how to care for office plants
How to Care for Office Plants
You'd be surprised to know that one of the harshest living environment for a plant, along with the desert and the extreme cold is your average office. Caring for your office plant involves standard plant care steps (watering) and some unusual ones (placing it in the right location). Scroll below to learn some tips on caring for an indoor office plant.
- Clean your office plants once in 2 months.
- If you can see obvious dust on the plants, clean them more often.
- For firm wide leaf plants, use a soft sponge or cloth from an old shirt (plants have feelings too, use soft cloths) to clean them.
- Do not use paper towels or tissues, they leave lint on the plant's leaves.
- Wipe away dust from a leaf with water. Clean both sides and the top and bottom of the leaf.
- Try to minimize usage of leaf shine products. They have chemicals which can worsen leaves with over-use.
- Remove any dead leaves or flowers or stems from the plant, even in the pot.
- Get rid of any insect bodies in the pot and on the plant, live or dead.
- Once in a while, the plant's pot needs to be cleaned. Transfer the plant to another pot, empty the soil and soak the pot in a soap and water solution for sometime. This should get rid of any mold or bacteria in the pot itself.
- Put an alarm, write sticky-notes, make your co-workers remind you.. do whatever it takes but remember to water your plants regularly.
- Consider the plant's watering needs. Some plants need regular water, some don't. Cactus plants need watering once a month, ferns and spider plants need water once a week.
- Look for brown tipped leaves on your plant. This is a sign there are too many chemicals in the water used for the plant. Leave tap water out for an hour before using it on the plant. Dried brown leaf tips can also mean you are not watering the plant enough or over-hydrating it.
- Check soil dampness levels by inserting your finger into the potted plant's soil, about 1 inch deep. If it is wet and moist, do not water the plant until the soil turns dry. If the soil is dry, water the plant until the water drains out from the bottom of the pot.
- Do not use water at an extreme temperature, that is, either too hot or too cold. Room temperature water should be used.
- Do not let water run-off collect at the bottom of the plant, the plant might rot.
- If the plant is kept throughout in water, like a lucky bamboo or a money plant, then empty out the pot and refill with fresh water. Do this once in a while.
- Use a fork or a pen to loosen the top layer of soil in the plant's pot. Do this once a month.
- Give your plant a treat by applying some fertilizer. Just a little is required and only once a month.
- Change the soil in a potted plant once a year. New soil means renewed nutrients and minerals for the plant.
- Adding new soil is the perfect time to inspect your plant's roots. If they are tangled in a mess, you need to re-pot the plant in a bigger container.
- Plants need sunlight but the amount varies according to their species. Some species, especially flowering plants, will need bright sunny light consistently. Others like succulents, are satisfied with moderate amounts.
- A tubelight or lamp is artificial light, plants need sunshine or natural light from time to time. So a large window or a sky light is a good natural light source.
- Bright surfaces reflect light and dark surfaces make it darker, keep this in mind when placing a plant on a surface.
- Whatever the plant species, do not place it in a dark, dingy corner.
- Rotate your plant's pot or vase from time to time, so that all sides of the plant can catch the sun's rays.
- Do not keep plants near an air-conditioner or heating ducts and vents. This sort of high or low temperature settings can seriously damage your plant.