Managing Personal Plants in Commercial Settings

If you service commercial office spaces, chances are you’ve come across quite a few employees who keep personal plants on windowsills, desks, or tucked into cubicles. It’s not uncommon to see arrangements, given as thoughtful gifts, sitting on credenzas, slowly wilting week after week. As an interiorscape professional, have you ever felt compelled to intervene? It can be tempting, especially when your vibrant, well-maintained foliage is right next to a neglected plant with brown, drooping leaves. It’s an awkward situation, to say the least, but how do you address this issue without causing friction? While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, here are a few strategies for managing personal plants in commercial settings.

Establish an Office Plant Policy

An important clause to include in any service contract is that only your plant material should be placed in the client’s main spaces. This is especially critical for areas like reception—the first point of contact for visitors and clients. They don’t know that the sad-looking peace lily isn’t your responsibility, and it can easily be mistaken as a reflection of your work. Setting a clear office plant policy for reception areas, conference rooms, and hallways can save you from unnecessary headaches.

If a new client questions these plant-free zones, I share a common issue I’ve run into—pests. More often than not, personal plants are overwatered, leaving the soil waterlogged and creating the perfect breeding ground for fungus gnats. Gnats are, without question, the top complaint among office staff because they’re hard to ignore. Even a single infested plant can spark an office-wide outbreak as gnats move into drain traps and other moist areas. Once I explain the risk of a fungus gnat infestation, most clients quickly agree to my terms.

Check the Health of Personal Plants

Plants and flowers are often the go-to gifts that companies use to show appreciation to associates and clients, and these living tokens often remain right where they were first placed. When I come across gifted plants in an office, I make a point to give them a quick inspection to ensure they’re not harboring mealybugs, spider mites, or other pests that could damage my installations and spread throughout the space.

If I do find signs of disease or pests, I explain the potential risks to the owner and offer to remove the plant. Sometimes, though, the plant carries sentimental value, or the owner may feel the need to keep it to avoid offending the person who gifted it. In these cases, I’ll suggest a treatment plan for a small fee or attempt to add the care to the service contract.

Balance Generosity With Professional Responsibilities

Over the years, there have been a few times when I’ve cared for a client’s personal plant at no charge, on an informal, no-guarantee basis. I reserve this kind of gesture for long-term clients who have given my company years of business, regularly refer me to others, and respect the limits of my generosity.

Still, it’s important to be cautious. The benefits of office plants are clear—they create welcoming spaces, support well-being, and reflect professional care. But when personal plants are added into the mix, they can complicate things. Some people assume that because you’re already tending to the office plants, adding a few personal ones to your workload shouldn’t be a problem. What they don’t see is the bigger picture. We manage hundreds of tropical plants across accounts, and tending to even a handful of personal plants at each site could easily add another hour to our daily workload.

Set Boundaries for Personal Plant Care

In almost every large commercial contract, there’s at least one employee who’s a plant hoarder—someone who fills their entire workspace with foliage. If their collection doesn’t interfere with our interiorscape responsibilities or create pest or disease issues, it’s not my place to intervene.

But every so often, I run into well-meaning plant lovers who decide to take it upon themselves to tend to our plants along with their own. One memorable case involved a 30-year-old jade bonsai that suffered from overwatering by an administrator. I never would have known, except she confessed to a service technician, thinking she was doing the right thing. After hearing this, I asked the office manager to send out a memo reminding employees that plant care should be left to the professionals.

Foster Cohesive, Healthy Workspaces

Conflicts between personal plants and those under your care are bound to happen. The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to keep your client contact informed of any concerns and document them in writing before issues escalate. If management doesn’t mind an employee’s plant collection—and it doesn’t affect the quality of my interiorscape service—I let it be.

Managing personal plants in commercial settings always requires a balance of professionalism, empathy, and clear communication. By setting policies, addressing concerns, and knowing when to step in—or when to simply let things be—you protect the integrity of your interiorscape work while respecting employees who enjoy having plants in their space. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t to eliminate personal plants, but to create offices that feel cohesive and healthy while fostering a positive work environment. That balance is what defines a successful interiorscape professional.