Unique Indoor Plants to Enhance Your Home Work Space

As more people are working from home, they want their home office space, whether it’s really an office in the home or a cleared out area of the kitchen table, to be comfortable and attractive. This often means adding plants, which are not only aesthetically pleasing but in some cases can actually scrub the air clean of pollutants such as formaldehyde. Here is a list of unique indoor plants to add to a home work space.

Spider Plant

This graceful plant is famous for its long, curving leaves and its production of “spiderlings” borne on arching wands. These spiderlings can be snipped off and put in their own pots. Spider plants are also famous because they clean toxins out of the air of a room. They make superb plants for hanging baskets and do best in indirect sunlight and evenly moist soil.

Pancake Plant

Also called the Chinese money plant, this interesting houseplant has flat, round leaves that resemble green coins. It needs bright light but not direct sun, and like the spider plant, can do well in a cooler than normal room. Cool temperatures indeed encourage the plant to flower. The pancake plant needs well-draining soil and fertilizer during the growing season.

Umbrella Tree

Also called the Schefflera, this is a fast-growing plant with large, ovate leaves that appear in groups of five or six at the top of stems. It likes average soil that should be allowed to dry out between waterings. It does need sunlight but can stand a bit of shade. Clean the leaves now and then with a damp sponge to remove dust, dirt and pests.

Tradescantia

With its trailing, grayish leaves with purple stripes, tradescantia is also great for a hanging basket. It thrives in indirect light in a warm room and does best in average potting soil. It likes a warm room that doesn’t go beyond 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night and soil that’s kept moist.

Indian Rubber Plant

Known for its near indestructibility, the Indian rubber plant is a type of fig. Though it famously survives neglect, it flourishes in a west or east window in average soil that’s kept moist. Like the umbrella tree plant, its large oval leaves should be sponged every now and then to keep them clean and healthy.

Fittonia

One of the most unique indoor plants, the fittonia is often used as a ground cover in tropical gardens. It has green, oval leaves netted over with white or red veins. It needs rich soil that’s kept moist and is the perfect plant for a terrarium. The fittonia needs bright but not direct sunlight and fairly high humidity. It should be fertilized every six weeks or so.

Figs

Besides the rubber plant, other figs to grow in the home work space can include the weeping fig; the fiddle leaf fig with its huge, violin-shaped leaves; the Indian laurel and the creeping fig. These plants do best in bright but not direct sunlight and in average soil. Though they are figs, they won’t bear fruit. That type of fig tree only grows outdoors.

Bromeliads

This is a huge family of beautifully patterned plants. They’re related to the pineapple and many are air plants that don’t even need to be planted in soil. Bromeliads also clean the air and are easy to take care of. Like so many other indoor plants, they do best in indirect light, but they have also been known to thrive in a northern window. Mist the leaves to keep them clean. A bromeliad that’s taken care of will sprout sensational flowers that persist for months.

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