plants for work

[paulz]

We have a some alright but a bit boring selection of plants in my office. The usual Spider plant. a money plant [that hasn't worked for me so far] and a Mexican Hat plant, that's kinda cute, but does drop tiny plantlets of it's leaves, which sometimes is a pain in the whatsits. Any ideas for something [a] a bit different & [b] low maintenance. No Cacti or succulents please, and something low & slow growing that won't get top heavy & fall over.

[woofgang]

orchids are dead posh and low maintenance in the right place. I have got a thing called clivia miniata which is big but not top heavy as it has a heavy root structure, basically i ignore it, water it ocasionally, feed it rarely and it flowers about 4 times a year. Bottle gardens are back in and very low maintenance. You can also get stuff called seramis, looks like tiny granules of clay pot, you can plant anything in it, it has an auto watering dingbat and makes any houseplant at all low maintenance and all the ones I have put in it have flourished.

[Miss Zippy]

Try and go for plants that have 'air purifying' qualities. Obviously, all plants purify the air to the extent that they help remove carbon dioxide, but plants such as rubber plants, yuccas, peace lilles, dracaena, areca palms and ivy actually remove toxins from the air. Dracaena, yukkas and most palms are slow growing (in my experience anyway) and v low maintenance.

[ipek]

We have a magnificent Boston Fern here, had it years and now looks absolutely fabulous now it's a bit bushier. It's pretty slow growing size-wise (still in a 6" pot) but does maintain a good 'turnover' of leaves.

It's definitely low maintenance - chuck it the unused drinking water every evening, feed it when I remember, repot every year, take it home for a shower and haircut every couple of months.

It does like a light spot next to the window, but not in direct sunlight and it sheds dead leaves (but if you brush them off before the cleaners come in the evening, they vacuum them up no problem)......but well worth it.