.sflb)
Las Vegas comes to Brighton!
Imagine a replica plant and many of us immediately think of a dusty old plastic plant, looking unlike any real plant we know. And replica plants for outdoors? Forget it - they’re just mildew covered plastic plants that turn a strange fluorescent colour in the sun aren’t they? So when Brighton Marina were advised by interior and exterior landscaping specialist PHS Greenleaf that replica plants were the best solution for their windy outdoor Waterfront, understandably they were a bit apprehensive.
Replica plants have come a long way in recent years though, and nowadays a simple touch test will usually determine if they’re real or fake. With so many fantastic designs available, replica plants can also satisfy our changing horticulture tastes for tropical plants in our not so tropical climate.
Replica palms – or to be more accurate, preserved palms - have been a speciality of PHS Greenleaf, for many years. The company has installed these big beauties in shopping and leisure centres in as far away places as Dubai, Marseille and Turkey. Look closely and you’ll also see that the splendid avenue of tropical palms in Manchester’s Trafford Centre are, in fact, preserved palms.
Derek Brown PHS Greenleaf’s Southern Regional Manager who managed the project explains: “Preserved plants are an ideal solution for areas where live planting just won’t thrive. Indoors, it’s often because the area is too dark or lacking in natural light for plants to survive, and sometimes security issues may prevent us having access to maintain live plants.”
“In Brighton Marina’s case, our client X Leisure, who manage the Waterfront, really wanted a tropical feel to improve the look of the area but we were concerned that real palm trees would take such a battering in the windy conditions they wouldn’t survive long. So instead we installed 15 preserved Phoenix Date Palms measuring 20ft (6mtrs) high in the Marina Waterfront. The palm heads are wind tolerant to 80 miles per hour! So far the reaction we’ve had from the public has been great.
Some people would still prefer live palms but unfortunately with our British climate, they wouldn’t survive very long. This way we’ve been able to provide a planting solution that looks stunningly different for the Waterfront, and one that will continue to turn heads long into the future, in spite of its windy and exposed location”.
X-Leisure Project Manager Barrie Parkman commented: “Preserved palms sounded a bit unusual when PHS Greenleaf first suggested them for the Waterfront, but as I was aware of other schemes using preserved palm planting that Greenleaf had already done, I was confident that their idea would work. We are delighted with the street planting and the palms have certainly been a talking point in the town!”
Preserved palms are in fact real palms. The trunk is part of a real palm tree cut down and preserved in special fluid to keep it looking fantastic whilst the palm fronds are usually either silk or a special plastic suitable for outdoor use. That’s why the palms look so realistic. They’re also very versatile in that the hollow trunk is ideal for installing lights or security cameras.
PHS Greenleaf is one of only a handful of companies in the UK who have the technical experience to erect preserved palm trees above 1.8 metres. Specialist equipment such as cherry-picker machines are required for large palm installation, along with method statements and risk assessments provided as standard.
Shopping centres are the main customers for these palms in the UK but Greenleaf is seeing a trend towards palms being used in more traditional office buildings and specified in bespoke interior corporate projects, as the British public’s taste becomes ever more exotic.