Best Office Plants

Tradescantia pallida aka “Spiderwort” or “Wandering Jew” It’s nice and colorful even when it’s not blooming. Just put it in good soil (1/2 peat based potting soil and 1/2 filtered compost).

My trick for office plants in general, get a pot 2 sizes larger than you need and place a layer of cheap cellulose kitchen sponges in the bottom. This way if you over-water the roots won’t rot, and if you underwater they have a small reserve to survive on.

Peace Lily is also a great idea - look for the kind with variegated leaves for more visual impact between blossoms. It has the added effect of training you in good plant care, as it will lay down on the desk and look dramatically pathetic if you forget to water it. I always keep one as a “canary” to protect my other plants from my forgetfullness.

ETA: Most people who think they can’t keep plants are just making the mistake of leaving the plants in the cheap peat “soil” they bought them in. Always re-pot with high quality soil.

I’m a big fan of “lucky” bamboo. They don’t flower, but they enjoy low light and the ones that are braided together look nice even without flowers. They’ll die instantly if they go dry, but most are sold in gravel so that you can easily tell if they’re getting low. I water mine twice a week.

My recommendation would be to find a nursery in your area and talk to the experts there. I don’t mean just going to the plant section of the local multi-purpose big box store, but an honest-to-God nursery that sells nothing but plants. The local one I like hires master gardeners who can take your list of requirements and come up with a half dozen choices and tell you how to take care of them.

Also, I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to plants purifying the air. Even when they do absorb toxins, a human is processing a much larger volume of air than a plant. I think plants are important just for creating a pleasant environment and that’s reason enough to have them.