No plants allowed!

[telecom_goddess]

My work just moved to a new building, and of course everything is the same color, the same height, and all the same chairs, everything has to be identical and gray and neutral, along with this awful even neutral lighting that's driving me nuts. Anyway one of the rules here is no plants. What the hell would a place have against plants? I just don't get it.

[EricKei]

Plants bring life, color, diversity, oxygen. All things they don't want the drones to have access to. They just want nice, quiet, boring worker drones doing things and never questioning it...

[Kittykat]

Maybe someone has an allergy? And to play it safe, they decided to make it plant free? Just a guess.

[Pixelated]

Plants can attract bugs?

I agree: seems pointless and just overcontrolling.

[dalesys]

The plant brains have been transplanted to Homer's space-fillers. He is ecstatic at the improvement.

[Ghel]

What about fake/plastic plants? Are they trying to promote conformity/uniformity? Do they allow other decorations besides plants?

If they're not allowing any decorations, that sounds soulless and disheartening.

[telecom_goddess]

What about fake/plastic plants? Are they trying to promote conformity/uniformity? Do they allow other decorations besides plants?

If they're not allowing any decorations, that sounds soulless and disheartening.

I just confirmed today that fake plants are allowed, and other decorations as long as they don't rise above the cube walls and break conformity. The old place allowed them, it's just the new one that doesn't. And I don't see how they could attract bugs all the way inside the building, and with as few plants as there would even be. It just seems pointless to me.

I just NEVER heard of this policy anywhere before.

[Pixelated]

I just confirmed today that fake plants are allowed, and other decorations as long as they don't rise above the cube walls and break conformity. The old place allowed them, it's just the new one that doesn't. And I don't see how they could attract bugs all the way inside the building, and with as few plants as there would even be. It just seems pointless to me.

I just NEVER heard of this policy anywhere before.

Depending on where plants are bought, you might find yourself getting a twofer: plant AND bug(s).

Even so, it's silly. I don't think there are many bugs that feast on plants that will have any kind of ill effect on humans ... unless you've got a Body Snatchers thing going on in your building.

[RealUnimportant]

I could understand a ban on big flowering plants in case of hayfever or other allergies, but to blanket ban all growing greenery... There's been studies showing how beneficial it can be to have plants in offices for multiple reasons, especially when there's shitty airflow.

[dalesys]

Some dimwit zeck noshed on the dumbcane...

[Monterey Jack]

Why am I reminded of that scene in Gremlins 2 where Billy Peltzer's boss inspects his cubicle and throws out all of his personal touches?

[taxguykarl]

As that film predates Dilbet, I'd say you found that Kool-Aid server's inspiration, Jack.

[workerbee222]

I spent months washing down / spraying with chemicals / swabbing a jade plant to rid it of mealybugs. I never succeeded. It was in a store, all alone, with no other botanical friends to infect it. And I never had a variegated ivy that didn't eventually succumb to spider mites. I love ivy, but I don't bother with it or jade plants any more.

Some plants don't get pinched back and renewed or thrown out, and don't age well. The pathos in the waiting room at the local hospital are gangley and tired looking. They really should be replaced, or cuttings taken and re-potted.

[Minflick]

Worker, did you treat the jade with a systemic that would get the damned bugs down in the dirt? I have a piggy back plant that has chronic mealies, and now that I've started treating the dirt as well, it seems to be getting under control. [fingers crossed]

I was told, by Authoritative Old Dudes at my last succulent sale that a Bayer product with imidicloprid would treat the mealies and get them gone. I HATE using a systemic with a fiery passion, but the mealies are starting to spread and that is NOT acceptable!

[Dreamstalker]

OMG I hate spider mites. Last year, one of my plants died from mites (luckily I didn't get the "Borg" variety) and it turned out the source was a years-old random foliage plant of mom's...that had no symptoms whatsoever. Once we got rid of that plant the rest of mine did fine. I've had a few fungus gnat outbreaks, but that's totally manageable. I hate systemics as well, I usually use Safer brand insect soap or a spinosad product.

https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-p...lybug-control/

The restaurants at my store have pothos for decoration, and it's clear that even with the many skylights (the glass is probably the UV-blocking variety and they're too high up) the poor things are not happy. Way too gangly and droopy.