Care & Lifespan
Ten minutes a season, and that is the whole routine
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
No water, no feeding, no pruning, no repotting. What an artificial botanical does need is dust removed before it settles into the weave, and light managed so the dye holds its colour. Both take about ten minutes a season.
| Task | How often | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Dust the foliage | Every 3–4 weeks | Dry microfibre cloth |
| Clear dense arrangements | Every 6–8 weeks | Hairdryer on cool, at arm's length |
| Reshape and rotate | Monthly | Hands, and a soft brush for velvet |
| Deep clean | Twice a year | Slightly damp cloth, air dry only |
| Seasonal storage | If rotating pieces | Original carton, acid-free tissue |
Dust first, always
Dust is the only thing that genuinely ages real-touch foliage. Left long enough it works into the weave, dulls the sheen that makes a leaf read as living, and turns a cream stem grey at the tips. A dry microfibre cloth, worked from the top branch down, lifts it in a couple of minutes; a hairdryer on cool gets into the gaps a cloth cannot reach.
For a deeper clean, wipe leaves with a cloth that is barely damp and let the piece air dry completely before it goes back in place. Never soak a stem, never use alcohol, acetone or an abrasive cleaner, and never put foliage in a dishwasher — all four strip the surface finish permanently. Velvet and flocked leaves should be brushed, not wiped.
Light, and why it matters more than cleaning
Our foliage is UV-stabilised and tested to ASTM G154 and ISO 4892-3 for 500 hours of accelerated exposure, with a colour shift of ΔE 2.0 or less — no visible greying. That covers normal indoor light and a covered porch. It does not cover a south-facing windowsill in direct summer sun for eight hours a day, which will eventually bleach any dyed surface, real or artificial.
The practical rule: keep the piece a metre back from glass that takes direct afternoon sun, and turn it a quarter turn once a month so no single side is always in the window. Rooms that get only diffuse light need no management at all. If colour does shift within the guarantee period, our colour guarantee covers it.
Reshaping
Stems have a wire core, so they bend back. Arrangements compress in transit and in tight corners; open the foliage outward with your hands, bend the main stem back to vertical, and lift any head that has drooped. Do this when the piece first arrives and again after storage.
Seasonal storage
If a piece comes down between seasons, store it upright if you can — a wardrobe corner or a tall cupboard — rather than flat, which flattens the foliage. The original carton is the right box: it is sized to the piece and the tissue protects the dye surface. Do not wrap foliage in newspaper, which transfers ink, and do not store in a damp basement or a hot loft; both encourage mildew and adhesive failure.
Commercial and high-traffic spaces
Hotels, restaurants and showrooms need the same routine at a shorter interval: dust every two weeks in lobbies where doors open constantly, and rotate quarterly where a piece sits beside glass. Every material we supply is tested to NFPA 701 and ASTM E84 for flame spread, and the reports are on the testing page if your fire officer needs them.
How long it lasts
With the routine above, expect eight to ten years indoors before the dye softens noticeably; outdoor covered use is closer to three to five. Weighted pots and wire cores outlast the foliage, so a piece is usually replaced for colour rather than structure.