Have you ever wondered if keeping live plants in your home or office is worth the time and effort it takes to maintain them? Having greenery inside an office space can make that space as comfortable and familiar as being in one's own home.
But maintaining live plants can be an expensive misuse of your office staff's time and energy, because of the extra responsibilities of feeding and watering the plants and keeping them in the proper light.
When a live plant starts to wither and die, your clients will take note of its unattractiveness.
Insects and bugs are attracted to live plants, which can also shed negative light on your office in general.
Your clients with allergies can be affected by the allergens that some plants exude, and that can make them uncomfortable sitting in your office.
And live plants still need to be cleaned occasionally.
Live plants stay alone on the weekends or while you're on vacation if you don't hire someone to come in and take care of them.
Silk plants are a popular alternative to their living counterpart.
It doesn't matter where they are placed in your office and they don't need to be watered.
They maintain their beauty with an occasional feather dusting or with a silk plant cleaner.
They are hypo-allergenic and ensure that your clients with allergies will be comfortable when they visit your office.
There are no insects or bugs to worry about.
They will never outgrow the space they are in, and there is no mold or mildew build up, which can trigger allergies.
If an artificial plant starts looking ragged after five or ten years, it can always be replaced with a newer, more modern plant.
The initial investment in silk plants is worth the additional cost, which can be spread over many years instead of one or two.
Consider the savings in time for your office staff.
And consider that the artificial plants manufactured today are so realistic you may not be able to tell the difference between your best live plant and a good silk plant.
New methods of silk plant production include the "Real Touch" process, made with a PVC compound, which makes the leaves of the plant extremely realistic and soft to the touch, hence the name.
The new technologies do make silk plants more lifelike than ever, and so the case can be made, for economic and social reasons, that silk plants make a truly efficient, clean and healthy office environment.