Mariola agrees with Lewis about plant care and maintenance agreements. When investigating plants for the office, companies should evaluate the space where the plants will be placed and choose species according to the kind of image they are trying to convey. For a room with sufficient natural light, Lewis says a ficus tree, corn plant, or peace lily is a good choice. For rooms that don't have much natural light, plants that will work well are the corn plant, peace lily, birds-nest fern, philodendron, or dracena plant. Low-lighted areas can be decorated with the peace lily or corn plant, which, according to Lewis, are two of the most popular choices in offices.
Some offices choose to accentuate areas with flowering plants that are changed monthly.
For the budget conscious, silk may seem the inexpensive alternative to decorating an office. However, when compared to the real thing, silk plants have no return on investment. They can't clean the air, they collect dust more than live plants, and according to architect Margaret Gardiner, they can't compare to a live plant. The characteristics of real plants add more than just appearance to an office and, therefore, offer more for the money. If real plants can't be used to decorate an area with low or no light, Gardiner suggests using cut flower arrangements.