20 Best Office Plants Guaranteed to Thrive on Your Desk

As its name suggests, the whale fin succulent looks a whole lot like Moby Dick's flipper. This sculptural plant can tolerate low and indirect light. Just be sure to dust it regularly to keep pests at bay.

This cute plant's glossy leaves will surprise you by developing natural holes as they get bigger. (Don't worry, they're not being eaten, just growing.) The deep green will eventually morph into a beautiful teal, hence the Baltic Blue name.

Shaped like a beaver's tail, the prickly pair cactus might be the easiest succulent to care for. With infrequent watering requirements and no need for regular fertilizer, this plant is great for larger desks where you won't accidentally bump into its sharp spikes.

Keep a money tree at your desk to help manifest that next big raise or promotion. This miniature tree is easy to care for and loves low water and low light.

Add a pop of color to your desk with this flowering jungle plant. Be sure to place your bromeliad near a window or under a grow light once a week or so to help it stay healthy and vibrant.

A classic low-light-loving plant, philodendrons are known for their low-maintenance quality and easy propagation. Place it up high, like on that stack of invoices you need to wade through, and let the trailing leaves drape.

A ideal gift for your work bestie, this cheeky little heart-shaped plant is actually a cactus. That means minimal watering is needed. It'll even last through the longest summer out-of-office stretch.

Add a bright light to dreary Mondays with a neon pothos. Its vibrant yellow-green leaves require little sun and little water to thrive, so you can just sit back and watch it grow.

Known for its soothing qualities, an aloe plant will bring a cooling vibe to your deadline-filled afternoons. (It's also great for mending that post-vacation sunburn.)

Nothing beats the simple maintenance of air plants. All you have to do is simply soak them in water for 20 minutes once a week and they'll be good to go.

Also known as Devil's Ivy, this sprawling plant is incredibly easy to take care of. It can tolerate the darkest spaces and the brightest, window-filled offices and will survive even if you forget to water it sometimes. Just know the cues for what it needs: Yellow leaves mean it's been overwatered, while a droopy plant is thirsty.

While ZZ plants thrive in moderate to brighter light environments, they'll hold up just fine in low light. The plants also require little water, like a cactus, so you don't have to worry about watering them all the time. If the leaves start falling off, give it some water, and it'll bounce right back.

Since spider plants prefer to dry out and stay moist, you can go a few days between waterings. They actually prefer bright, indirect sunlight, so they'll do well if you don't sit directly by the window.

Since these vertical plants can survive with low light levels and minimal water, they're designed for on-the-go people who can't catch a break—let alone water plants. "This plant has a reputation of being impossible to kill," raves a five-star review. "Sort of like having a silk plant that grows."

A succulent can actually store water in its thick leaves. Therefore, the plant couldn't be easier to take care of. It's great if you just want something nice to sit on your desk!

This "lucky" plant needs very little light, so it's basically made for cubicles. It'll also give your workspace a much-needed feng shui boost. "It likes to be on the windowsill, and it just needs a little water and some sun," says one five-star review.

These beautiful flowering plants are surprisingly easy to grow. "It's crazy full and lush and has eight of the white spathes," one reviewer says. Plant parents should keep the soil moist (but avoid overwatering!) and mist its leaves regularly. Oh, and while the plant prefers some light, direct sunlight is definitely not ideal.

This colorful stunner is a popular plant with pink stems and reddish-pink leaf tips that's sure to add personality to your desk. While it shows the most color in brighter light, the leaves grow well in low light too.

This Tim Burton–esque plant requires brighter light to keep its bolder color, but it should be kept out of direct sunlight. And wait until the soil feels dry to water your begonia—but don't wait too long, or it'll wilt. It prefers high humidity, so misting is key.

When you first start growing this vine, you should water them frequently. Once they're established, they can tolerate dry conditions and do well in cooler temperatures. It's great for offices that are known for being uncomfortably chilly.