Potential Office Plants

As I said last week, office plants are wonderful. Think about it: the average american spends 52 hours a week at work (yuck), and we all work until at least 65...that's a whole buncha time. Might as well spend it somewhere lively and visually interesting. Studies have shown that plants in the office can reduce stress and improve mood, can filter the air and reduce pollutants, and can make workers more productive and also more creative.

Plants are typically listed as full-sun, partial-sun, or shade plants. I need a full-out shade plant, which can survive with only artificial light if they need to, but you may be lucky enough to get a bit of natural light. You want something low pollen/low allergen too, or else you're the butthead making all your cube-mates sneeze. For that reason, I'm going to go ahead and forgo any flowering options. To avoid mold, replant in indoor potting soil, which is more resistant. Also, make sure that the soil becomes fairly dry between waterings, as moisture can obviously lead to mold. 

Here are some plants I'm considering. I'll probably end up going with whatever my local hardware store has on hand.

Inch Plant, or Wandering Jew

Odd name, pretty plant! I like how the leaves form flower-like shapes, and it seems to be a good size.

Asparagus Fern

Is this creepy looking? I think it looks like tentacles...don't want to worry about THAT coming over my shoulder while I'm busy excel-ing.

Snake's Tongue

This is apparently a top pick for filtering the air of pollutants. Nice!

Jade Plant

These babies live forever and are EXTREMELY hardy. Good to know.

Boston Fern

Love the name, love the look. It has a playful shape and is pretty dense.

Spider Plant

Love this one- great mix of colors and a robust shape.

Weeping Fig

Not sure if I like the rubbery looking leaves...if I'm getting a real plant, I want it to LOOK real, you know?

Aloe Vera

This can do double duty: make your office nice, soothe your sunburn. Aloe is a type of cactus. Some cacti would do well in an office, but some, like succulents, require too much sun.

I'll be traveling Monday through Friday this week, so no point in purchasing a plant this weekend, but within a few weeks or so I'll have to pick one up. Any ideas? Votes on the above?