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These folks thrive on plant TLC Medford firm offers full care By JULIE SWENSEN BUSINESS CARD Name : Forever Green Interiors Service : Larry Wicklund and Annie Walters of Medford Employees : Four technicians who maintain the plants Services provided : They maintain plants and advise on the best ones for public spaces Phone number : 772-9567 Plant care to some people may mean just watering them. Not to the folks at Forever Green Interiors, a Medford plant maintenance and sales business. Customers' plants are fertilized, groomed and dusted as well as watered. Plant technicians will even cover the soil with decorative moss. "Most people think it's just watering, but there's a lot more to it than that," said Larry Wicklund, who owns the business with his wife, Annie Walters. Walters and Wicklund, who live in Medford and both used to work in engineering, started Forever Green Interiors out of a garage in April 1988 with one technician. Their home-based business now has four permanent part-time technicians serving about 100 customers in the Rogue Valley. Some people call Forever Green Interiors if they're going on vacation and need someone to water their plants. Others call wanting plants for a specific purpose, such as dramatic decor or absorbing toxins in the air. The couple also field questions about plant care. "A lot of people are afraid to prune their own plants," Wicklund said. Those looking for new plants can view a portfolio of plants and a variety of containers from Fiberglas to brass. Once the plants arrive from the supplier, Forever Green Interiors workers clean them before sending them to a customer. Cleaning and dusting plants, the couple says, is important in order for a plant to absorb light and breathe. Forever Green Interiors sells silk plants, too, and also blooming plants such as begonias and mums for some color. The cost? Personal consultation, or a "sick plant call," has an hourly rate of about $30. Proposals and estimates are free. The charge for weekly plant maintenance depends on the number of plants, their size, their location and whether they're personal plants or Forever Green Interior's guaranteed plants. Walters said a ballpark figure for eight to 10 average-size plants is probably around $60-$65 a month for the weekly service. Forever Green Interiors is about more than just care. Walters said plants are an inexpensive way to soften corners and fill a void -- an aspect of decor they can help with. More and more, when a new office building is built, a plant budget is part of the process, Walters said. She and Wicklund worked with the interior decorator of the new Skyline Plaza at Rogue Valley Manor, where Forever Green Interior's plants can be seen throughout the complex. In the dining area, where the decorator wanted something "bold and exotic," sits a bird of paradise plant upon the couple's recommendation. Wicklund said people think of their business as a "big-city business" and that most people in Medford wouldn't recognize the term interiorscaping -- the inside version of landscaping. While Medford has been a little slower than other cities in that regard, they say residents' interest is catching on. "We'll be ready for them," Walters said. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA