Office Plant Care

Good office plant maintenance can make the difference between a lush, vibrant office space, and a depressing work area with dead plants and crispy leaves in the halls. Having healthy plants in the office common areas can boost employee morale and create a calming enviroment. If your workplace has indoor plants, here are some tips for office plant care.

Put the office plant displays near natural light; a sky light or big window is ideal. This is especially important for flowering plants that rely on sunlight cycles. If natural lighting is impossible, then a mixture of fluorescent and incandescent light gives the best artificial lighting solution for office plants.

Keep your office plants away from the heating and cooling ducts. Extreme temperature changes can make the foliage turn brown.

Learn the names of your indoor plants and their watering requirements. If your workplace hires an office plant service, the plant care specialists will have this information. Most cacti, succulents, and desert plants need to be watered monthly. Other potted plants need to be watered every one or two weeks. The larger the pot, the more infrequently you should water to avoid saturation. All indoor plants, especially container trees, need good drainage.

Notice if any of your office plants have soil that is perpetually wet. This is a sign of over-watering and can lead to mold growth on the root system, and yellow leaves. A healthy pot should look dry or slightly damp between waterings.

Once a year change the soil in all your office plants to renew the nutrients in the soil. If the roots are in a tight tangle, it's a sign that you need to upgrade to a bigger pot.