(The Old Post) Office plants
Not an ad, however I mention my friend’s shop a couple of times
If you’ve been to my coworking space, the first thing you probably noticed, was that there are a lot of plants. I love them.
I’ve been gathering and growing house plants for about a decade. The plants at the coworking space have moved from my house which is now a bit bare.
I started my collection with rescued-from-the-bargain-bin easter/christmas cacti. Not long after, I was given spider plant and Chinese money plant babies from friends. It’s taken off from there - mostly in part to being friends with Isherwood and Co, and learning about propagating, dividing and generally how to keep plants alive. My plants bring me a lot of joy.
Here are my tips for keeping your office plants alive:-
Not over water-ing
I’ve learnt this one through making mistakes. With some plants you need to wait until they’re almost totally dried out before watering them again. My plants are doing better now I have a toddler and therefore have less time… they’re getting watered less. If you over-water the roots can rot and attract gnats.
Pot from John Molesworth
Light
The coworking space is east facing, so has good strong light until around 10.30am. It stays bright all day - never hot or direct light. There’s no natural light in the bathroom or kitchen. The plants I keep in these darker spaces are moved to the front of the coworking space on the days that I’m closed.
Create a microclimate
The coworking space is only open three days a week at the moment. When I’m not here, I put all the plants in one place near the window. The shutter is down, but they still get some light, and I give them a good soak and a mist before leaving. I take all the plants down off the window plant rail and this add to this microclimate, and also because I can’t water the plants while they’re on the rail as they’ll be too heavy. I really hope that I don’t turn up to work one day with the rail having fallen on the floor!
Cuttings
A free way to grow your houseplant collection is to learn how to make cuttings. Some are easier than others, I’ve got some tradescantia cuttings on the go at the moment. They fell off the plant when I was moving it so I’ve popped them in a glass of water. When they’ve sprouted enough roots I’ll plant them into soil.
Dividing
The peace lily I have in the coworking space came from another plant being divided into two. When this one looks like it’s getting a bit cramped I’ll divide it again to give it more breathing room - getting more plants in the process.
Misting
Every week my peace lily has a dramatic flop and needs a thorough watering, and a good mist. My mister was from Isherwood & Co, Birmingham-based Haws.
My top low maintenance plants for offices are:-
What are your office plant tips? Talk to me about plants!
All photos by Jack Spicer Adams for The Old Post Office