Steven’s company set up a koi pond and a variety of money plants at Menara Matrade’s 20th floor

Home owners and corporate sectors are choosing an easier option to look green by turning to plant rental. ANUSHA K. finds out more from two experts

SOME of us are not born with a green thumb. the neighbour’s plants on the other hand, are flourishing. Guests are dropping by next week and some greens will help to spruce up your porch. So, why not rent a plant and it will be delivered to your doorstep within three working days.

According to Steven Siva, director of Emeral Vista Landscape in Taman Bukit Kinrara, Puchong, the convenience of renting plants and the ambience it provides are some of the reasons why home owners and the corporate sector rent plants.

The demand for plant rental has increased tremendously from five years ago. Steven says the cost of transportation, buying a plant and maintaining now cost more than rental. also, the chances of the plant not surviving within the first few months because of harsh conditions is high. Purchasing another plant will incur more cost as well. But for plants rented from his company, if any plant incurs a disease or dies, Steven instantly replaces them without a fee. some popular indoor plants requested are tropic snow, Japanese bamboo, raphis palm, yellow palm, money plant and monkey palm. Flowering plants are not very popular because they cannot thrive indoors with the air condition (especially in an office). However, fresh flowers can be supplied weekly (in a vase) to a house or hotel, if required and the flowers can be changed into a different variety every week if requested.

Daisies, for example, will not thrive indoors (at most, a month) but can last for two months if left outdoors. most of Steven’s plants come from his nursery in Puchong, but he also purchases exotic plants from Sungai Buloh and Johor. Clients are given a catalogue with a quotation available on the Web. Plants are sent to the client’s location and maintenance visits are planned according to the client’s schedule. besides rented plants, there are also requests for plants to be planted on the ground which are also maintained by the company.

All of Steven’s plants come with a topsoil (a mixture of different soils is used), rice husk and compost (which he does himself at the nursery) and is topped off with coconut fibre and fertiliser. some customers request for pebbles to be placed above the soil for a better appearance.

According to Steven, a plant can usually withstand indoors for about six months but he changes the plants (sometimes to a different variety) every four months to avoid the plant from incurring diseases or dying. all pots used are customised and clients can choose between claypot, plastic pots, baba pots or table pots (usually glass). These pots do not have holes at the bottom, so the water remains stagnant. the holes are barred to avoid staining of carpets and leakage from the bottom while also preventing mosquitoes from breeding.

Some plants require less water and some, more, so Steven installs a gadget in the soil, which is rooted in to maintain the water levels of the plant. Every time the plant is watered, the quantity of water is measured to avoid overflowing or leakage. for houses, monthly maintenance rates starts from RM200. Landscaping services can cost from RM10,000 and up (semi-d to bungalows) while a double-storey house will cost around RM4,000 (inclusive of plants and grass). Prices range from RM18 per pot for large pots (1.37m) and RM15 for medium-sized pots (up to 0.91m). the price is inclusive of maintenance — two visits a month complete with wedding, fertiliser, pruning, insecticide and fungicide, maintaining of lawn (if required) and using weed killer to ensure the area is clean and tidy. But for higher quantity of pots, for instance, 100 pots or more, it will only cost RM12 per pot. besides plant rental, the company also does fountains (for houses and office), koi ponds, landscape, cascading water features, gazebo, pagodas (wood house), swimming pool and even creating your own jacuzzi.

Another interesting feature is event themes, like a “jungle effect” for example, where the entire ballroom is turned into a jungle-like atmosphere. recently, for the Proton family day, Steven turned the interior of five canopies into a “graveyard”. Dead bodies were also created with sponge to enhance the gory effect. Day rental for plants are also available for example, if you host a dinner party by the poolside in your apartment, you can enhance the ambience by adding yellow palm trees and greenery for a “beach effect.” for 30 plants inclusive of transportation, it will cost between RM400 and RM500. Steven initially started out in computer programming in a landscape company but his disability (he was struck with polio since he was two) got in the way when he had to travel to different locations. he decided to venture out on his own, by starting his own landscape company with four staff. he now has 35 staff working for him and more than 400 clients. Steven’s passion for landscaping and plants has allowed him the luxury of having a driver to move around to his client’s premises when required. for more information on Emeral Vista landscape, e-mail steven.emeral@gmail.com or visit his Website at www.emeralvista.com Greener home DR Prakash Gurusamy, from Klinik Metro in Pusat Bandar Puchong resides in the Bandar Puteri Puchong residential area. his three-storey semi-d house is beautifully decorated. Initially, when he bought the property, the lawn was not well-maintained and filled with weeds.

Prakash says: “I heard about Emeral Vista and decided to engage Steven’s services for my lawn’s landscaping which led me to finding out about plant rental. As a person, Steven inspires me because of his disability. Yet, it never hindered him in progressing in his business.” Prakash’s lawn was landscaped and filled with Taiwan grass. different types of palms were planted and potted money plants were placed on the first floor. As the money plants cascaded to the ground, it gave an ethereal feeling.

Behind the house porch, under the staircase are a variety of potted plants. most are leafy plants, because Prakash prefers them to flowering ones.

Some of the yellow palms are planted on the ground but a scarlet red rose potted plant in the porch blooms gloriously. It lends a touch of femininity to the other leafy giant plants. It has been seven years since Prakash employed the services of a landscape company and he does it because of the convenience. the plant rotations also radiate a different ambience and there is no need to fuss over the plants. Both Prakash and his wife lead busy lives and barely have time to take care of their lawn. Emeral Vista comes by once a month for pruning, fertiliser (maintenance), cutting the grass and changing the plants. the maintenance service costs RM200 per month.

The satisfying results from Emeral Vista led to Prakash engaging Steven’s services for his clinic as well. most visitors to Prakash’s house or clinic are unaware that the plants are rented unless they ask him, only then the secret is unveiled! Serene office environment DATUK Hafsah Hashim, chief executive officer (CEO) of SME Corporation Malaysia uses the plant rental and maintenance service from Emeral Vista Landscape at her office at Menara Matrade, Kuala Lumpur. besides creating a greener image in the office, Hafsah also wanted a serene environment. So, the employees got together to purchase a few plants. But most of the plants lasted less than three months. Water from the pots also leaked and ruined the carpets. It was then that Hafsah decided to rent plants for the office. she realised that employees can concentrate on their core duties rather than fussing about the carpet or plants. also, the plants help to take the stress off, especially for her, as a CEO.

It’s been close to a year since SME started using Emeral Vista’s services. according to Hafsah, it’s a win-win situation as the company is providing business for a small corporation and at the same time, it has the privilege of a well-manicured indoor garden. the potted plants are placed on three floors in Menara Matrade and maintained by Steven’s company. on the 20th floor, there is a pond filled with big kois and a variety of potted plants surrounding the pond. there is also plastic grass placed by the arch of the pond and adorned with clay ducks. opposite the pond is a lounge area for staff. “this is some sort of a getaway for employees after a long day at work,” she says, pointing to the fishes that are swimming about. Maintaining the koi pond, filtration, fish food and the potted plants on the 8th, 15th, 19th and 20th floor cost SME around RM1,300 per month.

Lifestyle landscaping JUDE Raj has been in the landscaping and plant rental industry for about 13 years before setting up his own company, Absolute Gardens Sdn Bhd. It’s been three years since he started working on his own with 25 workers. some of his core business include plant rental where 99 per cent of his clients are from the corporate sector. most of the rented plants are green plants, because they generally thrive indoors. though a number of his clients are home owners, he believes that many home owners do not like plant rental because of the maintenance visits.

“When we rent the plants, besides placing them in the house, we also have to take care of the plant and do numerous maintenance visits. some owners are hardly at home, so it’s hard to schedule maintenance visits. Their privacy is also at stake as the workers are walking in and out of the house.” he adds.

Besides plant rental, the company also organises events setup where different themes are requested. Jude says the “in” theme especially for weddings and annual dinner is a Hawaiian night where large numbers of palm trees and colourful flowers are placed to enhance the theme. besides this, they also provide tentages (tent equipment) if required. In keeping with the latest trends in landscaping, home owners are now venturing towards lifestyle landscaping. this is where a gazebo is placed complete with fishes and fragrance plants to create a “neo Balinese concept”. Jude charges between RM15 and RM30 for potted plants inclusive of maintenance. Exotic plants cost between RM40 and RM80 per month which is inclusive of maintenance. Maintenance visits are done periodically and it involves pruning, trimming, wiping the leaves and feeding fertiliser.

All the rented plants come from his nursery in Sungai Buloh. some of the popular indoor plants are dracaena, yellow palmas and yucca. Seasonal ones are helicornias, marigold and tulips. To retain water in the plant, Jude places hydro beads into the soil. One of his faithful clients is Marc Service Residence in Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur. he supplies the rented plants for the lobby area and also maintains the potted plants around the porch. Apart from Marc Service Residence, his other clients include Wangsa Walk (shopping centre), F&N factory in Sungai Besi, the Yellow Pages and more.

Steven’s company set up a koi pond and a variety of money plants at Menara Matrade’s 20th floor