HGTV Gardening Newsletter

Cubicle Gardens
by Marie Hofer, Gardening Editor, HGTV.com

Spending a full day in a cubicle at work means that you can only garden in your mind--or does it?

You don't need Dilbert to tell you that spending the day in a cube can be wearing--unless it offers a little touch of home. For a gardener at heart, that means having plants around. Even a common workplace plant like pothos can help soften the edges of the cube, add a little natural color and help you imagine that you're gardening--at least on a small scale. Unusual plants are fun to share with co-workers. Plus, plants do more than look good; they also clear the air of toxins often found in the workplace--plus dust and other particulate matter.

But most cubes aren't the brightest spots around. Which plants will work?

Let the light decide how you garden. Office settings don't give you nearly the flexibility you have at home, obviously. Unless your company has unusually loose regulations, you can't plug in the supplemental lighting you'd use at home--things like shop lights or full-spectrum plant lights. Plus, the lights at work generally get turned off on weekends and holidays.

Not to worry, though. Many houseplants do just fine without natural light if they're placed 10 to 14 inches below a good fluorescent light source. If you're lucky and have a built-in fluorescent tube mounted directly over your desktop--perhaps under an overhead cabinet or shelf--you've got almost ideal conditions for certain plants--almost. Distance from the light source plays a large part. And although the cool-white tubes typically found in many offices contain the blue rays that plants need, they don't contain enough red rays. So although many plants like pothos and peace lily adjust to life under cool white lights, they usually do better when some incandescent light is added to round out the spectrum; supplementary natural light from a nearby window or skylight is far better, of course. A rule of thumb is to use one 40-watt incandescent bulb for every two 40-watt cool-white fluorescent tubes. (Take care not to place the plants too close to the incandescent bulb, however; it gives off heat.)

So-called low-light plants need from 50 to 250 foot-candles (a foot-candle is the amount of light received from a source that's equal to a candle one foot away). Or, very roughly, the amount of light provided by a single four-foot 40-watt fluorescent tube, positioned about one foot above. Typical candidates: pothos, aluminum plant (Pilea cadierei), jade plant (Crassula argentea), kentia palm (Howeia forsteriana), snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata), peace lily (although it won't flower in low light) and possibly two of the most tolerant of low-light conditions, the Chinese evergreen, or Aglaonema modestum (10 foot-candles), and cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior). Other plants like Swedish ivy, spider plant, dracaena and Norfolk Island pine learn to adapt to low light but do much better given more.

Depending on the species, medium-light plants need 250 to 1,000 foot-candles. Two four-foot 40-watt tubes provide roughly the amount of light that plants in this category need. Think about dieffenbachia, African violets, asparagus fern, ficus, gloxinia, spider plant and peperomia.

Some plants do well at adjusting to less light if they're given the chance to adapt. For a plant that's used to medium-bright light, place it in a slightly darker place for two to three weeks before moving it into your relatively low-light cube.

Water smartly. Many indoor plants die not from neglect but from overwatering. Use your finger to test the soil below the surface, or, if pot is small, lift it to check its weight. The amount of water a plant needs is directly related to how much light it receives, so under low-light conditions, the plant won't need as much water as you may think. Water until water drains out the bottom hole; never let the pot sit in water for extended periods.

Related Articles:

·	Clearing the Air
·	Plants That Clear the Air

Keep humidity high.
Most plants appropriate for your cube garden like high humidity, usually an uncommon condition in most offices. Mist the leaves daily if you can. Or, place a dish of water nearby.

Happy cube gardening!

Special Gardening Features

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	Shopping Ideas
	January is great for armchair gardening--looking over catalogs from your favorite plant retailers and dreaming up the perfect garden. While you're shopping, keep these pointers in mind: Plants by Mail Plant-Buying Tips Getting the Most From Retailers Gardening by Mail

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