How To Buy High-Quality Plants

Choosing a healthy plant during purchase is an important, yet often overlooked, first step. When choosing a container plant, take a few minutes to run through the following checklist:

• The plant should be growing from all sides with no major gaps or dead patches
• The plant should be able to stand upright and appear balanced in the container
• The pot should be free of weeds and secondary plant growth
• Leaves should look healthy and not appear washed-out or browning
• The plant roots should be white or tan colored, firm, and not soggy or slimy
• The plant stem and leaves should be free of visible pests

It's easy to gravitate towards a plant with a huge leaf or one that is really tall, but taking a minute to run through the balanced list above could be the difference between an average houseplant and one that thrives in your home. 🙂

💚 Pro-tip: Do the leaves look unnaturally shiny? Sometimes store-bought plants are sprayed with leaf-shining products but these chemicals clog pores (stomates) and should be avoided.