Buying Plants Online During a Pandemic - American Plant Exchange Review

So... 2020 and plants... Yeah.
How many of us became plant people in 2020? How many of us were reminded in 2020 why we don’t usually buy plants? lol.
Anyway let’s not go there. This post is about buying plants online during a pandemic. Plenty of people are perfectly comfortable going to the store to buy their plants during a pandemic. Others are scared or due to extremely high risks or other factors choose to order *live* plants online. Last year, I was one of them and I bought a number of plants from American Plant Exchange. Here’s what I learned..

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Shipping, Delivery, Initial Inspection

The shipping time varied depending on if I ordered from Amazon or Etsy and even within that depended on the plant ordered. Overall I thought the shipping was good, they each came in really nice sturdy cardboard boxes and they were wrapped well.

Initial inspection of the Monstera, it seemed to have either not been planted deep enough in the pot, or got jostled out in transit.
I ended up transplanting it into this affordable white planter from Amazon and it has done surprisingly well.

Initial inspection of the coffee plant was... something isn’t right here. There were tons of branches cut off and I wondered if they had been cut off to grow additionally cuttings from. When I reached out to American Plant Exchange they said it was bad parts of the plant being cut off. Which... honestly wasn’t reassuring. That plant struggled all last year and unless a spring time miracle happens, I’d say it’s not going to bounce back, but we’ll see.

How Did The Plants Hold Up?

• The Snake Plant is still alive and well. It didn’t grow a ton, but it is holding its own nearly a year later.
• The Petra Croton was beautiful all summer long and then took a sharp turn for the worse. I’m not sure what happened, but I’m pretty sure it’s dead.
• The Dwarf Pomegranate did well all summer, it grew the cutest coral colored flowers and the beginnings of ornamental pomegranates which all fell off before they were full grown (expected for a young plant) but once the cooler weather hit, even though I brought it inside, it went down hill. These are deciduous, though, so it’s normal for them to lose all their leaves. I am hopeful it might come back for summer but time will tell.

• The coffee plant is doubtful going to survive.
• The jasmine was attacked so many times by my neighborhood animals that I don’t think it will be back and sadly I never got one flower from it... those rascals!
• Finally, the crown jewel of my plant purchases last year - my Monstera. Such a trendy plant...But surprisingly mine has stayed healthy, grown a bunch, and I honestly wonder if it needs repotted again because at least one big root has found it’s way to the bottom of the planter already!!

American Plant Exchange Green Sansevieria Trifasciata Zeylanica Live Plant, 6" Pot, Indoor/Outdoor Air Purifier

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Amazon $19.99

American Plant Exchange Split Leaf Philodendron Monstera Deliciosa Live Plant, 3 Gallon, Green

Amazon $44.56

Petra Croton Live Plant, 6" Pot Indoor/Outdoor Air Purifying Plant

Etsy $21.99

Dwarf Pomegranate Bush, 6" Pot, Fruit Producing!

Etsy $30

Arabica Coffee Plant, 6" Pot

Etsy $26

Confederate Jasmine Live Plant, 6" Pot, Very Fragrant Vine!

Etsy $26

Pros and Cons of Buying Plants Online

Pros
You don’t have to leave your house.
You’re not limited to local selection.
Your car won’t get dirty. lol

Cons
You don’t get to pick a plant that looks great to you as the consumer.
Plants can struggle during transit and some never bounce back.
It can be a lot more expensive.
If you’re like me, you feel bad reaching out about an issue (Especially if it’s a small company) bc you realize the cost associated with shipping plants is high and most things are probably not the grower’s fault...

What I Learned From Buying Plants Online from American Plant Exchange

Compare prices. American Plant Exchange has plants for sale on Etsy and on Amazon.
Some of the price differences were huge for the same size plant.

Consider buyer protection and customer service. If you have an issue, it probably going to be resolved easier and faster via Amazon. YMMV. Hopefully you don’t have an issue though!

Buying plants from anywhere is such a tricky endeavor. If the plant doesn’t make it, it’s hard to know if it was a problem with the plant itself, the environment it was put in, the care (or lack there of) it was given, the transit or what! But I guess that's true of any plant you buy isn't it?
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Will I Buy Plants Online in 2021

The jury is still out on that. At the moment I’m leaning toward no. But not because it was a bad experience, just because I’m anticipating a different summer and fall this year than in 2020 and trying to care for more plants isn’t part of it. I love the plants, i wish I could care for more and have them flourish, but for any number of factors it just doesn’t seem to work out. So instead of making myself frustrated at how many plants I kill in 2021, I think I’m just going to cherish my monstera and snake plant, try to help them thrive in 2021, and be content with my two happy little houseplants. Quality over quantity is the name of the game right? Two live houseplants are better than 15 dead or dying ones, right?

Also Read: Best and Worst Purchases of 2020

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