So 2017 seems to be a banner year for the tropical plant nurseries in the sunshine state.

The problem is most of the “Mom and Pop” nurseries have closed down.  Some of them because the owners just got old and their families did not want to take them over so they sold or leased the land to a larger grower. Plus there are some bacterial infections in certain types of plants e.g.  rubber plants and snake plants, they are available but hard to find in larger sizes. Then we can thank HGTV for always featuring the Lyrata plant in most of the homes they show.

I’ve been doing this since 1975 and the only time it was this hard to find tropical plants was back during Hurricane Wilma and before that Hurricane Andrew.  I called last week to find 10 big ficus lyrata, NONE. So if a plant rental company was looking to rent them they would not be available

Luckily at Spring Valley Floral we have them in stock. Yes we have 50 in stock at 9 foot+ and 12 of the bush variety at 5 foot.  At our Las Vegas location we have 32 of the 9 foot and 20 of the 6 foot.  Both of these are tree form, plus hundreds of other varieties, from Arboricola to extra large white birds of paradise.

Then we get to the palm trees.

Robellini palms like the ones we used 2 years ago at the Rock In Rio event in Las Vegas, the ones pictured here, are around 9 feet tall. This year the average height is 7 feet tall. We can find them, it’s just that height is an issue.  Good thing this event is not happening this year because we would not have been able to supply this product in these sizes.

 

 

Hedges, let’s talk about hedges. They are a great way of creating “private space” any where within you exhibit or Ballroom, or Convention space. The hedges are nominal 6 feet long by 6 feet tall by 13″ deep. they are self standing and you can put them side to side to make long runs without seeing between them.

So if you’re having an event and need to block off part of the room you might want to consider using these, they rent for $200 each plus delivery.

there are different ways to use them. See the samples below. These hedges are available in our NY and Las Vegas warehouses. We have about 180 running feet in each location.

We also have smaller hedges at our Las Vegas warehouse, they are 3 feet tall by 4 feet long by 13″ deep. You can make an aisle or similar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So your at a Tradeshow or convention and realize there are some ugly cords in the corner that you would rather not see, or there are some support pieces that you do not want anyone to trip over. The easiest way to cover it is to just block it with something. A rental plant is a great solution. All you need to do is call the florist for the show and have them deliver it directly to your exhibit, then at the end of the show they pick it up. It would probably cost between $35-50. We all know it might be less money to go to Home Depot and pay $18 for a plant, but did you think about the $12 container the plant goes into? or getting it from your car or a $40 taxi  to the booth? the time it takes you when you need to be setting your exhibit. Also with cut flowers, we charge $66 for our small bouquet, if you go to a local florist you would pay the same thing and then they would charge $15 for delivery,  or you would need to hand carry it from your vehicle to the booth which is very inconvenient.

So next time you see that wire, or the monitor is too low and someone might hit there head on it,  just put a plant under it to people from walking into it. Most people that attend Conventions and Tradeshow are not expecting to run into a monitor.

We have been doing plant rentals since 1956 when they opened the NY coliseum. Since then we have serviced thousands of exhibitors and rented tens of thousands of plants. Since tradeshows, conventions and private/corporate events is all we do, it is easy to stay focused on the industry and trends.

Back from Orlando, did a big job for a great group of people. This was our first time doing Plant Rentals at that location, the Swan and Dolphin Resort in Disney.  So happy we had Rich Barnes with PG plants to help us out. The client just told us where they wanted plants and we made the rest happen.  The best part is everything worked out good. It took 9 men 12 hours to set this plant rental. The room had many columns and our plants covered them. It might have been easier to cover them with drape, but the plants looked so much better.

Getting ready for another vision expo! tulips and phalaenopsis orchid!