The Office... Plants
You did it. You just landed your dream job and are walking into your new office confident and ready to impress. You arrive at your desk to find the customary new employee welcome package waiting for you. Laptop, notebooks, tacky company-branded polo shirt and a handwritten welcome note from Toby in HR. It’s all there, just how you envisioned it in your daily meditations. Only, there’s something else…
A succulent. Beautifully tucked into a white clay pot like a well-tailored suit, the plant oozes confidence and success. You have a few plants at home but this plant is different. This plant represents your blossoming career, and you commit yourself to taking care of it to the best of your ability. You decide to name it Jim.
The first few months on the job are perfect. You crushed your first presentation, you made a belly laugh joke at the water cooler, and you were the first to wish Angela from Accounting a happy birthday. You’re on a roll and things could not be going any better, except for Jim.
Jim is starting to lose his luster. He’s developed an awkward tilt, and has even dropped a few leaves. You realize you haven’t watered him since that first week so you give him a healthy pour but nothing seems to be working.
“What am I doing wrong?
What will people think of me?”
Feeling self-conscious, you look around at your colleagues to see if their plants are still alive but this only makes you feel worse. Dwight has an entire hydroponic farm in his drawer, Daryl’s warehouse looks like a jungle and even Kevin’s succulent is still alive. Everyone seems to be keeping their plants alive except for you.
Feeling stressed, you take a two week trip to Sandals Jamaica with your gf Jan but that only makes matters worse for Jim. You return to the office only to find Jim wrinkled, dry and on his last leaf. It’s just too hard to watch, so you swallow your pride and sweep him off your desk and into the trash. Jim is dead and Pam the receptionist is devastated.
We’ve all been there. Taking care of plants in an office environment can be surprisingly challenging, and most of us are too caught up in the daily grind of our work responsibilities to properly pay attention to our green desk companions. However, these plants still deserve a shot at a happy life and their very presence has such positive benefits to our stress and health.
To keep your office green and lively, here are five recommendations for managing your office plants:
Stop with the succulents
For the love of the plant gods please stop buying overcrowded succulents. Idk who crowned succulents as the only office desk plant but they are not ideal for most office environments. Yes they are relatively easy to take care of but they need lots of sun, so unless you have a corner office or are right next to a bright window, they will struggle. Try going with a low light option like a ZZ, Calathea Snake, or Pothos instead.
Move your houseplants to the window
Depending on your desk layout, your plant may not be getting enough sun. To compensate for this lack of light, move your plants to a brighter area closer to a window before leaving for the weekend or a longer vacations. The plants will appreciate the added light and you can move them back to the desk first thing Monday morning.
Repot your plants
In my experience, gifted plants usually do not come in pots with drainage holes. This can put dry plants like succulents at risk of root rot, so make sure to repot your plants into a new planter with increased drainage. Also, it may be wise to break up the succulents into individual pots if they are tightly packed into the same planter. They might look super cute now, but as they grow they will compete with one another and grow at awkward angles.
No fake plants
Please no fake plants. Fake plastic plants are detrimental to the environment and will most likely find their way into a landfill. Killing your real plants isn’t great either, but at least you can compost them.
Create a plant squad
Involve your colleagues and create a plant community within the office. Being a plant parent all by yourself just isn’t as fun, so be sure to connect with your other plant-loving colleagues. They can be a useful resource and will hold you accountable! It’s also a great way to build comaraderie and develop new friendships in the office.
BONUS TIP!
Use your calendar to your advantage! Most of us in the corporate world live and die by our calendar schedule, so add reminders for watering and moving your plants to the windowsill on Friday’s.