If you are going on holiday and don’t want to leave behind your plants, then Dubai Garden Centre has organised its first “summer camp” for plants. They “promise” to keep them busy with story-telling and music sessions, even group therapy, so they can interact with each other. The plants will be given proper nutrition and on time, and you will receive regular e-mails on how your plant is doing at the camp.
And it won’t cost you anything.
“We were approached by this concept of ‘summer camp’ for plants by our customers,” explained Karen Mascarenhas, the social media manager for the centre. “Over the last few years we’ve had several customers asking us if we had any services to take care of plants [while they went on holiday]. And we always had to say ‘no’, even though we felt bad because [as a garden store] it’s in our blood to take care of plants and help our customers that way. Finally we decided to have one this year and it kicked off amazingly”.
When tabloid! visited the Plant Lounge at Dubai Garden Centre, there were about 25 plants.
“A few are from the same species but we have a wide variety [of plants to take care of]. We have a dedicated team that constantly looks after the plants. We can take plants up to 1.5 metres and no sick plants”.
Everyone loves a bit of fresh, green colour in their home. But with busy lifestyles and harsh weather, we don’t always realise plants face issues too.
“We are looking to take care of your plants. Our aim is for people to understand how important plants are to our life style. We want them to understand how it’s always very nice to wake up in the morning and see something green welcoming you. [Plants] are exactly like your pets. You need to take care of them, feed them right and at the right time,” explained Mascarenhas. “The Plant Lounge is an area which isn’t exposed to direct sunlight but receives the right amount and where plants are watched over every day. They receive the right nutrition, watering, potting services and whatever else they need”.
If you can’t take the plants to the centre, care is available at home, but the services may be charged, said Mascarehnas. Each species of plants has its own needs and she advises to be aware of these, especially during summer.
“It’s of utmost importance that you read up about your plant. You need to know its basic sunlight and water requirements. Mostly people think that because it is summer you should keep the plants in air conditioning or have a constant breeze blowing on it. It’s not something that’s recommended because your plant doesn’t need that kind of temperature. It actually survives in humid temperature of about 23-25 degrees celsius. Plus, different plants have different water requirements. Cactus, for example, needs lesser.
“Most would need watering at least once or twice a week, not every day, and more importantly they need their iron tonic. This is something most people don’t know about. I too learnt of how important iron and nutrients are for plants after coming to the Dubai Garden Centre. Also keep the plants away from the window as direct sunlight is not recommended as the leaves start turning yellow.”
The Dubai Garden Centre plant summer camp runs until August 30. For more information about plants and the summer camp, log on to dubaigardencentre.ae
Plants recommended for this region
Indoor:
1. Howea fosteriana or Kentia Palm
2. Dracaena massangeana
3. Phaleonopsis
4. Anthurium
5. Dracaena Marginata
Outdoor:
1. Ixora
2. Gardenia
3. Jasmin Sambac
4. Desert Rose
5. Hibiscus
Summer plants to keep
“I would recommend cactus. There is such a wide variety of them, they come in different sizes and they look beautiful. It’s no longer just the dark green with spikes. Plus, they are easy maintenance. Then there’s the bonsai. They are highly recommended as they’ve been proven to be good for your health. They help in [reducing] fatigue and common cold”.