Today, on what is set to be one of the busiest days for summer travel, online plant retailer Patch has announced its new Plant Paramedic service – a dedicated plant revival service that will travel door to door, reviving houseplants that have been left high and dry when holidaymakers return from sunning themselves. The service has launched following a survey of over 10 thousand Brits by Patch, that revealed over a third (38%) of people admit to throwing away a plant after returning from holiday because it looked like it was dying.
And, as a sign of the emotional connection Brits have with our plants, a surprising 1 in 10 of us have admitted to holding a funeral for a deceased house plant.
In a time where money most certainly does not grow on trees, over half of plant owners surveyed (51%) said they are spending more than £10 a year replacing dead foliage, with a shocking 13% admitting to spending more than £50. Patch is on a mission to help the staggering 91% of people who wish to live a more sustainable lifestyle by saving their plants with the service as they call for people to dial vine-vine-vine* and book a visit from the Plant Paramedics.
The research also found that 40% of people wouldn’t feel confident identifying whether a plant has actually flatlined. To help teach plant parents how to spot the signs of a salvageable plant then treat it, Patch’s resident Plant Doctor, Richard Cheshire, has provided some top thirst-aid tips:
- Check the leaves: If your plant has yellow or drooping leaves, you might have watered it too much. If your plant has dry or curling leaves, it probably needs watering. If your plant has brown leaves or dead flowers, just snip them off. Pruning helps your plant focus its energy on producing new leaves and flowers, and keeps it looking tidy. Unfortunately, brown leaves are never coming back to life.
- Prevention over cure: Preventative measures are always better. Move your plants out of direct sunlight so that they’re less likely to lose water quickly. Huddle plants together: they’ll create their own humid microclimate.
- DIY hydration: Some DIY tricks are to cover your plant’s soil with wet newspaper, or dip one end of a wet rag into the soil and the other into a bowl of water. Your clever plant will suck up what it needs.
- Be gentle: When you get home from holiday, be gentle with your plants. Don’t try to overcompensate and give them too much water – just take it easy.
- Temperature check: Keep your plant at a steady temperature so it can recover from underwatering. If your home is the right temperature for you, it’s the right temperature for your plant.
- Call the Plant Doctors: If your plant has funny new spots, wilting leaves or bugs have moved in, Patch Plant Doctors are on hand to diagnose the problem and help with a solution. If you think your plant might have a disease or pests, quarantine it from other plants to stop the spread.
Founder and CEO of Patch Plants, Freddie Blackett, said: “Many plant owners see the telltale signs of a dying leaf and immediately reach for the bin, but it’s actually often possible to revive your plants by following some simple steps – that’s why we’ve created the Patch Plant Paramedics service to salvage your houseplants when you return from your holiday, rather than replacing them.”
The Plant Paramedics campaign will be running until the end of August, initially launching in London before rolling out to other cities. To add your foliage to the trans-plant list and book a visit from the Patch Plant Paramedics, go to https://www.patchplants.com/gb/en/plant-paramedics/.
