When people ask, "What do you do?", how do you respond? Do you say, "1 water plants" or do you go into a long explanation describing your many tasks? Just as medical technicians have job titles (radiologist for x-ray technician, or phlebotomist for the person who draws blood), plant care technicians also need titles to describe [...]
The Teamwork Challenge Most interiorscape technicians spend their day working by themselves. If your work style is similar, then you work with out constant supervision and rely on your own horticultural skills to get the job done. When you’re on your own, independence and self-reliance are critical skills. But when you’re assigned to a team, these [...]
Energy Tips for Interior Plant Technicians on the run or not! The demands of the holiday season — office parties that interfere with maintenance schedules, extra deliveries, late night installations and thousands of red poinsettias — place extra stress on your body and push your energy level to its limit. Before the extra demands creep into [...]
Colorful Heliconias Did you know? Heliconias are plant favorites! This bold tropical plant with large decorative leaves looks like a cross between a banana and a Spathiphyllum. The neat thing is that even in interiorscapes, they will bloom with very exotic looking flowers sure to thrill your clients! Heliconias in the wild Heliconia originally [...]
Dracaena marginata is prone to spider mites The month of May might bring up lovely images of fresh spring flowers for some people, but it also brings nightmarish pictures of multitudes of spider mites living on interior plants. When warm weather hits and the day length gets longer, mites are having a feast. Mites [...]
Some days, the difficulties of being in a customer service profession, like plantscaping can be overwhelming. Sometimes it feels like we can't ever fully satisfy our clients' needs. There are days when it can feel like each customer has too many plant problems and picky complaints that they all want to be solved NOW. You know [...]
Flowers have become associated with sentiments, often with the purpose of conveying amorous thought. In the 1600s in the ancient city of Constantinople (now called Istanbul), flowers gained meanings which enabled lovers to convey messages to each other without having to write or talk. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a celebrated letter-writer and society poet who, in [...]
Someone once told me that great managers treat their employees as they would their best customer. I have found this to be a concept that works well for everyone involved. Loyal dedicated employees are a company's greatest asset. Who better to promote your company to your clients than one directly associated with its workings and ideals? [...]
One of the most beautiful (and most expensive) orchids to use in interiorscapes is the Cymbidium orchid. Because of their expense, I always hope to get at least four weeks of bloom time out of them in an account. But sometimes that doesn't work out; in a week they are dropping all of their blooms. Do [...]
Everyone loves flowers. Their beauty and fragrance have made them an important part of human culture and therefore a critical part of the interiorscape business. From the plant's point of view, however, flowers are the key to survival itself. The beauty and fragrance we enjoy are part of an elaborate advertising system which encourages pollination, assures [...]
