Plants in your listing

[Katie]

Having greenery in your home is very on-trend, but does it work within an STR?

I have quite a few plants at home, and they definitely help to give the place a green feel and enhance the mood. However, if you have an entire home listing then it might be harder to ensure you keep your plants looking healthy and watered without disturbing your guests.

It would be great to hear from you guys on your own experience: is it practical to have plants in your listing, or is it too much hard work? 

If you do have plants, what are your tips for caring for them from a distance?

[Laura2592]

We have an abundance of outdoor plants and occasionally I will buy plants instead of doing cut flowers for guests. I have a mini rose bush, a succulent, and some kind of flowering thing on the window sill by the sink. We only do very short stays ( a week or less) so we get over there often enough to disinfect that we can keep them going.

We have planter boxes on the porch which require a lot of watering. Every now and again we have to just start over with those because it gets hot and they dry out completely. We leave a watering can out there. Occasionally a guest will water the struggling plants but not often.

[Katie]

@Laura2592 I love the idea of getting plants for guests to change it up from fresh flowers sometimes. I have some roses outside in a window box too, and they seem relatively hardy with just a bit of water every so often. They even survived the recent heatwave! 🌹

Aw it's a shame guests don't think to water the plants, but I like your determination to replace them as I think it probably adds that extra touch to your (already lovely) listing 😊

[Huma0]

@Katie 

Whilst I have a lot of plants in my outdoor spaces, I've never been that successful with houseplants. I do have some orchids in communal spaces, such as the living room, one of the bathrooms etc. As a live-in host, I have easy access to those.

I did try them in one of the guest rooms too. However, with long-term guests, I don't get to access the bedrooms as often as when I had short-termers. I have put Christmas Cactus in one room though. I didn't think they would do so well because the room has levered shutters which the guests mostly keep closed, meaning there is light, but not much of it, plus I can't water them so often.

Turns out, that's exactly what Christmas Cactus likes. It doesn't need water too often and for many months of the year, doesn't want a lot of light. They have really thrived in there and flowered like crazy so might be a good option for people with whole home listings.

For those that aren't familiar, they look like this when flowering, but come in different shades (the ones I have are a much darker pink):

[Katie]

You've found the perfect low-maintenance listing plant @Huma0 😀  It's really pretty, and unusual too - do the guests ever comment on it at all? 

[Huma0]

@Katie 

No, unfortunately guests never comment on it at all. I have two in the bedroom I mentioned, in pretty pots. I had one guest who was staying for a few months. When I asked her if I could go into the room to water the plants, she responded, "What plants?".

It's amazing how unobservant some people are. The same guest came home one day to find another guest ironing. "Oh, we have an iron!," she said. "That's good to know."  The iron lives next to the sink and the ironing board next to the fridge in the kitchen that she had been using every day for two months.

[Katie]

Haha oh dear @Huma0 - I bet they still add to the overall atmosphere though. You have so many lovely plants in your outside spaces that I guess the houseplants take second place 🌼

[Helen427]

@Huma0Simple & Beautiful, some of my favourite colours.

Isn't nature amazingly intelligent?

[J-Renato0]

Hi Katie

I see you are a new CM, at least to me in this community. I have been a bit away. I am J Renato, I host in Rio.

My listings are entire space, flats.

Things must be pratical and easy to mantain.
True flowers and greenery are beatiful, but it is difficult to mantain.
So, in the listing I usually put here and there some small pot with artificial flowerers. I pick the ones up that appears more true and not tacky.
Of course anyone see it is artificial but I think It makes the apartment more cozy psicologicaly speaking or in terms of impression.

[Katie]

Hi @J-Renato0, great to meet you, and welcome back, I know you're a key member of the Community here. Yes, I'm here as Steph is on maternity leave (more about me here).

The artificial plants sound great - easy to maintain, and they do some really realistic ones nowadays, which I'm sure really help to give the same kind of feel to the spaces as a real plant (but without the work). I'm sure your guests love them 😊

[Robin4]

@Katie 

All the seedlings have been planted, the rose garden is starting to hit its straps, winter is behind us and now we just have to wait and look forward to summer. No color yet, but just wait till November, This garden is going to really blossom this year.

An update will be forthcoming!

Cheers..........Rob

[Katie]

You've worked so hard on it the past few months @Robin4 - it looks great. Can't wait to see it in full bloom!

[Linda-And-Richard0]

Hey @Katie  Our listing has plants in every room.  The large patio and back yard are full of ferns, ivy and philodendron.  Guest often leave with a cutting or start of some sort.   My husband and I live next door so care of plants is not a problem.  Guests are asked to no water plants, inside or out..  

[Katie]

Wow @Linda-And-Richard0 what a beautiful selection you have! If I were a guest at your place I'd be keen to get all the cuttings as your plants look great. 

Yes, I tend to only water my plants once a week at most, so I guess it's easy with short term guests to just ask them not to worry about it 😊

[Mark116]

Can someone give some suggestions on what are good plants that don't need much sun?

We had I think a 'corn' plant that we eventually had to remove because it didn't thrive, and then we had some type of ivy  that we also had to take out because it was dying, not from lack of water but lack of sun because the guests mostly keep the shades down during the day. 

[Ann783]

Look into Peperomias  @Mark116 - they are safe for pets - some  varieties can tolerate low light.