Photograph courtesy of Rewild’s Capitol Hill branch. Find out more about Rewild.

Last updated: 30 September 2024

I am frequently asked - where do you buy your plants? So here’s my potted guide to buying houseplants in the US (if you’re in the UK, click here).

Try the shortcuts below to find what you are looking for…

I'd like to keep adding to this guide as I find - or you tell me about - great new suppliers, so please get in touch if you want to tell me where you source your plants in the US...

ONLINE BUYING TIPS

Want to hear this advice as a podcast? Listen here.

1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Amazing deals do come up online, but generally you do get what you pay for, so if you see that rare aroid for £5, do think before you jump, because rare plants don't come cheap. Be extra suspicious and check everything out very carefully before you buy.

2. What you see isn't always what you get.

It's easy to be wowed by pictures of houseplants, but ask yourself, are the pictures showing the actual plants that will be delivered? Some sellers will put up pictures of a plant that's the eventual, fully-grown size of the plant you have ordered, rather than the size it will arrive at your door. Look for information about pot size, plant height and so on: good sellers should make it abundantly clear whether the picture next to a description is the actual plant you are buying or not. If it's a cutting, are you buying rooted or unrooted? Will the plant be sent still in the pot or bareroot? All of these factors should influence the price you are paying. If it's not clear to you from the website, ask the seller - a good seller should be upfront about all this.

3. Check the courier.

Many houseplant sellers fall down not because of anything they have done wrong, but because the delivery company they employ to get your plants to you is unreliable. Check what company your seller uses, and investigate their reputation online. Steer clear of couriers who have poor reviews that talk of parcels being flung over fences. When buying multiple plants, make sure you know whether you'll pay a flat delivery fee for all of them, or an individual fee per plant - this can add considerably to your bill!

4. Be extra-cautious when buying from overseas.

Sometimes the only place to get hold of more choice varieties is a supplier outside your home country, but think carefully before proceeding on this one. Delivery costs can be sky-high, delivery slow, and there can be unexpected roadblocks like phytosanitary certificates and customs charges. Importing plants into the UK is not without its risks, and can be very expensive, so if in doubt, leave it to the professionals. Always choose a seller that has lots of experience selling overseas.

5. Reward great service with a five-star review.

The best plant sellers build their reputation on excellent customer service, so if you have had a good experience with a particular company, spread the word online and offline.

Crimson Horticultural Rarities in Oakland, California

IN PERSON BUYING TIPS

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. A good houseplant shop should have trained staff on hand to tell you about their plants and advise you on what would work in your home. If they don’t - there’s not much point in spending more on a plant than you would buying from a supermarket or online.

2. Check plants closely before buying.
When it comes to the plants themselves, give them the once over and be thorough. Start by taking a look at the surface of the pot - plants that have been hanging around for weeks may develop weeds or moss. The longer a plant has been in the shop, the greater the potential for it to get stressed, so buy the newest stock if you can. Examine the bottom of the pot, and take the rootball out of the pot if possible - if there’s a mass of roots poking out the drainage holes, it may need immediate repotting, and will already be getting more stressed. It’s also a chance to check that the roots are healthy - they should be firm rather than stringy or mushy.

3. If plants are sat in cellophane sleeves, it’s not a good sign. The plants are likely to be denied the air circulation and the light they need to thrive and may well start to suffer with melting leaves It also looks really ugly. If you have your heart set on a plant in cellophane, it’s ideal if you can take these off before you buy so you can have a re good look at the plant.

4. Ask staff where the plants are coming from. The vast majority of sellers will be sourcing stock from the few huge suppliers in the Netherlands that dominate the market, and to a lesser extent, UK growers, but a few may be raising their own plants. If you want to buy specialist plants, a nursery dedicated to a particular type of plant may offer a wider range of stock and plants that are raised in the right substrate to bring success when you bring them home. This is particularly true for cacti and succulents which are often sold by big suppliers in substrates that are completely inappropriate for the home environment - way too moisture retentive leading to rot.

5. Come equipped for buying, especially in winter. Bringing extra insulation such as sheets of bubble wrap will keep plants protected from cold draughts as you transport them home. Be wary of buying plants from outside locations in winter.

Want more tips for buying from houseplant shops? Check out my list of red and green flags.

Swaps, freebies and person to person purchases

"S" is for Senecio rowleyanus, but also for SWAPS — "S" is for *Senecio rowleyanus*, but also for SWAPS

I’d never advise “half-inching” cuttings without the owner’s permission, but you’d be surprised how often plant lovers are happy enough to share their bounty with you, even if they don’t know you from Adam. If you see a plant you like, don’t be afraid to politely ask for a cutting: the worst thing that can happen is they say no.

A bit of knowledge about plant propagation is useful: for instance, certain plants won’t grow properly from single leaves (eg fiddle leaf figs and Hoyas) whereas others (Streptocarpus, African violets and Echeverias, for instance) will. The small hobby seller may also be offering plants for sale via a Facebook page or the like, and this is definitely an exciting way to buy, but test out with a small purchase before sending a lot of money their way. If you do take a cutting, place it in a clear plastic bag, ideally wrapped in some moistened kitchen paper until you can get it home. Then get it in some water or moist compost as soon as possible.

Also keep an eye on Craigslist, Freecycle and local Facebook groups for people looking to offload houseplants as this can be a cheap or free way of expanding your collection - but check the plants carefully for pests before you let them join your precious collection, otherwise they may bring an unwelcome payload with them! (In fact, this is good practice for new plants you buy from anywhere...)

Check out: There are various swap groups on Facebook including Houseplants - Buy Sale and Trade and Houseplant Addicts Unite! Buy, Sell and Trade. If you want to find out how to organise your own local plant swap, listen to this episode of On The Ledge on this topic.

DIY sheds, discount stores and supermarkets

You can pick up some cheap houseplants from the likes of Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot, but its usually the "usual suspects" rather than anything particularly unusual. Try to pounce on them as soon as they come into the shop, as most stores give plants no attention or watering once they’re on the shelves. Labelling is hit and miss to say the least, (often it's just one word; "succulent" or "fern") but it’s a good way of getting plants locally if you’re on a tight budget. One last hitch - these plants are often potted in poor quality compost - or sometimes the wrong compost entirely - so consider repotting plants as soon as you get them home. And the whole glittery/painted succulents thing? Please, just... don't.

Listener Sasha Tee alerts us all to New Seasons Market, in the Portland, Oregon area, for a pretty good selection of houseplants, while in the Montana area, listener Dani Turner shines the spotlight on Montana Ace for its own surprisingly good selection.

The blue and yellow box does deserve a paragraph all to itself because, let's face it, many of us buy plants here. I've written on my blog already and for Gardenista.com about IKEA's houseplant offerings so won't say too much more, other than that they offer a reasonably interesting range of plants at a good price, but as per the big box DIY places, you need to get in quick on new deliveries, and check plants carefully when you buy as in-store care tends to be minimal.

Boutique shops

You're much more likely to find a houseplant boutique in large urban areas, but you just never know - occasionally you'll come across a florist in a small town that offers a stunning houseplant selection.

The Sill in New York comes very highly recommended - I'd love to visit one day! Other boutique recommendations, from a listener in Portland, Oregon, are the lovely-looking Hammer + Vine and Roosevelt’s Terrariums, while in Boston’s south end, there’s Niche, as recommended by listener Violeta Cristina.

In Baltimore, Maryland, listener Dana Curry draws our attention to B. Willow, as “a beautiful boutique with two locations, also offering interesting classes and workshops” which sounds interesting!

In California - in Santa Cruz - there’s Dig, where you can indulge your love of terrariums, specimen houseplants, soil, organic fertilizers, garden tools and containers. Thanks to listener, Kristin Lundin, for the heads-up! Also in California is Crimson Horticultural Rarities, a rare and unusual plant shop that promises ‘moody decor’.

If you’re Washington DC-way, you may want to check out Rewild and their wonderful houseplant selection + Rewild’s workshops and events.

In Chicago, on the north side, in Albany Park, Mayfair Neighbourhood, there’s Plant Shop Chicago, where staff will advise you on plants that will fit best with your lifestyle, environment, schedule and budget.

In Battle Creek, Michigan, there’s the Plumeria Botanical Boutique; an emporium of plants and pots!

Big mail order firms

Some of the mail order seed and plant outfits are now cottoning on to the popularity of houseplants:

Logees is probably the best known and offers a really wide range of interesting plants including some wonderful Begonias, Streptocarpus and the highly prized Pilea peperomioides. Florida Hill nursery sells an interesting range including the vanilla orchid, loads of Syngoniums and Alocasias. White Flower Farm has a reasonable range of plants, while Steve’s Leaves offers a range of aroids, Begonias and more. (You can hear Steve’s Leaves owner Steve Rosenbaum talking about Begonias in episode 120 and episode 121 of On The Ledge podcast.)

Small mail order firms (including eBay.com)

I have recently discovered the world of vivarium/terrarium supply shops as a source for interesting houseplants: these may not be your obvious choice, but they are a great way to buy certain plants such as bromeliads, vines and ferns: things that will do well in the high humidity setting of a closed terrarium.

They are sometimes sold in pots but also as rooted cuttings which, provided you are confident at potting them up, are a cheap way of getting more plants. I haven't bought from any US outfits but the options include neherpetoculture.com, blackjungleterrariumsupply.com and Josh's Frogs. Cactus Limon on Etsy has also been recommended to me. If you are a moss addict, try mossacres.com.

Ebay sellers can offer a way of getting hold of rarer plants and seeds, but it’s a bit of a “buyer beware” situation, particularly if you are ordering seeds from outside the US - I have heard of people getting burned with seed packets containing chaff or something thy clearly didn’t order: many of these are being sent out from Chin. Postage costs can be high, too.

BWH Plant Co (which stands for Bros With Hoes!) is a one-time mobile pop-up in a trailer in Florida, turned online retail store that ships nationwide.

You can also find houseplant sellers over on etsy.com. Although we don’t have any recommendations at the moment. (Get in touch with any suggestions…)

Garden centres

Tonkadale Greenhouse in Twin Cities, Minnesota.

After a period when many garden centres ditched houseplants aside from as a seasonal extra, they are now realising there is money to be made and ramping up their offerings again. Some are still on the rather boring side, but if you’re lucky you may have an excellent source of houseplants on your doorstep. If you're really lucky, they'll also have an active social media presence, too. Tell me about the great garden centres for houseplants you've found in the US!

Listener Donna Padget recommended Bowood Farms in St Louis, Midge Miller Price loves Flower World in Washington and Cynthia Drummond likes The Farmer's Daughter in Rhode Island. Listener Ashley Stafford recommends Kingwood Garden Center and Warren’s Southern Gardens, both in Kingwood, Texas. In Knoxville, Tennessee, listener John Tragesser has recommended the family-owned & operated Stanley’s Greenhouse, while in the greater Boston area, listener Violeta Cristina recommends the chain, Mahoney’s. Listener Georgia Gaskell highlights two outlets in Orange County, California - The Plant Depot (San Juan Capistrano) and Green Thumb (Laguna Woods) - and in the Twin Cities, in Minnesota, listener Leon Van Eck has flagged up Tonkadale Greenhouse for its selection, quality and exciting plants!

Listener Sasha Tee has pointed out various haunts in the Portland, Oregon area, including Cornell Farm, Dennis’ 7 Dees, Farmington Gardens and Portland Nursery. In the western Montana / Idaho area, listener Dani Turner gives us a heads-up on Caras Nursery and Landscape, while in central Maryland, listener Dana Curry recommends Patuxent Nursery as well as Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville.

Plant City, Florida sounds like my kind of place - Parkesdale Farm Market is known for its strawberries, but also has three greenhouses full of beautiful houseplants and has just started a mail order service.

Gabriella Plants in central Florida is just under an acre of family-owned greenhouse space with a fast-rotating selection of plants. A big thanks for the heads-up to listener Kalie Richardson for this recommendation!

Just north of Columbus, Ohio, you’ll find The Groovy Plants Ranch, as recommended by listener, Raquel White. You can either go the the Ranch itself or avail yourself of the online store.

In Chicago, Illinois, the Gethsemane Garden Center has an excellent greenhouse full of indoor plants, often including more unusual varieties, while Chalet Nursery in Wilmette has its own extensive selection. Thanks to listener Julia Duerst for alerting us to these places!

Specialist nurseries

There's a comprehensive list of cactus nurseries here, and among the other specialists I have come across are Carter and Holmes and Matsui nursery for orchids, and Dave's Violets for Gesneriads, and Kartuz.com for Gesneriads and more. The Violet Barn comes highly recommended from listener Leslie, and sells African violets and other Gesneriads.

For over two decades, NSE Tropicals has been a well-known and trusted supplier of rare and unusual tropical foliage plants, profiled in The New York Times, no less.

Societies

If you're passionate about a group of plants, joining a society will bring you into contact with people who feel the same way! You can expand your collection through attending meetings where sales are held, and by swaps and sales with other members through group forums and Facebook pages. Here's a few houseplant-related forums I know of ...

Seeds

Perhaps you've never dreamed about growing your own houseplants from seed, but it's a cheap, fun way of expanding your collection. Try Plantflix, Seedman.com and rareexoticseeds.com. Silverhill Seeds is based in South Africa but ships a range of South African plant seeds to the US. On Etsy, check out Unusual Seeds, a Serbian seller who delivers to the US and offers a huge range of unusual succulents and carnivorous plants.

If you want to learn more about growing houseplants from seed, please check out the On The Ledge Sowalong on my podcast feed.