Now that you have your plant displays installed, you will want to keep them looking their best for as long as possible.  They are, after all, an asset to the building and may have been installed to promote a certain image.  That image should not be compromised by neglect.

Maintaining interior plant displays is a job for a specialist - it is not simply a matter of watering and it is not the same as looking after houseplants or a domestic garden.

Most professionally installed interior plant displays are set up in such a way that routine maintenance can be carried out quickly, efficiently and without causing too much disruption to the day-to-day work of the people in the building.

The core disciplines involved in maintaining interior plant displays are as follows.

• Watering
• Feeding
• Cleaning and grooming
• Pruning
• Pest management

All of these disciplines must be carried out in such a way as to ensure that it is safe for the person doing the job as well as any other people in the building at the time.

Site, task and product risk assessments must be carried out.  Any reputable interior landscaping contractor will be able to provide documentary evidence of a health and safety management programme that covers these issues, as well as showing that their personnel have been properly trained.  More information on health, safety and the environment can be found in module 4 of this course.

Click on the links below to find out more about the principles and methods employed to carry out interior plant maintenance.

Watering

Feeding

Cleaning and grooming

Pruning

Pest management

Further information is also available in module 3 of this course and in the technical data section of the Specifiers' guide.