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One of things I noticed when working remotely from home was just how stale everything became. Staring at a screen for 8+ hours per day definitely wears down the novelty of working from home.
One of the ways I helped get myself out of this proverbial rut was to fill my home office with greenery. Taking care of plants and growing your own can give you a nice breather for the world of remote working. So what are the best things to grow in a home office? And which plants are best for a happy environment?
Keep reading to find out more
(Just a heads up a lot of people reading my blog are in the process of designing their own home office. If you want to save some of the painstaking time I did in designing my office, you can find my recommended products here)
Bonsai trees
Bonsai trees are my own personal favorite when it comes to what to grow in your home office.
Whilst I may have watched the karate kid too many times in my youth, growing bonsai trees have a huge number of benefits, my favorite of which being patience.
These often require a large amount of grooming to look just the way you want them to. Even those of us who feel as though we are patient can definitely do a lot more and adding a few of these to your home office can definitely help give you an eastern feeling to your place of work.
Bonsai trees can also live for a very long time meaning you will likely have the plant as long as you have your office.
Boston fern
Boston ferns are one of the most common house plants you’ll see, go to any office that has plants in and I’m sure you will find a few of these lying around.
The main reason why is that they give a huge bang for your buck with the plants being one of the best air purifying plants out there.
This is really good for a home office where long hours on laptops and screens can lead to a lot of heat and carbon being emitted from your devices.
These are especially good for those of your struggling with issues like dry skin.
Now some of these plants can be a bit on the pricey side which is why I recommend the faux version of these which you can find on my resource page here.
Snake plant
Sansevieria aka the snake plant is also one of the most common plants you’ll find out there and is also a plant I have on my recommended gear page.
The main reason why is because just how easy going they are to maintain.
I mean let’s face it, those of us who work from home, work longer and harder then our office based counterparts.
Having the time to properly care for a plant can be tricky but the snake plant is super easy to maintain.
On top of this, it also has all the great air purifying qualities that the Boston fern has.
Ivy
No, not the Batman villain.
English ivy is one of those beautiful houseplants that will look great sitting on your windowsill.
The heart shaped leaves and long stems will definitely work as a houseplant, just be sure to give it the right light, heat and water conditions.
Ivy is a vining plant that you often find crawling up the side of a building but by taking the right precise with said water heat and light, you can have a beautiful and different house plant that fits nicely in your office.
Jade
Jade plants are also big on eastern culture with some believing them to be great at bringing wealth and fortune to those owners.
Jade as a plant is incredibly versatile being able to be used both indoors and outdoors.
It’s dark leaves require a lot less light than other succulent plants and it’s party trick is a cleave clipping should be able to grow a whole new plant in a fresh pot.
Spider Plant
If you’re new to keeping plants then look no further then the spider plant.
Not only does it look really cool (like seriously it looks like it’s the member of a boy band from the 90s)
Spider plants are notoriously easy to keep, with them being non toxic meaning if you share your home office with kids or your pet, you won’t have to worry about them getting ill from eating them.
On top of this, they also have fantastic oxygen purifying effects so you can breathe easy knowing these are in your home office.
Umbrella trees
A lot of people tend to overlook umbrella trees as house plant but I don’t know why, personally, I think their rarity should be what’s prized most about these plants as their easy going nature makes them the ideal choice to grow in your home office.
Whilst these can get to 30 feet outdoors, indoors these can reach up to around 8-10 feet so they are perfect for those of you with offices with high ceilings.
Umbrella trees are said to be great at removing carcinogenics from the air so for any smokers, I think you’ve found your plant.
Just keep in mind that they are poisonous trees so might be one to avoid if you have pets or young kids.
Cactus
Ahh the humble cactus, whilst your first thought might be the ten foot giants you see in ropey spaghetti westerns, cactus (or cacti, I can never tell) are the perfect tree for an indoor home office.
Cacti only need to be watered around once per week and once again have all the air purifying benefits of some larger plants.
My recommendation would be to keep a small one of these on your desk to add a bit of character to your room.
Aloe
Cosmetic companies love whacking this stuff in their products and with good reason. The juice from their leaves can be applied for burns and scrapes.
Aside from that, these to are super easy going plants and make for perfect office partners.
You need to water them relatively deeply but very infrequently, once every three weeks to be precise. Store with enough indirect sunlight for a few hours a day and you will have yourself a companion that will last a very long time.
Dracena
For anyone who likes work from a stylish office with bright colors then look no further then the Dracena.
It’s yellow and green leaves are perfect. Striking combo for you remote working fashionistas.
These plants make great office plants not growing too large, just be sure to mist the leaves and soil lightly and keep it bright with some filtered light.
Fittonia
Fittonia is just plain cool looking and again a great choice for those of you with home offices that are bright in colour.
The leaves come in a variety of colours making these the perfect centrpoint for any home office.
That being said, these plants can be a little tricky to grow as it requires a fair bit of humidity so might not be ideal if you live in one of the colder parts of the world.
Tillandsia
Tillandsia or air plants have been referred to as the ultimate house plant with some studies showing them to remove more pollution from the air then other plants.
These plants are particularly great at using a little bit of soil and are very care free plants to use, my opinion would be to buy a few of these together in order to get the best results out of them, they won’t take up much room, but they will have a huge impact.
Lucky bamboo
Unlike normal bamboo plants that can grow to upwards of 90 meters, lucky bamboo is the perfect office counterpart.
Surviving perfectly in office room temperatures they require very little sunlight and only need to be water sparingly.
Similar to other plants from the east, these are great plants for prosperity and can be a great moment to anyone starting a business from their home office.
Parlour Palm
Parlour palm plants are most commonly found in latin america and are often the house plant of choice.
Why?
Well who doesn’t want their own mini palm tree growing in their home.
These can be perfect for a home office if stuck in the corner of your study.
Just keep in mind that these can take a while to grow to their full size so don’t get worries if your plant isn’t as big as you thought it would be.
African Violet
For anyone looking for a shoot of colour in their home office why not consider the African violet. A small plant there showpiece has to be the beautiful purple flowers that sprout from this plant.
Word of warning however, African violets are picky drinkers so you need to make sure when watering that you do so with lukewarm or tepid water.
Pop these on a shelf when on a video call and you will definitely get the other persona attention.
ZZ plant
ZZ plants or as they are more commonly known Zanzibar plants make for great home office plants that you can grow.
The main reason is they can deal with neglect, forget to water these or put them in the right light for a while and they will be fine. They are also fantastic at removing wastage from the air with Nasa studies showing that they are fantastic at removing toxins like xylene, toluene, and benzene from around them.
Fake plants
So we covered a lot of great office plants however there is one alternative a lot of people haven’t looked at.
If your diary is just non-stop and you don’t have even a few minutes per week to look after what you grow in your home office you might want to invest in fake plants. These can still have some of the benefits of natural plants making you feel like you are close to nature without having to worry about any of the upkeep.
Vegetables
Why not use your home office space to also become a veggie patch?
A lot of people often focus on growing plants in their home offices but there are tons of food items you can grown indoors such as seeds, herbs, carrots and even chillies.
Just be sure that they don’t take up too much office space as you remember, you don’t need to work from your home office.
Best plants for a desk
My recommendation has to be the small cactus plants. The little upkeep time required and small water intake is only increased by this plants air purifying ability., Aim to get a small one to keep on the corner of your desk.
Best large plants for a home office
The best large plant you can fit into a home office would have to be the dracena. Not only are it’s leaves striking, but these tend to grow at the perfect size for a home office and require fairly little upkeep.
How to decide what plant you need
So it’s all well and good me telling you about the plants that I would recommend but there are few questions you should ask yourself when deciding on what to grow in your home office:
- How much time per week do you have to maintain your plant
- Is your home office big enough for the size of the plant you want
- How big will your plant grow buy Do you have a window big enough for sunlight
- What is the temperature of your home office
- Do you won any pets or have any young children who enter your office
- Do you have any allergies to plants
Why do home offices need plants?
Maintaining and taking care of a plant will not only make you feel close to nature when stuck in an office,but will also teach you patience when caring for them. Growing plants in an office is also a fantastic way of breaking up the lines of your office which can help keep you focused and productive during the work day.
The benefits of having greenery in your home office
Growing plants in your office can have a number of benefits including:
- Houseplants absorb toxins from the air and release oxygen creating a better atmosphere for you to work in, especially with carbon emitting devices like laptops.
- A dutch study found that adding plants into a home office reduces the chances of getting cold headaches runny noses and other flu like symptoms.
- An english study found that people who grow plants are more attentive, improving skills like attention to detail and empathy when in lectures.
What to grow in your home office
So hopefully this post has help give you some ideas about some of the best plants ( and veggies) you can start growing in your home office.Now it’s worth mentioned if you really want to save a few buck one of the best thigns you can do is create your own plant pots out of iy materials. If your interested in learning how check out this post where I talk all about how to make plant pots for a home office.
For anyone looking at plant for their garden pod, I’ve got you covered to with this post too.
It might not seem like it but a little bit of greenery can go a long way so I would definitely recommend checking out my recommended plants which you can find here.
Finally a lot of people reading my blog want to know what products I recommend for a home office/remote working. You can find out my recommendations here and learn how I make money whilst working remotely on the side here.
The content on this on this site has been written by Fehed Nicass who has over a decades worth of experience in sales and has worked remotely for the past 2 years.