How to pick the perfect desk plant

Looking to add a splash of colour to your desk with a live plant? There’s a lot more to picking the right one and keeping it alive than most would believe. Here are some brilliant tips for maintaining a green thumb when it comes to a desk plant from Mashable’s Laura Vitto.

Consider your office environment
Your office will be your plant’s new permanent home, so you need to consider what the environment can offer your new green friend. What’s the lighting like? Are you near a window, and does it allow lots of natural light? Is it warm or cool in your office? All of these are important factors. If there’s not a lot of light you need a desk plant that thrives in shade. If the air in your office is quite dry, you can add some pebbles to the bottom of the pot and place a collection tray under the pot to collect extra water that will increase the humidity around the roots. Think about your environment and do some research to find a plant that won’t die immediately.

Buying your desk plant
Where you buy your fine floral friend matters too. Try to purchase it from a garden centre or specialist plant shop, as you can be more sure that it has been properly looked after than you can at a grocery store. Ask them for care and transport advice so you don’t kill your plant before it even gets to your desk.

Caring for your plant
Indoor plants need looking after, but they’re slightly less needy than your average garden. It’s important that you don’t overwater your desk plant – there should never be so much water in the pot that it even spills over the tray underneath. Mashable’s Vitto spoke to a plant expert, who recommend setting up a watering schedule, such as weekly (depending on the specific needs of your plant’s species). The soil should be consistently damp but not soaking because your desk plant won’t grow as fast as its outdoor counterparts. If you’re successful and your shrub survives, you should replant it in a slightly larger pot so the roots can breathe; use fresh soil to replenish nutrients.

With a bit of care and patience, you can start your own little desktop garden, which brings a wealth of benefits – research shows office plants can increase productivity and they also filter harmful toxins from the air.

Read the original article at on.mash.to/2hjvRg5