What plants would you suggest to have in the foyer of a small office building?

Question

Our office is behind a huge concrete planter. There are big plants in there at the moment so when clients come in to the building they can't see our office because of the big palms etc.

Also, all the plants are the same green, it is very umimpressive.

Any suggestions what would look good, provide some colour and grow less than 4 feet tall so people can still see our door over the plants/flowers.

Answer 1

My personal experience with office plants:

"Corn plant" (Dracaena fragrans `Massangeana') is a good choice for offices. It does not require much light, does not grow any larger than the size you buy (they come in sizes ranging from 2" to 6") and has striped leaves. See a photo at http://ellisonsgreenhouses.com/our_products/Corn_plant_cane_3PP.jpg and read about their care at http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets/pottedplants/cornplnt.html. These are not expensive and can be found at Lowe's and Home Depot.

Rubber tree plants (ficus elastica)(http://www.yourdictionary.com/images/ahd/jpg/A4rubber.jpg) are another popular office plant. Read about them at http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1510.htm. They are slow-growing and inexpensive (I got my office rubber plant at Wal-Mart!)

I had a corn plant, but my cats destroyed it. My rubber tree plants are doing quite well! These plants do have green leaves, but rubber tree plant leaves are a deep glossy green and corn plant leaves have interesting stripes.

Answer 2

I was going to suggest philodendron vines but if it is a large planter and you want color you might try using a bromiliad in with the vines. Or get ivy that is tri-colored. Sweet potato vines come in purple and chartreuse green they may work too. good luck.

Answer 3

Coleus, Ti, hibiscus, Calypso cannas, Ornamental black pepper (black pearl), Amaranth, Episcia, there are lots