NOW, ARRANGING a tropical paradise in your own house or office is within your reach. And, all the more, maintaining it is hassle free. Artificial plants, with intricate leaf veins, perfectly sculpted petals and unfurling buds, imitating real indoor plants, are in.

The concept of using foliage to liven up indoors has been in vogue for the past many decades. Houses, shopping centres and offices are coming up with pre-designed spaces for placing plants, though most designers had looked down upon the use of artificial trees and plants for home décor. However, special needs of the bourgeoning middle class and arrival of quality products in the market have brought about a sea change in attitude. Artificial plants today form an integral part of the home décor in most middle-class houses. The worst part of having real indoor plants is their grooming. It is different from gardening outside. With reduced light, restricted root growth, small quantities of water and nutrients and lack of moisture from the air, these plants are entirely dependent on man. Potted flowering plants can bring colour inside, but they also cause bouts of allergy to many. They bring in bugs, insects and mites to your house. The yellow leaves have to be removed, long creepers have to be pruned and brown tips have to be cut off.

Says M.M. Philip, builder and architect, who runs an interior accessory shop, Inlays, in Kottayam: "It [selling artificial plants] is good business. Demand is mostly from households and independent small offices."

The first to make inroads into the State's artificial indoor plant market were the Chinese. They came with plastic plants, and the first big hit was artificial Christmas trees. Even today, the Chinese dominate the low-end market. The middle segment of the market is dominated by products from Italy. Often leaves, flowers, buds and runners are imported from Italy and, along with treated tea and coffee stubs or roots of uprooted trees, put together locally. The items which sell the most are bougainvillea, jasmine, rose, hibiscus and violet.

An artificial `Vishukkani' is not far off. Italian `Kanikkonna' is the latest craze of middle-class Malayali houses. To add variety, shops are stocking artificial bonsais and colourful orchids. You can have potted artificial plants and permanent flower arrangements. Artificial ferns and bamboos are also in demand. Prices vary from Rs. 200 to Rs. 6,000 apiece, depending on the size and quality of the product. A 120-cm-tall fake bamboo cost just Rs. 300, while some of the flower arrangements are cheaper.