The Top 5 Mistakes People Make with plants in their offices
1. Choosing the wrong plant for the amount of light it will receive where it will be placed.
Just about any plant will live for at least a short period of time in the wrong light but over time it will be harder to care for and who needs that!
Low light is defined as a space across from a window that lets in very little light (perhaps because of other structures, trees or window coverings) or a space with no windows that has fluorescent or other dim lighting on 8-10 hours a day. Depending on light levels, low light plants will live in these areas anywhere from 1 to 5 years before needing replacement.
Some great easy care plants for low light areas are:
• Janet Craig Dracaena
• Golden or Green Queen pothos
• Spathiphyllum
• Agleonema (most varieties)
Medium light plants require some light to live. They can be across the room from a bright window or under fluorescent lights.
Some great easy care plants for medium light areas are:
• Dracaena Warneckii
• Cholorophytum comosum (spider plant or airplane plant depending on what part of the country you live in)
• Dracaena marginata
High light plants would do best within 3′ of a window that is unobstructed or under intense artificial light such as halogen.
Some great easy care plants for high light areas are:
• Scheffelera arboricola
• Scheffelera actinophylla
• Aeschyanthus radicans (lipstick plant)
• Beaucarnia recurvata ponytail palm
2. Potting a new plant in a planter much larger than it’s current pot size.
This typically leads to overwatering OR alternately underwatering because you aren’t actually getting water to where the roots are – you are just watering the new soil. You should only repot when a plant’s roots are vigorous within the existing pot. When that is the case you should only go up one pot size or about 2” in diameter.
3. Neglecting or Over loving your plants
In some ways this goes with choosing the right plant for the right light. You should think about your personality and pick the right plant for the you.
Are you a nurturer? Do you feel the need to add a cup of water every day? Pick a water lover like these:
Gardenia
Hibiscus
Chrysanthemum
Spathiphyllum
Are you neglectful? Would you perhaps remember to add water every 2 to 6 months? Do you travel a lot? You need one of these plants, they often recover from severe neglect:
Sansevieria
Jade
Christmas cactus
We have color coded the plants in our plant selection gallery on our website according to their water needs. You may find it helpful to browse this information. It can be found here: Plant care resources
4. Over fertilizing
Let’s face it, unless you are lucky enough to live in a place where it is warm and sunny all the time, your plants aren’t growing very fast and won’t use up all the fertilizer if you overdo it. This can also lead to an accumulation of salts in the soil that can harm roots. Cut the amount recommended on the label by ½ or more. Remember the fertilizer manufacturer is trying to sell fertilizer. We use a very very dilute liquid fertilizer 9-3-6 with all the micronutrients applied through our watering cans.
5. Never pruning
I think we have all seen the pothos that goes around a room 400 times with 1 leaf on the very end of the stalk. If that’s your style…..but I prefer to be pruning a little bit all the time to prevent that look. Pruning correctly stimulates fresh new growth and extends the length of your plant’s attractive life. I never feel guilty – I remind myself that if this plant were out in nature, there would be something pruning it whether it was birds, weather or animals.
Take these tips and put them in action next time you are ready to bring plants into your life. Having healthy attractive live plants around brings you more breathable air and a connection to our natural world. Enjoy it.
Beth Dewey – the author- is head plant diva at The Plant Connection and has been using nature to improve people’s worklife since 1981. She has encountered and made all of the mistakes listed above.
