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Hot take: buying rare plants online is way different than finding them at a local swap
Last fall at the Portland plant swap, I met this woman who had a huge variegated monstera she grew from a single cutting over 4 years. She told me she'd never buy plants online because she likes seeing the actual root system before committing. Meanwhile I've ordered 3 plants from Etsy this year and 2 showed up with root rot. But online shops have way more variety, I got a philodendron I've never seen in any nursery around here. So which matters more, health of the plant or the rare find? Has anyone else had a bad experience buying sight unseen?
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theas948d ago
What if the real thing that matters is who grew it, not where you bought it? Like that woman at the swap knew every inch of that monstera because she nursed it through every winter and pest and bad batch of soil. A random Etsy seller might be flipping fifty cuttings a week and never sees how they do long term. I have a pothos from a swap that came with a whole story, and honestly I baby it way more than the ones I bought online. When you meet the grower you can ask dumb questions and see their setup, which tells you way more than any listing photo. So maybe it's less about health vs rare and more about whether there is a human behind the plant who actually cares.
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rayc388d ago
Nah, a well-run shop guarantees healthy plants better than any backstory!
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