Tropical Plant Rentals evolved from a small plant hire run purchased in 1977 by our founder and current Managing Director, Stuart Swaddling who started  a small wholesale nursery called Stuart James Nursery.  Since those early days the plant hire business has grown steadily in the area of indoor foliage plant installation and maintenance. In 1989 it was decided to change the name to reflect more the nature of the business; thus Tropical Plant Rentals was born. At the same time the size of the client base was such that a new business plan and structure was needed to ensure clients received the best possible service. In 1990 the business was completely scrutinised and work procedures written and Tropical Plant Rentals commenced franchising it’s services to clients. Staff and family members were the first Franchisees, and once the system was proven more Franchisees were welcomed aboard.  Today we have a National network of 36 Franchisees who care directly for the plants installed in their customer’s offices. This franchising organisation ensures that our clients are always able to deal directly with the business owner. This has ensured both a rapid response time and personal service is maintained.

Our client base includes: Aussie Home Loans, Shangri-la Hotel, Myer Stores, Macquarie Goodman and State Super Financial Services and many more large and small businesses in our capital cities and regional centres.

The next logical progression was to introduce Quality Assurance to further guarantee that our clients receive the best possible service.  We were granted licence No: 8055 under ISO9002 in December 1996.

The National Service centre is located on a 2.2 hectare site in Sydney.  The six glasshouses and two shade houses are used for production and acclimatization of Indoor Plants. We also have a laboratory for testing and analysing plants and soils, it is staffed by our in-house technician. Our other nursery sites are located at  Ingleside and in Melbourne.

Our organisation consists of  49 members.  Our Horticultural team includes Qualified Master Horticulturists with over 75 years combined experience and  horticulturists with a quarter of a century of combined experience.  As part of our Quality Assurance program, workshop refresher  courses are held regularly to ensure all plant technicians are up to date with the latest techniques.

Our Marketing and Sales Team bring to us many years of experience in this field, and keep us up to date with trends in the market place. 
Our extensive equipment base also includes machinery for transportation and installation of large plants and containers, and for maintenance of plants on-site.

Tropical Plant Rentals is a member of:-
The Green Building Council of Australia, National Interior Plantscape Association (founding Member), Nursery & Garden Industry Association of Australia, Nursery & Garden Industry Association of NSW, & ACT, and various local Chambers of Commerce.

Stuart Swaddling the founder of Tropical Plant Rentals  trained as a Horticulturist and has spent his whole life working with Horticulture.  He not only manages this business but also has found time to be on the boards of a number of industry associations.  He has been involved in the Nursery and Garden Industry Associations (NGIA) since 1980 serving terms as Vice–President and President  and as a Director for many years. He has been awarded Life Membership of the NGIA of NSW & ACT. He is a Past Director and Past President of NIPA, HortSuper Limited, and is currently the Chairman of the Horticulture Australia Council. He brings a wealth of knowledge to these boards and to his business Tropical Plant Rentals.