Greenery produces oxygen and purifies the air of harmful compounds emitted from floors, furniture and electrical appliances, calms and improves concentration and significantly increases the aesthetics of the interior. Appropriate selection of plants aids the implementation of one of the key objectives of many companies - ensuring the well-being of employees. What's more, employees themselves increasingly demand the presence of greenery in the workplace. At Colliers International, these needs were reported through internal surveys. In response to this, the amount of potted plants increases within the company every year and spaces are still being arranged for new plants.

Which plants to choose?
This question is asked by many Office Managers. Concerns about caring for greenery and related costs may also raise concerns. Greening the office, as well as taking care of plants, can be a problem-free and not too expensive task if we follow a few key rules.

1. Resistant and undemanding

Plants in the office that do not require constant attention are most effective, they are resistant to care errors and difficult office space conditions - high air dryness, shortage of daylight and cold air from the air conditioning during the summer.

2. Care

When cultivating greenery, one should take into account the quantity, diversity of species and the area where the plants have been placed. With a small amount of green, care can be outsourced to a cleaning service who could supervise his daily duties. If, however, our office is very green, with many different species of plants, requiring a special approach or when the plants are placed on the ceiling or on very tall shelves, then it is best to hire a specialist company that will not only help us look after the greenery, but can also advise on the issues of how to introduce them of arrange in our office.

3. Dark rooms

A complete lack of daylight can be a problem when arranging greenery, but there are some solutions on the market that can help solve it. If we care about living plants in the office, BIO lamps can be helpful to illuminate plants that support their development. Such lamps must, however, meet certain requirements, e.g. have a color temperature of a minimum of 4000K, a power of 70W and a light distribution of min. 40 degrees. If you would like to bring a green element into the room, but if it is not important that plants are alive, the green walls made of moss or stabilized plants are an interesting solution.

4. "Office" species

When selecting plant species for the office, the key point is the place of their location and the effect we want to achieve. The office manager must consider whether the plants are to be part of the interior design or whether they should be a separate eye-catching element. It depends on whether the arrangement will be dominated by climbing / hanging plants (eg. Epipremnum aureum, Philodendron scandens, Rhipsalis or Common Ivy) or freestanding (eg. Aglaonema, Monstera, Ficus elastica or Ficus lyrata). Air-purifying plants are also desirable today, these are: Chlorophytum comosum, Chinese evergreens, Dwarf umbrella tree, Sansevieria trifasciata.

Should plants prevail in the arrangement, green vertical walls will be perfect. Unfortunately, it is also quite expensive solution, because this type of garden needs its own supply and drainage.

5. Green investment

The cost of greenery arrangement may seem quite high, but it should not be forgotten that this is an investment for years, which employees appreciate more than other facilities in the office. When arranging greenery, costs are one of the key challenges faced by Office Manager. They depend on many factors. The main impact on the amount of expenditures are: selection of plant species for which the company will decide (the more unique and rare, the more expensive), the type of exposure (hard to reach places or the use of green vertical walls), the time of the contract and of course its size. Added to this is the cost of greenery maintenance. In the case of self-care for plants or transfer of this obligation to the cleaning service, expenses will be much smaller rather than compared to a professional company. However, it is worth investing both in the arrangement of greenery and specialized company to look after them because it guarantees not only a high quality of services, but also peace of mind in terms of maintaining office vegetation in good condition.

Source: Colliers International