November 27, 2024
Professional confessional: Interior plantscape
What do you wish the general public understood about interior plant care?
Not only do plants beautify indoor spaces, they also reduce stress, filter air pollutants, boost moods and increase creativity — making for a healthier, happier environment for all. Installing and maintaining interior plantscapes for commercial or residential clients requires deep knowledge about soil quality, plant nutrition, light conditions, pests and much more. Landscape Trades asked interior plantscape professionals to share their insights to help dispel the myths surrounding their specialty as they strive to maintain living walls, potted tropicals, seasonal and special event decor or other indoor biophilic features.
“Perhaps hospital common areas can have it, as it is supporting recovery. Bio-field is a part of healing and recovery. I wanted to work in this area but I was never chosen to be an employee of interior plantscaping and now I can work one day a week to learn and do this.” - EVA W.
“We are an intricate part of biophilic design in the interior built environment. We help people connect to nature where they spend the majority of their time — inside!
I wish the general public knew that we exist as an industry! I believe that most people walk by plants at the office or in the shopping mall and assume that the janitor looks after them or that they aren't real. They don't realize the years of experience and expertise it takes to properly install and care for indoor gardens and trees. Being an interior plantscape specialist means that we put the right plant in the right spot and care for it so it thrives for years in the same location. And, if it does start to decline or get old and tired looking, we'll replace it with a fresh plant at no extra charge; that's part of our guaranteed maintenance service. We not only provide plants in pots and built-in gardens, but we are also taking advantage of the vertical space by installing living walls and moss art on office and lobby walls.
Caring for interior plantscapes is a rewarding career because you get to look after plants year-round in a climate-controlled environment. We do not have the seasonality inherent to the outdoor companies trying to plant in such a short season. Our plants are available year-round and are mostly imported from Florida with some species coming from Hawaii. We get to nurture the plants and our soul by caring for foliage and flowers.
Some of our challenges are the environmental changes inside while the seasons change outside. For example, in the fall, the heaters in the buildings turn on, creating a very harsh, dry climate for our tropical plants that typically don't do well without humidity in the air. They dry out incredibly fast and are more prone to pests such as spider mites. Then, when the light levels drop in the winter from lack of sunshine, most plants tend to go dormant and can sometimes stop using water at all.
Another challenge is the cold winter air coming into lobbies and vestibules, especially through automatic entrance doors that stay open for a while. The freezing air pours in and can cause cold damage on foliage or, in severe cases, the wind can actually freeze the moisture in the leaves, making them turn black and mushy when they thaw.
Another challenge we are currently facing is access. Ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns, we have had difficulties entering offices. Many of our clients are on part-time remote work from home and, therefore, there is skeleton staff on Mondays and Fridays with Wednesdays being packed with meeting. On the pillar days, we have a hard time getting into the clients' premises at all and in the middle of the week, we can't get into some private offices and meeting rooms where the plants are located.” - HELLA K.
I wish the general public knew that we exist as an industry! I believe that most people walk by plants at the office or in the shopping mall and assume that the janitor looks after them or that they aren't real. They don't realize the years of experience and expertise it takes to properly install and care for indoor gardens and trees. Being an interior plantscape specialist means that we put the right plant in the right spot and care for it so it thrives for years in the same location. And, if it does start to decline or get old and tired looking, we'll replace it with a fresh plant at no extra charge; that's part of our guaranteed maintenance service. We not only provide plants in pots and built-in gardens, but we are also taking advantage of the vertical space by installing living walls and moss art on office and lobby walls.
Caring for interior plantscapes is a rewarding career because you get to look after plants year-round in a climate-controlled environment. We do not have the seasonality inherent to the outdoor companies trying to plant in such a short season. Our plants are available year-round and are mostly imported from Florida with some species coming from Hawaii. We get to nurture the plants and our soul by caring for foliage and flowers.
Some of our challenges are the environmental changes inside while the seasons change outside. For example, in the fall, the heaters in the buildings turn on, creating a very harsh, dry climate for our tropical plants that typically don't do well without humidity in the air. They dry out incredibly fast and are more prone to pests such as spider mites. Then, when the light levels drop in the winter from lack of sunshine, most plants tend to go dormant and can sometimes stop using water at all.
Another challenge is the cold winter air coming into lobbies and vestibules, especially through automatic entrance doors that stay open for a while. The freezing air pours in and can cause cold damage on foliage or, in severe cases, the wind can actually freeze the moisture in the leaves, making them turn black and mushy when they thaw.
Another challenge we are currently facing is access. Ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns, we have had difficulties entering offices. Many of our clients are on part-time remote work from home and, therefore, there is skeleton staff on Mondays and Fridays with Wednesdays being packed with meeting. On the pillar days, we have a hard time getting into the clients' premises at all and in the middle of the week, we can't get into some private offices and meeting rooms where the plants are located.” - HELLA K.