Oct 7, 2017

10 Low-Maintenance Plants for your Office or Home



Today’s tips on brightening up your home or office space are brought to you by Modern Garden Rooms – A garden room design and installation specialist.

Did you know that according to the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia, plants in the office can reduce depression and dejection by 58%? Easy, low-maintenance plants are ideal for those with a busy schedule. There’s a misconception that these plants aren’t pleasing to the eye, but you’d be surprised that the ones you’re probably thinking of are easier to care for than you think.

Low maintenance plants can save you money, time and stress that comes with maintaining them, luckily for you we have collated a list of the 10 most beautiful, low-maintenance plants you can use for your office or home that require little to no effort.

Our list features plants that will be back year after year, saving you time and money on watering and drought worries. Here are 10 Low-Maintenance Plants for your Office or Home:

Cacti

Cacti and other succulents make a great addition to your office or home if you’re after small details or a spot of colour. You only need to be watered once a week; if you use a lot of central heating you may want to increase this to twice a week. Compost must be open and ‘free draining’, so be sure with each watering to really dampen the soil. Cacti and succulents can be placed on a sunny windowsill/well-lit area all year round.

Devil’s Ivy
The Epipremnum Aureum AKA Devil’s Ivy is one of the most popular indoor plants due to its growing speed and adaptation to a variety of settings. They make great plants for hanging baskets or even propping on a shelf for extra aesthetic.

The Epic Gardening blog talks about how Devil’s Ivy is ironically hard to kill (though the name may give this away!). It thrives in well lit or dim settings making it highly versatile for your office or home. We recommend not soaking the soil completely, just enough to dampen it (they don’t survive well in completely dried out soil).

Peace Lilly
According to a study conducted by NASA – peace lilies have been known to aid air quality by extracting carbon monoxide from the surrounding air. They’re a highly common indoor plant and great if your space is warm and well lit (but not in too much direct sunlight). The flower itself is produced in early summer but continue to bloom throughout the rest of the year. With the correct maintenance, these beautiful flowers can grow up to 16 inches tall! The only maintenance this plant really needs is enough water to keep the soil damp (but be careful to not over-water it. We recommend watering the peace lily two or three times per week to aid its bloom.

Snake plant

The Snake Plant ‘Sansevieria’ is at the forefront of the most easy-to-care-for plants. These plants can be left to their own devices for weeks at a time yet still maintain their shape, form and colour. The snake plant is also known for removing toxins in the surrounding air, and has very few problems with insects. They can withstand and thrive in low levels of light.

Ensure that you use free-draining soil to prevent any rotting and place them away from direct sunlight. The best thing about the snake plant is you seldom need to water them, in fact we recommend letting them dry out between watering.

Spider Plant
The botanical Chlorophytum Comosum produce pleasing arched green and yellow stems that can grow as long as 18 inches, and are perfect for propping on your desk to get rid of air pollutants. If you’re growing these plants, we recommend watering them occasionally (about 1-2 times a week), though once they’re fully developed they only need watering sporadically. If your office is particularly cool in temperature then this is the perfect plant for you!

Lemon Balm
If you’re after a little light, fresh scent for your home or office environment then the Lemon Balm plant is a no brainer! These scented leaves can grow up to 32 inches making it pleasing to the eye. They can be grown in full sun or partial shade and only need to be kept moist. Cut back on these pleasant leaves if you experience any unintended over-growth through their  flowers sprouting (though these can make your space look pleasant).

Jade Plant
These succulent house plants (also known as a money plant to bring out wealth and prosperity) are resilient, easy to grow and last for a long time. Its stems and leaves give a small ‘tree-like’ appearance and grow up to three feet when grown indoors.

We recommend investing in fairly sturdy container and planting them with soil that will drain thoroughly to prevent root rot. They’re perfect for a well-lit, warm setting. An interesting way to show this plants true potential is to actually hold back on the watering slightly to encourage it to bloom – this can also be achieved by storing the plant in cooler temperatures.

Philodendron
The philodendron is a great choice for plant-novices as they’re great for adapting to many conditions inside the home and are best known for their tolerable nature. They only need storing in a well-lit area (away from direct sunlight). These plants only need watering when the top 1st inch of soil is dry – too much water can cause the leaves to droop. If you really want to keep those leaves big and green, invest in some liquid house plant fertiliser to use in the spring and mid-summer to keep these appealing plants healthy.

Ficus Benjamina aka ‘Weeping Fig’
Weeping figs make a popular choice for a statement indoor tree plant and are especially popular in the office. It gets its name from its fig-shaped leaves pointing downwards the more they grow. Now although these are slow-growers, they can grow to be 10ft tall in an indoor environment, with its dwarf counterparts growing up to 3ft. Although this mini-tree is easy to care for it houses a variety of benefits including the removal of trichloroethylene and benzene from immediate indoor air. We highly recommend watering it with distilled water due to its sensitivity to chlorine and fluoride often found in tap water. Sudden movement of this plant can cause leave droppings as well as drastic weather changes – keep watering to a minimum by only watering when the top couple of inches of soil are dry.

Aloe Vera

The Aloe Vera plant is no stranger due to its medicinal properties, but did you know they also make rather appealing indoor plants? They’re perfect if your office mainly consists of artificial light – so no need to worry about propping them by the window!

They’re easy to keep maintained and require watering deeply (but sparingly) after the first couple of inches of soil go dry. Another thing to note is if you spot any ‘baby aloes’ sprouting – you can cut these off with a knife and plant them to create even more aloe plants for the home or office!

Modern Garden Rooms are a premier garden room design company offering bespoke, ergonomic solutions at excellent value. We aid from everything in the initial stages of planning all the way through to installation of your garden room. From start to finish, you’ll experience a streamlined process that is uniquely transparent and highly collaborative.




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