Interior Plantscape Q&A
What products and services does PLANTZ provide?
We provide an array of horticultural services and specialize in specifying, installing, and maintaining foliage plants and planters in interior spaces. Along with that, we also offer plant & moss walls, plants for rooftop container gardens, traditional landscaping services, plant rentals perfect for any event, and holiday decor installations.
Should I purchase or rent plants?
Depends. The foliage industry got started with customers purchasing plants and planters and then having a service company care for and warranty them. Although it’s still used, it is no longer the primary method for establishing a plant program. Most customers prefer renting from us whereby we package the plants, planters, service, and warranty into a manageable monthly fee. If you purchase plants from us, you’ll end up paying a higher fee to start; but your monthly fee will be lower, and, of course, the plants are yours to keep. If you rent, there will be a much smaller initial set-up fee and your monthly amount will be slightly higher. Under a rental, we retain ownership of the plants and planters.. Regardless if you purchase or rent, the plant warranty is in place to ensure fresh plants at all times.
What is covered under the plant guarantee/warranty?
Sometimes it’s called a plant guarantee and sometimes it’s called a warranty – we call it our “plant promise”. Regardless of what you call it, we guarantee you’ll have plants that continue to enhance your interior space. Our enthusiastic team of plant lovers will visit you on a programmed schedule to care for your plants and keep them in top shape. And when a plant does fall below a predetermined aesthetic threshold, it is whisked away and replaced with a vibrant new plant (of similar shape, size, and light tolerance) at no additional cost to you. That’s our plant promise and guarantee – all designed to keep you happy.
How often will a plant specialist visit me?
The plant service interval is typically 14 days. It differs from the old plant maintenance paradigm – “how often do plants need to be watered?”; and the old solution – “weekly”. That’s just not the case. We employ sub-irrigation techniques that allow plants to “drink” from a reservoir below the plant and we adjust soil moisture (aka “water your plants”) as often as it’s needed. Some plants need a lot of water and they’re set up on sub-irrigation while others can go up to two months without additional water. We know the difference, and our plant care technicians adjust appropriately during scheduled service visits. All that said, some engagements do require weekly or even daily service. These more frequent visits are usually for customers in the hospitality industry that have higher maintenance blooming plant displays. With any proposal from PLANTZ, we will outline the expected service interval upfront.
What does my service include?
When you subscribe to our service a trained plant specialist will visit you regularly to water, fertilize, clean, dust, and prune/trim your plants. Installed plants are preventatively treated for pests and disease prior to being delivered to you, so there’s rarely an issue. We also clean the containers and spruce up the moss as needed. With our plant promise, any plant that declines in appearance will be changed out with a new one at no additional cost to you. In the event a plant is damaged (it occasionally happens) by your staff or your customers, it will be replaced and charged to your account (with prior approval, of course). Most importantly, our service includes a friendly and helpful plant care technician who will discretely service your plants while quietly spreading green happiness.
Why aren't the prices posted online?
With a multitude of varying factors – number of plants, light levels, temperatures, customer location, and water source proximity – we customize each of our engagements so that the right plants are placed in the desired locations. There’s also purposeful consideration for the type, style, size, and color of the planters and these are typically selected by customers during the sales process and site evaluation. All these factors combined make it really, really tough to set pricing and advertise it. We do have a minimum of $150/month that makes it economically feasible to deliver services in most locations.
How do I get started?
Whether your vision for interior plants is modest or extravagant, it all starts with a phone call or email message to PLANTZ – or simply fill out our web form here. Once a request is received, one of our design specialists will visit your place of business to best understand your vision for how plants will fit into your overall interior design. Many times, we work directly with customers’ interior designers and planners for an integrated approach that effectively marries the fixtures and furnishings with the best plants and planters. During the process, we will suggest the best plants that will work well within your space and under your lighting conditions. We can even employ digital imaging to show you how plants will look in your space. After that, you will receive a proposal clearly outlining the initial and ongoing monthly costs. With your approval, we’ll put it all together for you and deliver it to you – usually within two weeks of approval (although we have performed plant miracles before and delivered a lot faster than that).
What if I want to pick out my own planters?
We offer a wide range of planters to choose from, but sometimes customers like to pick out planters from sources not allied with PLANTZ. This is okay, but does require some additional coordination, especially if you’re working with an interior design firm to procure planters. Style, shape, color, and finish are important to the overall appeal of the way plants are presented and match other interior furnishings and fixtures; but it’s the size of the planter that is the limiting factor for us. And, in particular, it’s the inside diameter sizing that’s most important. There is a relationship between the inside diameter of a planter and the size of the plant that can be used in a planter. So, the bigger the desired plant, the larger the inside diameter of the corresponding planter will need to be. Foliage plants are grown in somewhat standard sized pots – or growpots – of 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14”, and 17” (there are bigger growpots, but these are most common). Therefore, if you want a 5’ tall plant that comes in a 14” growpot, the inside diameter of the planter should be at least 15”. When we coordinate the plants and planters together in a program, the planter size is prescribed with the size of the plant; if you or your interior designer select the planters, it’s important to have us consult on the sizing to ensure the desired plants and planters fit together.
What if I want to add or remove plants from my program?
No problem. Plants and planters can be added or removed to/from your established program. Just let us know. We’ll let you know the additional or reduced cost – once we agree on that, we’ll take it from there and adjust the program accordingly.
What is your billing cycle and what payment methods do you accept?
We typically invoice monthly on the first day of each month – although other intervals can be arranged. We accept checks from customers within expected time frames and many customers allow us to keep their corporate credit cards on file for easy billing. We’re pretty flexible, but we always try to make billing as seamless and easy as possible.