Office Plants

[gothwalk]

Originally published at Now Is A Long Time Too. You can comment here or there.

The new office, now that it has blinds and we can take down the cardboard radiation shields we needed (the southwest-ish curving wall is all glass) is getting better. There’s still a lot of white and steel around, though, leaving it looking very cold. We’re considering getting some plants in.

My immediate reaction is to look for a bonsai tree, but they’re hard to take care of. Anyone got any recommendations for something pleasantly leafy, which requires very little care, and won’t trigger allergies? We’ve a lemon geranium at home I could snag some cuttings from, but I know it’s a common allergy plant.

Comments

[caturah.livejournal.com]

Spider plants are nigh impossible to kill. And preferably in three's (or at least odd numbers) are supposed to be good for the "energy" in a room...

[whitecrow0.livejournal.com]

I second the selection of spider plants, but I also recommend pothos. It looks a bit like ivy and can come in different varieties (all green leaves, or golden pothos with splotches of - you guessed it - yellow!) I have a black thumb and I've managed to keep pothos alive and propagate it over the past decade or so (I still have the original plant, and when it gets too long, I cut it and drop the cuttings in water until I'm ready to plant them; I have two cuttings that have survived in only water for over a year now.)

[ragnvaeig.livejournal.com]

I would agree. My mum-in-law hasn't been able to kill the spider plants when I'm not around to water them for her.

I'm also rather a fan of succulents, as I've never met anyone who's allergic to cacti. Sempervivum is one of my favourites; I think I saw a few at M&S quite some time ago. Since you've a lot of light, a Christmas cactus might be a good idea.

[wyyknot.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it's not the plant variety itself that triggers allergy, but the mold factor involved with keeping a plant's soil moist. Succulents and cactii thrive on dry soil which eliminates the mold trigger.

I second the desert plant suggestion. But watch out for the Aloe Vera plants - they DO take over! (a la penguins)

[meehaneo.livejournal.com]

Although I love bonsai trees, its been my (limited) experience that they are a bitch to take care off.

I had a 25-year old Serissa (Tree of a Thousand Stars - because the flowers are tiny 5 pointed white leaves) and it eventually gave up and died.

I could never water it right and tended to over-prune ... truly it is a zen art!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_illumina_/]

That's what I was going to suggest too - they're also apparently good for sucking up all the nasty chemicals computers excrete into the atmosphere.