special care to choose plants that are not poisonous to them. Some of the very best indoor plants—dieffenbachia, for example—can kill small animals. Even common plants, such as mistletoe, are dangerous to dogs.
• Take good care of your office plants. Not only are unhealthy plants an eyesore, but they can also be hazardous to your health. Molds that attack plants, for example, can cause respiratory problems in humans.
• Be sure the office plant does not have an offensive odor. Some plants which look quite beautiful in bloom can have an odor that is quite pungent that many people might find offensive or otherwise bothersome. Also, some people might be extra sensitive to strong smells or even allergic to a particular plant.
• If you decide to buy a cactus, make sure that you put it somewhere where it is not a hazard to your skin.
