Plants for your home office

More than ever, people are now working from home where possible because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it is a good idea to organise your space to maximise productivity. When you can truly enjoy being in a space without being distracted by it, you’ll get the most done. Plants not only add to your enjoyment of your home office by adding aesthetic appeal, they also change the entire vibe of the room: a plant in your work space can totally uplift your spirits. I’ve chosen this list of plants based on their ability to survive in medium light (a pretty standard light condition for a home office), as well as how they’ll pair with the standard furniture of a home office.

1) Dracaena

Dracaena is a great air purifier. Since you’ll be spending a fair chunk of time there, why not do what you can to make it more pleasant for yourself? It also comes in all shapes and sizes, so it’s versatile for your office space. A large one can go in an empty corner to make it go from looking empty and drab to looking trés lush, like I’ve done here. I’ve also used it to block off an unsightly power port.

Smaller ones can also go on a desk without taking up too much space. I like to use Lucky Bamboo. It’s actually a type of dracaena, not bamboo. It is believed to bring in good luck and fortune, which we could all do with a little more of, especially in a time like this. They tend to take up vertical space instead of branching out, ensuring maximum work space on your desk.

2) Pothos, Philodendron & Scindapsus

Once again, super versatile and hardy for a home office. These plants can range from as small as you want to as large as you want. Another added bonus is that the Pothos plant was tested for its air purifying abilities by NASA, and made the top 10 list of plants by air cleaning ability. I’ve lumped these three plants together because they’re so similar in appearance and care requirements.

Larger ones can go on the ground staked up, the way I arranged it in my recent post on Pothos. Another way to arrange a larger one is to allow it to trail down the side of a shelf. Trailing it down the side of a plain metal filing cabinet also helps it go from drab to fab. Smaller ones can go on your desk.

3) Chlorophytum comosum (Spider Plant)

Okay, before you call me crazy, I know what you’re thinking. Why would Spider Plants be good home office plants? They’re large and unruly, and they send runners out everywhere. You’re not wrong, but I’ve found that hanging spider plants with lots of runners in every direction are actually quite pretty. Just leave them hanging in the window. Of course, that’s not the only reason why I chose them. NASA tests showed that they remove around 90% of cancer-causing formaldehyde from the air. Moreover, you can actually grow the runners in small glass receptacles with water. This stops them from growing wild, and requires minimal effort to maintain. Just replace the water once a fortnight, and decide to add a little liquid fertiliser whenever you feel like it. The one in this image has been in the container for two months now, and still hasn’t grown totally out of control.

4) Syngonium podophyllum

You guys probably know that I have a soft spot for this plant. After all, one of my very first posts was about this plant. What can I say about it that I haven’t already said? Nothing. Long story short, It’s aesthetically pleasing and works well in medium light. It also isn’t very space consuming, and if you so wish, you could take a cutting and grow it in water for a while. No mess, no space taken up. In my image, it does take up a fair bit of space, since I *want* it to grow larger, but I couldn’t resist showing it off again.

5) Dypsis lutescens (Bamboo Palm)

These bad boyes are impossible to kill, withstanding extremely dark spaces. Moreover, their palm-like leaves transport the tropics to you, imbuing your space with an invigorating energy. meanwhile, the tall, thin stalks of Bamboo Palms are elegant and reminiscent of the plants of Southeast Asia. Now that’s a vacation in a pot.

These can go opposite a shelf to help bring balance to a home office, since they don’t take up much horizontal space, but fill vertical spaces well. I would not recommend this in a room with low ceilings, as it could draw attention to the low ceilings because of its vertical growth. However, in a classic case of the Matthew effect, this plant will make high ceilings look even higher by drawing eyes upwards.