Recommended Plants

The best trees for offices are Dracaenas. They require little light, love to dry out between watering, never shed leaves, and are available in many varieties. There should be three to five stalks in a dracaena pot to ensure a full looking tree. Dark brown leaf tips indicate over watering. The following dracaenas, my favorites, are also recommended by NASA to clean the air of formaldehyde, a chemical irritant discharged by products like foam insulation, pressed wood used in furniture, paper towels, and facial tissue. Formaldehyde can cause eye and throat irritation. Life in your office would be a lot more pleasant if your plants could remove formaldehyde from the air. All of these trees, while still small, can be used as desk or small floor plants.

1. Dracaena Janet Craig is a dark green stalk plant with 2”-3”wide leaves that resemble those of a corn plant. It is an excellent tree for very low light conditions. Dracaena Lisa which is quite a bit more expensive than the regular janet craig, is similar in looks and care but virtually indestructible.
2. Dracaena Warneki is a great tree if you want a little color in your office. The leaves, green and white striped, are similar in shape to those of the janet craig but not nearly as wide. This plant requires medium light.
3. Dracaena Marjinata is sometimes called a Madagascar Dragon Tree; and often mistakenly referred to as a palm. It has numerous long thin green leaves, sometimes edged in burgundy, growing off of heads at the end of each stalk. Be careful, brown tips indicate over watering and root rot can quickly occur. This plant requires medium light.

1. NASA recommends the Bamboo Palm as an excellent purifying air plant. Its fronds are graceful yet compact; making it an excellent choice for small offices and reception areas. It does best in medium light.
2. The Kentia Palm is usually quite expensive but very elegant. You will need a large area for this plant since its fronds spread out quite a bit. The lobby of a hotel or resort is perfect or a very big conference room. This is not a clean air plant.
3. The Fish Tail and Rhaphis Palms can be used in offices; and they are quite impressive. However, they are costly and not as easy to care for as the kentia & bamboo. Interior decorators love to use them because of their interesting appearance; but it’s you who have to absorb the cost when they die if you don’t have a plant service that provides free replacement. Neither of these is a clean air plant.
4. Areca palms are one of the plants I do not recommend. It is very inexpensive, but really fails to thrive over time. You can try one in a well-lit location, but don’t blame your self if it dies.

1.The original Ficus Benjamina was very susceptible to fluctuations in temperature and cold drafts, constantly dropping leaves and making a mess. Fortunately the new cultivars, referred to as Ficus of the Future, not only have eliminated the leaf drop problem, but also have new leaf sizes, colors and shapes. The trunks can be straight, spiral, braided, or twisted. My favorites are: Winter Green, Monique (ruffled leaf edges are accentuated in low light), and Midnight. The Monique has just about eliminated the leaf drop problem and can handle lower light
2. Ficus Lyrata is called Fiddle Leaf Ficus because its large hard leaves are shaped like a violin. This tree get quite wide at the top as it grows. The main problem with this plant is that there are not many leaves and if some drop off or get damaged, the plant looks very bare.
3. The Ficus Amstel is another Ficus of the Future; it is a cultivar of the Ficus Alli and easier to grow. Both the Amstel and the Alli have elongated leaves and like bright filtered light. They, like the Midnight, Monique, Lyrata, and Wintergreen can grow to 15ft., especially if placed in a sunny atrium.

1. Sansevieria, sometimes called Mother in Law’s Tongue or snake plant because of its long, thick, sharp pointed leaves, can be placed anywhere. It handles low light and irregular watering; it does like to thoroughly dry out or will get root rot. Its leaves, green or with a silver white or yellow stripe, grow straight up and not out, making it a wonderful plant for small spaces. Pests are usually not a problem.

2. Spathyphlum, or Peace Lily, definitely has pluses and a few minuses. It’s large thin dark green leaves grow out and not up and are easily damaged. In other words, you need to give the plant some room. It is also mildly toxic when ingested by people or pets. The spathyphlum can handle low light; its leaves droop when it needs water (helps with the guess work); and it sends out large white flowers throughout the year.

3. Aglonema Elite, an improved variety of the Chinese Evergreen, may be an almost perfect plant. There are many types to choose from depending if you want one with dark green leaves or variegated leaves. Aglonemas tolerate a wide range of light and neglect, are pest resistant, and grow out rather than up. Like most indoor plants allow them to dry out between watering. The leaves of an aglonema will be damaged if the temperature gets too cold. A beautiful, hardy, bushy plant!

4. Crotons (not a clean air plant) with their multicolored leaves of green, red, yellow, and orange will add color to your office, but they are not the easiest plants to care for. Spider mites and mealy bugs are a problem; over water a croton and all the leaves fall off; good light is a necessity; and they are quite bushy. However, they are an excellent addition to an otherwise drab room.

5. Hawaiian Schefflera, (arboricola) is sometimes called an umbrella plant. It has 7-9 leaflets per leaf which can be solid green or green and cream. It likes medium to good light but can tolerate artificial light. Allow an arboricola to dry out. Over water will cause green leaves to drop; severe under water will result in yellow leaves. This plant can be found in tree, bush and bonsai form. It offers a good leaf contrast to dracaenas and palms.

NASA recommends English Ivy, Pothos, and Spider Plants to clean the air. I’d like to add Lipstick, Goldfish, Marble Queen, Hoya, and Cordatum. These additional draping plants don’t purify the air; but lipstick, goldfish, and hoya get flowers (if the lighting is quite good); cordatum tolerates every kind of abuse and never gets any disease or pest; and the marble queen has lovely heart shaped white and green leaves. All of these plants like to dry out and need to be cut back if they get leggy.