Are you heading to an expo or trade show and want your stand to stop people in their tracks?
Then, you've probably already figured out that greenery does the job like nothing else. It softens the hard edges of a booth, adds depth to a backdrop, and makes your brand look considered and premium, even in the middle of a convention centre.
Yet, the question most people arrive at our showroom with is how to make the whole thing easy, especially when you're exhibiting at multiple events throughout the year.
For this reason, we designed an artificial plant hiring program that’s been helping Australian businesses deck out their expo stands with faux green wall panels and decorative discs for years, and the questions we get are always the same.
So we've put together everything you need to know, from logistics to storage to what happens when you've got 3 events back-to-back and a wish to use the same artificial plants.
Keep reading for all the details.
Why Hire Artificial Plants for Your Expo Stand?
Expo stands are an investment. Between the floor space, the signage, the staffing, and the travel, the budget adds up fast.
The last thing you need is your stand looking flat or unfinished because you couldn't source decent decor at the venue city, or because the live plants you shipped in arrived wilted under fluorescent lights.
Artificial plant hire solves those problems completely. According to recent rade show research, 72% of attendees are more likely to buy from exhibitors they meet face-to-face at trade shows, which means your stand's first impression matters.
Artificial greenery gives you a polished, high-impact display that looks just as good at the end as it did at the start. Here's why so many of our customers hire artificial plants season after season.
Your stand won’t need any maintenance
Live plants under expo lighting, HVAC systems running full blast, and 3 days without watering is a recipe for disappointment.
But, artificial green walls and plant discs look identical at the end of the event to how they looked at setup. In turn, you get a consistently beautiful display for the full duration of the event, and you don't need to do a thing in between.
Besides, since our green wall panels are made with RealTex materials and hand-assembled for a lifelike finish, your booth guests won’t suspect a thing.
You don’t need plant certificates
If you're sourcing live plants to transport to an interstate expo, you need to brush up on Australia's interstate biosecurity rules. The Australian Interstate Quarantine regulations require Plant Health Certificates for moving plant material between states, which applies whether you're a business or an individual.
The penalties for non-compliance aren't trivial either.
Artificial plants are not subject to these rules. They're inert materials, so you can transport them anywhere in Australia without paperwork or inspections. For businesses that exhibit in multiple states throughout the year, this alone makes artificial hire a great call.
You can reuse your faux plants
One of the most practical advantages of hiring for a window of time rather than a single event is what happens in between. If you've got 3 expos over 6 weeks, you don't need to return the panels and re-hire each time.
Instead, they can sit in storage at your end between events. When you need them again, you can bring them out a few days later for event 2 in exactly the same condition.
This changes how you should think about the hire period when you enquire with us. Rather than booking just for the days of one expo, think about your full events calendar for the season.
If you're doing multiple shows over the coming months, a longer hire window that covers the whole campaign may be more cost-effective and far easier to coordinate than separate hire bookings for each event.
Talk to us about your events schedule, and we'll help you structure the hire in a way that makes sense for your specific situation.
What to Expect When You Hire Artificial Plants
We want the process to be completely straightforward, especially if it's your first time hiring with us. Here's how it works in practice:
- Visit our Melbourne showroom: Our showroom is where most of our expo hire customers start. You can see the panels in person, get a feel for the quality, and talk through your stand configuration with our team. We can help you find products that look impressive under expo lighting and show you how to get the most impact.
- Choose your fauxliege and accessories: With the help of our team, you can pick your favourite faux green wall panels, discs, or artificial trees. We can also give you a few tips for mixing and matching fauxliege so that your display looks more real. If you want to customise your decor, we’ll also point you toward our faux stem collection.
- Decide on hiring timelines and fees: Next, we expect you to give our team a brief overview of your expo schedule so that we can ensure all plants needed for hire are available for the entire duration. We’ll also talk about the cost and conditions of the hire. We'll also be clear about return condition expectations upfront. Our panels are robust, but we ask that they come back clean and in the same condition they left in.
- Ask your questions: Before you leave, we recommend asking a few clarifying questions so that we make sure we’re on the same page. Our team will be there to answer every question, so use that to ensure things are moving the way you want them to.
Who Is Artificial Plant and Green Wall Hire Best Suited For?
Hiring artificial plants and artificial green walls makes a lot of sense for a wide range of businesses. Since we’ve been in the business for over 2 decades, we've seen everything from solo traders at market-style expos through to large corporate teams at major convention centre events.
Here's who tends to get the most out of hiring:
Businesses on the Australian Expo Circuit
If you exhibit at 2 or more expos per year, hiring decor is almost always the smartest option.
With Designer Plants, for example, you get professional, consistent greenery at every event without the logistics nightmare. The panels travel with you, store without fuss, and your brand presentation stays consistent from Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane.
With hundreds of trade fairs and expos running across Australia each year, there's no shortage of opportunities for businesses that exhibit regularly.
First-time exhibitors
If you've never exhibited at an expo before, hiring faux plants can be your low-commitment way of testing what works for your stand before you invest in purchasing.
You'll come away from your first event knowing exactly which panels and plants suited your booth size, what configuration worked, and how the products performed. That's valuable knowledge before you decide to buy for any future exhibitions.
Businesses with storage constraints
Not every business has a warehouse.
If you're working out of a small office or a home studio, storing a full set of green wall panels or 5 large potted trees between events isn't always practical.
Hiring artificial plants and greenery solves that problem easily, as you collect your decor when you need it and return it when you're done. This way, there’s no long-term storage required on your end - a one-and-done situation.
Finishing Thoughts
Come into our Melbourne showroom and see the range in person. In our experience, that's the best place to start.
Our team will help you choose the right panels and discs for your stand size and style, and we'll talk through your events calendar so the hire works for your whole season.Browse our full green wall panel range online, or get in touch directly to discuss hire availability and pricing. We're a 100% Australian owned business, and our team loves helping businesses put their best stand forward