Potted Plants

Yes, everything in this range is supplied potted. Smaller products such as the 35 centimetre single stem phalaenopsis orchid arrive in a decorative pot that suits a benchtop straight away. Larger specimens like the 150 and 180 centimetre bamboo are supplied in a plain nursery pot intended to drop inside a decorative planter, so allow a centimetre or two of clearance on each side when you choose one.

Yes, the two terms cover the same products. What separates one potted plant from another is not the label but the build: whether the leaf carries colour variation across the specimen, whether the surface has a real touch texture as the bamboo and dracaena forms here do, and whether the plant is dense enough to read as full from the side rather than only from the front.

Between 100 and 140 centimetres works for most Australian living rooms, since the foliage then sits above the back of the sofa without crowding a side table. The 120 centimetre areca palm and the 120 centimetre split leaf monstera are common choices for that spot. Push to 150 centimetres and above only where the ceiling is high or the plant is standing alone in a corner.

A tree is built around a trunk or cane that carries foliage at height, usually from one metre upward, and it is a vertical object first. A potted plant is defined by its pot and its foliage mass, and it can be anything from a 35 centimetre orchid to a 140 centimetre philodendron. If you want a canopy and a visible trunk line, the artificial trees range is the one to browse.

Only those listed as UV resistant. In this range that includes the natural cane bamboo at 150 centimetres, the potted topiary trees at 120 and 150 centimetres, and the potted yucca grass. Those carry UVTex, with the inhibitor bonded inside the leaf material. An indoor specimen such as the calathea or the fiddle fig will lose colour if it is left in direct sun.

The real touch products, where the leaf surface is textured rather than smooth, hold up best under inspection. The 150 centimetre premium bamboo, the multi head dracaena at 130 centimetres and the dense monstera forms all use that finish. Plants with a visible cane or trunk, such as the natural cane bamboo and the 125 centimetre olive with fruit, also benefit from structure that reads correctly at close range.

Weight the base. A 180 centimetre specimen such as the premium black bamboo has most of its mass in the upper foliage, so a heavy ceramic or concrete outer planter, or a layer of stones packed around the nursery pot, keeps it stable in a hallway or a doorway where people brush past.

Dust the upper leaf surfaces with a soft cloth every few weeks, working outward from the trunk on the broad-leaf forms such as the monstera and the bird of paradise, where dust shows most. Outdoor-rated pieces can be rinsed. Nothing needs watering, feeding or repotting, and worn-out specimens can be returned through the Designer Plants artificial greenery recycling programme.