Office plants can brighten your office in the UAE and make it a healthy working environment. Office plants need care to thrive. Real plants look better than plastic ones, and they also smell better. Depending on your space and finances, you can choose low-maintenance plants or statement pieces. There are a variety of plants to choose from for your workplace.
Do You Need Office Plants?
Do you really need to plants at your workplace? Plants not only act as decorative tools but also have other benefits. For example, they act as humidifiers; did you know that plants release most of the water they absorb? Place several plants around the office to increase humidity in the office. This can decrease dry coughs, sore throats, and dry skin.
Indoor plants act as air filters; indoor air is usually polluted because of congestion and lack of proper ventilation. Plants remove various toxins from the environment, for instance, benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. They transform these volatile organic compounds to plant food.
Indoor air is unhealthy; this is worse because most people spend many hours in the office. A healthy environment with fresh air is vital, especially where you spend most of your time. They boost productivity; they improve attentiveness. Choose plants you can maintain; don’t get plants that grow too fast for your space.
Things to Avoid for the Health of Your Office Plants
Office plants purify the air, increase attentiveness, and make your environment healthy. Only healthy plants can give you these benefits; here are things never to do to your office plants for them to thrive;
Too Much Water
Watering your plant too much is as bad as not watering it at all. It is necessary to pick plants you know how to care for because some office flowers are tricky. If you water too much, they become waterlogged, and if you water less, they die. Overwatering limits the oxygen supply that plants rely on for proper functioning.
Too much watering can also cause rotting of the roots and irreversible root decay; this is how too much water kills plants. Flower roots need oxygen to survive. Although plant leaves use Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make food, they need oxygen to maintain their health. You cannot reverse root rot; the best way to avoid this is to water the plant when the surrounding soil gets dry.
Poor Drainage
Overwatering can contribute to poor drainage; it’s hard to draw a line between them. Poor drainage kills plants; potted plants can hold water at the bottom even if the topsoil is dry. The roots sit in water and rot, causing the flower to die. It’s easy to tell if your potted plant has poor drainage.
The leaves turn yellow-green and start wilting; this is the first sign of poor drainage. This might make you think that the plant lacks water and end up watering it more. You might also notice leaf drop, brown shoots, and no or slow growth. However, you should not worry because you can save your plant.
Start by pruning all the flowers and leaves and removing some of the topsoil. Your plant’s roots are compromised and cannot support the extra growth. Get rid of the moldy soil, run the roots underwater, and cut the decayed parts of the roots with a sharp pruning tool. The rooting parts are dark, mushy, smelly, and slimy. Re-pot the plant in a new container with drainage holes. Water and place it in an area that receives filtered light. Only water when soil becomes dry.
Exposing them to Unconducive Conditions
Plants are affected by temperature fluctuations. Some office flowers thrive while others die in various environments. You should be aware of the best temperature for the specific flowers in your office. Temperature, light, and humidity are vital for indoor plants. You can help your plants to thrive by providing supplementary light or humidity or by placing the flowers in a warmer or cooler area of the office.
Poor conditions affect the quality and growth of plants. Humidity is the level of moisture in the atmosphere; it affects flowers’ need for water. It also affects its health. High humidity decelerates water loss, and low humidity accelerates water loss. Plants placed near cooling or heating vents have high transpiration rates. It is necessary to understand these conditions for your flowers to thrive.
Not Re-potting/Using Old Potting Soil
If your plant has been thriving for a year, it might surprise you when you wake up one day and find it in bad condition. When you notice this unexplainable change, it could be because your plant no longer receives essential nutrients from the soil. After all, there’s none left. You don’t have to re-pot all your plants annually, but you should always check your root-bound ones.
Using old potting soil is almost as bad as not re-potting. Did you know that most potting soils comprise peat? It breaks down with time and becomes more acidic. As time goes by, it becomes harder for oxygen and water to enter the roots. As a result, your plant starts to starve slowly even if you don’t see the signs. You can solve this issue by re-potting it.
Allowing Overgrowth
There are many reasons why you should prune your office flowers. You can prune them to look good, to encourage balance, or to prevent it from overgrowing. Whatever the reason, you should prune the flowers to promote healthy growth; do this regularly when needed. It is necessary to find out from your florist about the species and how frequently it requires pruning.
Ignoring Pests
Pests are dangerous to plants; they are destroyers. Some plants repel insects while others attract them; always watch out for aphids. If the infestation is minor, you can pick out the insects.
Office flowers make the place look esthetically pleasing and also have other benefits like purifying the air. However, these plants require care to thrive and to give you these benefits. Different plants require specific conditions to thrive. You can consult BloomingBox a reputable site for plant care.