30 Office and desk plants 💻
A desk is a tricky spot: limited room, light that is often indirect or partly artificial, and a watering schedule that goes out the window on busy weeks. These compact, easygoing houseplants are the ones most likely to stay tidy and green through all of that.
Pure fluorescent light with no daylight is hard on any plant. If your desk gets no window light at all, lean towards the toughest low-light picks instead.
African Violet (Saintpaulia / Streptocarpus)
The African Violet is the small, cheerful classic that can flower almost continuously, all year…
Air Plant (Tillandsia)
Air Plants are the houseplants that need no soil at all.
Anthurium (Flamingo Flower)
The Anthurium is the houseplant that seems to be permanently in bloom.
Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus)
The Bird's Nest Fern - Asplenium nidus - is one of the most welcoming ferns you can bring indoor…
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
The Cast Iron Plant earned its name honestly: it is famous as the toughest, most indestructible…
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
The Chinese Evergreen is one of the best plants for people who want color and easy care at the s…
Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)
The Chinese Money Plant is the friendly, quirky houseplant that became an internet sensation.
Dracaena (Dracaena marginata, fragrans & more)
"Dracaena" is not one plant but a whole family of easy, sculptural indoor trees and shrubs - and…
Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig)
The Ficus Benjamina - the "Weeping Fig" - is one of the classic tree-form houseplants, a gracefu…
Gasteria (Ox Tongue)
Gasteria is a small, tough, slow-growing succulent from South Africa, best known for its thick,…
Haworthia (Zebra Plant & Window Plants)
Haworthia is the small, tough, charming succulent that fits almost anywhere - a desk, a windowsi…
Homalomena (Queen of Hearts)
The Homalomena - sometimes sold as "Queen of Hearts" - is one of those quietly excellent housepl…
Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
Lucky Bamboo is the green stalks you see growing in a vase of water and pebbles on desks, shop c…
Ludisia discolor (Jewel Orchid)
The Ludisia discolor - the Jewel Orchid - is an orchid grown for the one thing most orchids are…
Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
The Money Tree is the houseplant of good fortune - instantly recognizable by its distinctive bra…
Nerve Plant (Fittonia)
The Nerve Plant is a small, vivid, dramatic little houseplant - its olive-green leaves are laced…
Oxalis (False Shamrock / Purple Shamrock)
Oxalis triangularis - the "False Shamrock" or "Purple Shamrock" - is one of the most charming an…
Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
The Parlor Palm is the easy, elegant, pet-safe palm that has been gracing indoor rooms since Vic…
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
The Peace Lily is one of the few easy houseplants that flowers reliably indoors.
Peperomia
Peperomia is not one plant but a huge, wonderfully varied family of compact, easy, pet-safe hous…
Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid)
The Phalaenopsis, or Moth Orchid, is the orchid for everyone.
Philodendron Birkin
The Philodendron Birkin is one of the most elegant and popular of the modern "designer" philoden…
Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)
The Polka Dot Plant is pure cheerful color - a small, bushy houseplant whose green leaves are fr…
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum / Devil's Ivy)
Pothos is the friendliest trailing vine in the houseplant world - fast, forgiving, beautiful, an…
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
The Prayer Plant - Maranta leuconeura - is one of the most captivating houseplants you can own,…
Selaginella (Spikemoss / Resurrection Plant)
Selaginella - known as Spikemoss, and in some forms as the Resurrection Plant - is one of the mo…
Snake Plant (Sansevieria / Dracaena trifasciata)
The Snake Plant is the plant for people who think they cannot keep plants alive.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
The Spider Plant is the cheerful, generous, almost foolproof classic of the houseplant world.
Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia)
The Watermelon Peperomia - Peperomia argyreia - is a small, compact South American houseplant gr…
ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
The ZZ Plant is the houseplant for the darkest, most neglected corner of your home.
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Choosing a plant for a home with pets? We keep toxicity off Plantvale on purpose - see Pawholt's pet-safe plant list.