Plantclub x N26 workshop: plant propagating and repotting
N26 is a mobile banking company founded in Berlin serving over 7 million customers in 25 markets around the world. Launched in 2015, the company has grown to become one of Europe’s most valuable Fintech companies with a team of 1,500. Both founders of Plantclub, Max and Jack, are former N26 employees.
Building networks, adapting to environments, and planting down firm roots — company culture and houseplant care can have a lot in common. So what do we do when the things we’ve grown expand successfully and it’s time to take the next steps toward sustainability? For plants at least, we can turn to propagation and repotting.
In our very first workshop, Plantclub made a visit back to its roots and brought together N26 participants at one of its Berlin locations for a fun and informative hands-on workshop just in time for spring. Indoor plant propagation and repotting, essential tasks for any plant parent, can be intimidating to approach with newly greened thumbs. But with guided hands, N26 employees were excited to get down and dirty and dive headfirst into the jungle.
Participants were excited to get their hands into this lush pothos.
What you need to know about propagation
Yes, you can grow your own plants at home! Propagation is the process of breeding one stock into new healthy growths. All you need to get started is a sharp pair of cutters, a container, and some water.
Why propagate? Propagation through harvesting a trimming from a healthy, sick, or damaged plant can improve plant growth and offers a cost-effective method of multiplying your plant collection into a whole gaggle of new cohorts for your growing indoor landscape.
Plants love spring, so we started off with our participants there. Timing is key, which is why it’s also important to make sure that cuttings have time to heal over before being placed in water to grow new roots.
Eager participants from N26 were able to ask questions and test out their newly acquired skills firsthand by trimming a sprawling pothos, cutting at the right angle, and in the end got to take a cutting to grow their very own pothos at home.
Propagating is a great way to get familiar with a plant’s root system.
Becoming a repotting master
Why do we re-pot? The original soil might not have been the best quality, overwatering has led to root rot, or sometimes organisms just outgrow their environment. Give your plants a new home and consider repotting not only as a method of promoting plant growth, but to also take the idea of plants as a design element to the next level.
Guided by our team, N26 participants learned how to take a plant from its original nursery pot, shake off the dirt, add new soil filled with fresh nutrients, replant it into a terracotta pot, and water it to make sure appropriate drainage was achieved. The lesson was well received – especially when participants were told they could take their newly repotted plants home.
A pothos is an easy plant to propagate to multiply your plant collection.
Participants carefully dusted off the original soil before placing the plant in its new pot.
Why workshops and why plants?
After the workshop, we spoke to N26 Berlin office manager Jolanta Bochen on what motivated her to want to organize the event and how employees responded to the learning opportunity.
“Since we started working with Plantclub I’ve been excited to bring closer employee cooperation opportunities. With Corona pushing people to work from home, I heard how many got a new pet or indoor plants. For that reason, plus my love for plants, I came to Plantclub with the idea. We also want to bring people back to the office so this kind of event shows that the office is a great space to get together and connect.”
The presence of plants in the workplace, whether it’s at-home or in-office, can provide stress relief, boost creativity, increase productivity, and provide stability and comfort. Workshop participants were not only excited to gain new plant care skills, but curious and inquisitive, looking past the base of information provided.
“It was amazing to see them really taking the class seriously and with interest. There were a lot of questions, willingness to get their hands dirty, and suggestions for more classes about plants,” Bochen added. “[It] proves that you never know what people would like to invest their time in, until you make a first move.”
Read more about employee retention and green workplaces here.
Forbes Coaches Council lists creating fun and collaborative workspaces as methods of improving employee morale. Workshops, where team members are on equal playing fields of learning new skills, can provide safe spaces for posing questions, bonding, and building trust.
With the normalization of hybrid work environments, cultivating a healthy setting in the office and at-home are equally important. Adding a Plantclub subscription to the workplace can not only elevate the office but also adds to an employee benefit platform, with our Employee Plant Store, where a wide selection of plants can be chosen online at discounted rates. And now with our workshops, participants will not only learn to care for plants, but also be able to communicate and collaborate with members of their team in a fun and creative space.
The participants were happy to learn they could take their potted plants home!
Interested in bringing a plant-themed workshop to your team? Contact us to book your seasonal team workshop.
Plantclub.io provides you and your colleagues with the benefits of plants, wherever you work. Rent office plants and transform your space into a green oasis, with flexible monthly membership options to suit your size. Diversify your employee perks with a dedicated company store, where you can give green gifts and your team can buy plants for their home office. Book a time to chat with us today.