The Best Places to Buy Plants Online in 2022

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Best Places to Buy Plants Online

Whether you’re tending to plant life outside or caring for houseplants inside, there’s a lot of satisfaction to be found in keeping your flora vigorous and vibrant. Of course, one of the preliminary steps in the gardening process is actually purchasing your plants.

There are plenty of venues for buying plants online. With so many websites and marketplaces available for plant shopping, how do you know the best places to order from? We’ve put together a guide to some of the top online plant retailers for plants, potting soils, and more.

Our Favorite Places to Buy Plants Online

Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.

How to Find the a Reputable Online Plant Shop

Before we get into specific recommendations, let’s consider some of the most important things to look for in your online plant retailer. These are the criteria we used to formulate our own list:

  • Selection of plants available. Naturally, you’ll want to find a shop that allows you to browse a wide number of plants, and to ensure that you can always find what you’re looking for. Product variety is a must when choosing your preferred online plant store, especially when considering pet-friendly plant options or indoor herb gardens.
  • Curated selections and recommendations. Sometimes, it’s nice when a gardening pro recommends certain plants, specifically plants that are well-suited for a certain season, climate, or terrain. Curation services can be especially helpful if you’re new to gardening, or if you don’t fancy yourself as having a particularly green thumb.
  • Plant delivery options. How will the plants you order make it from the garden center to your home? Can you trust that your plants will be shipped safely and expediently? And, are the plant delivery prices affordable? These are crucial considerations any time you’re buying plants online.
  • Container options. Often, you’ll want your plants to come with their own containers and pots. That’s something to double check before placing an order from an online plant retailer.
  • Tools and supplies. In addition to plants, you’ll also need to stock up on some basic tools, such as watering cans, pruning scissors, fertilizers, potting soils, grow lights, and beyond. For the sake of convenience, it’s nice to find an online retailer where you can purchase your plants and your essential supplies.
  • Care instructions. Some of our favorite online plant stores provide guides and care tips that you can use to learn more about caring for a particular plant. Again, this is an especially welcome service for novices or for those who simply aren’t as familiar with the plant in question.
  • Packaging. Does the vendor use sustainable materials in their packaging? Check whether a they use recycled or non-recycled packing materials.

These are just a few of the considerations to keep in mind as you seek the best places for purchasing plants online. Now, we can get into our list of specific recommendations for plant parents to consider.

Where We Like to Buy Plants Online

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Cellar Door Plants

Cellar Door Plants makes it easy to find the right plants for your home and skill level, and then delivers them right to your door. Here are a few other reasons to love Cellar Door Plants:

  • You can shop a huge selection of indoor plants and plant collections, as well as pre-potted plants, planters, and gardening accessories.
  • They offer subscriptions for both pet-friendly plants and a mystery plant subscription box that lets you discover one new plant each month.
  • The company partners with One Tree Planted to help support reforestation efforts. Your orders will directly contribute to these projects each month.
Why buy: Cellar Door Plants makes buying plants online easy and fun; plus each order helps support global reforestation efforts.

Bloomscape

There’s so much that we love about Bloomscape, an online plant store that appeals to novices and expert gardeners alike. Just a few examples:

  • Bloomscape offers a staggering range of options, from indoor favorites like pothos and snake plants to outdoor plant life.
  • There are some really helpful curated collections, including plants that work well under low light, plants that are good for pet owners, low-maintenance plants, and more.
  • You can also find a full range of tools and accessories at Bloomscape, allowing you to truly build out your home gardening toolbox.

Why buy: Bloomscape is a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to get into gardening. We recommend it highly.

The Sill

Compared with Bloomscape, The Sill is a little narrower in focus: This online plant store specializes in potted, indoor flora. If that’s what you’re looking for, The Sill is the place for you!

  • Not only does The Sill offer loads of live plants, but you can also get faux and preserved ones, if that’s more your speed.
  • They have a full library of care guides, making it easy to brush up on your gardening skills.
  • This is also a great place to look for planters and pots for your indoor greenery.

Why buy: For indoor potted plants, The Sill just can’t be beat. You can shop a range of small plants like succulents or larger indoor plants like fiddle-leaf figs.

UrbanStems

UrbanStems is first and foremost a flower delivery site, but you can also get some nice plants for your indoor garden, including succulents and cacti. Some fast facts:

  • They offer same-day delivery in a number of markets, including New York City.
  • They have excellent gift options for the plant lover in your life.
  • They also boast top-notch curated collections, making it easy to find flowers to fit the season.

Why buy: UrbanStems is one of the best options online for flower delivery, and for floral-themed gifts. Plus, they source all of their flowers and plants from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

Bouqs.com

Here’s another online plant store that’s probably best known as a flower delivery site. They certainly have plenty of floral arrangements and gifts to choose from, but if you want some small, indoor options to begin a home garden, Bouqs.com has you covered.

  • They offer very competitive pricing, as well as subscription options.
  • They provide fast and even same-day delivery in some markets.
  • While they don’t have as many curated selections as we’d like, they do make it easy to see what’s popular at any given moment.

Why buy: Bouqs.com is another great place to turn if you’re hoping to send someone flowers or other plant-related gifts. They use farm-direct sourcing for all of their plants, working with farmers using eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

Horti

Horti supplies something really cool: A subscription-based model that’s designed to build your confidence in caring for plants. You’ll get new, indoor plants delivered at a specified interval, with the focus on species that are fairly easy to keep alive. There’s no better way to develop your green thumb!

  • Horti’s hardy plants all come with detailed care guides.
  • They focus on sustainability in their packaging and shipping.
  • Based in Brooklyn, NY, they want to help bring more plants and planting to urban dwellers.

Why buy: If you’re looking to really get into indoor gardening, or just want to make sure you buy from a retailer that emphasizes sustainability, Horti is the destination for you.

Plants.com

At Plants.com, it’s incredibly easy to find plant life that perfectly meets your needs. For example, at Plants.com, you can sort by type, by lifestyle, by size, by ease of care, even by the kind of room you want to place them in.

  • Search for air-purifying plants, low-light plants, pet-friendly plants, and more.
  • See an array of indoor potted plants to help match your home’s style.
  • Receive a plant care card with each order, complete with all the instructions you need.

Why buy: Plants.com does a great job of connecting you with the plants that perfectly align with your gardening goals. They make it easy to find just what you’re looking for. They also use sustainable coconut coir soil for all of their floor plants to reduce waste.

Costa Farms

Costa Farms represents something a little different: You actually can’t buy their plants directly from them, but you can acquire them online from major retailers such as Amazon, Lowe’s, and Home Depot.

  • The Costa Farms website has some great resources, including growing tips and “plant finder” engines.
  • They have a great range of plant species for both indoor and outdoor gardens.
  • Costa Farms supplies plants to many of the largest retailers in the country.

Why buy: Costa Farms has a huge selection of plants, as they are one of the largest horticultural growers in the world. If you see their products at your favorite big box retailers, definitely give them a try. And, don’t forget to check out the resources at the Costa Farms website.

Nature Hills

Nature Hills claims to be the world’s largest online plant nursery, and they certainly seem to benefit from a massive operation. Some benefits to choosing Nature Hills:

  • Their catalog of products includes a really expansive range of flowers, bulbs, and other plants.
  • They offer affordable, flat-rate shipping.
  • They have a garden blog with lots of useful information and care tips.

Why buy: Nature Hills is an online plant retailer with a great reputation. It’s not hard to understand why, since their product variety alone makes them an essential place to shop for plants.

Etsy

Many of us associate Etsy with arts and crafts. It may surprise you to learn that the site also gives you the opportunity to purchase plants from individual growers. A few things to know:

  • Etsy is a safe, secure, and reliable online retailer.
  • You can buy clippings of more expensive plants, then cultivate those plants yourself. This can be one of the most affordable ways to add variety to your home garden.
  • Additionally, many Etsy sellers offer flexible shipping options.

Why buy: If you’re looking for an affordable way to pick and choose specific plants, it’s worth looking at the options available on Etsy.

Home Depot

You can always head down to your local Home Depot to survey their plant selection, or, if you’d rather do all your shopping from home, just click over to the Home Depot website.

  • You can find plenty of options from well-regarded nurseries, including Costa Farms.
  • Home Depot provides a lot of variety, plus all the gardening tools and accessories you could ever need.
  • Shipping and returns are flexible and affordable.

Why buy: If you don’t mind giving your business to a big box chain, Home Depot offers an excellent online plant buying experience.

Willow

Willow doesn’t actually sell plants, but it does sell something that goes great with them. Willow is an organic biochar soil amendment that you can mix with potting soil to create your very own carbon sink.

  • Using biochar can mean up to 50% less watering, 25% healthier plants, and a negative carbon footprint.
  • Willow soil amendment promotes plant-friendly microbial growth.
  • It acts as a carbon sink to actually remove carbon from the environment.
Why buy: Willow biochar soil amendment is an amazing product that can provide healthier plants and lets you take an active role in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

How Does Buying Plants Online Work?

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As you prepare to buy live plants online, you may have some questions about the process. While the steps in the plant-buying process can vary from one site to the next, it’s usually pretty simple:

  • You can browse the selections and choose the plant or plants you want to buy, just as you would at any other online retailer.
  • The plants that you select are then carefully boxed, ensuring they do not tip over or become damaged during the shipping process.
  • Plants are shipped straight to your door. Some online flower companies offer same-day shipping, but for the most part, you can expect plants to arrive in about a week.
  • Most online plant retailers also send specific instructions so that you know how to care for each plant that you buy.
  • Note that some of the sites on our list also allow you to sign up for subscription services, receiving new plants on a consistent basis.

Can You Buy Plants Online from a Local Nursery?

Some gardeners prefer the convenience of buying their plants online, yet they also want to show support to local businesses. If there’s a local nursery that you really want to support, you can always check with them to see if they deliver or allow you to do your shopping online.

It’s also worth pointing out that even some of the bigger online plant retailers work with local nurseries, sourcing their plants from more small-scale growers. Bouqs.com is a good example. If you want to find convenient online shopping and support local growers and garden centers, Bouqs.com may be one of your better bets.

How Much Does it Cost to Buy Plants Online?

The amount of money you’ll spend buying plants online can vary greatly, based on a number of factors, including the number of plants, the types of plants, and the type of shipping you choose.

Indoor plants can range from $20 to more than $100; you’ll generally spend more for plants that are larger or less common.

As for shipping, sites like Plants.com offer flat-fee rates with free shipping on orders over $75, while other sites may offer free shipping if you spend $100 or more. For those who like getting new plants often, subscription services can be a cost-effective option.

Start Searching for the Best Online Plant Stores

Whether you’re looking to flesh out your garden or simply start out with a single plant, buying plants online can be a convenient and affordable option. Thankfully, there are many online plant retailers to choose from to help you get growing.

Josh Hurst is a journalist, critic, and essayist. He lives in Knoxville, TN, with his wife and three sons. He covers natural health, nutrition, supplements, and clean energy. His writing has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.

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