If you happened to be walking behind me last week at the garden center, I’m sure you would have clearly heard me mumbling:
I hope nobody buys this!
Yeah, this one won’t even make it a month.
Who thought this was a good idea?!
There may have also been some audible Tsk-tsk-tsk! noises (which I only know how to spell because I used to read a lot of comics as a kid).
At this particular store, they have knowledgeable employees. They know when to move a houseplant to the discount rack when the plant is past its prime. Then, move it again off the shelf to that place in the back that we don’t really talk about. (Ok, it’s the compost pickup.)
But it is quite a large plant store, so plants are falling through the cracks (metaphorically) that are still out for sale (at full price, I might add) and far from healthy.
And perhaps counterintuitively, some plants look like they shouldn’t be touched with a five-foot pole that may turn into lovely green decor once you bring them home.
Here are some visual checks that you can do on houseplants before you put them in your cart at the store.
1. Does the plant have visible damage?
Let’s start with the easiest thing to assess. Can you see anything wrong with the plant?
Does the plant you’ve just fallen in love with look damaged? Are there any obvious signs on the leaves (remember to check the undersides) or along the stem?
You’re looking for yellow or brown spots, piercings, soft and squishy spots or rusty spots.
Remember that the damage might also be hidden. Give the plant a thorough visual inspection and rotate it around to inspect it from all angles.
I found damage. Should I still buy the plant?
That depends.
Does it look like mechanical damage? For example, is it a leaf that was torn in transit or pierced while someone handled the plant? In that case, it’s no big deal. You can still buy the plant if it looks healthy otherwise.
Once you get it home, you can remove the damaged part or let it be if there’s scar tissue already formed and the damage is contained.
If it has yellow or brown spots or soft, squishy tissue, I would leave this one on the shelf. I explain why below.
2. Does the houseplant have hidden damage?
I almost said “invisible damage,” but that would be impossible to spot, wouldn’t it? Hidden damage is easier to notice if you know what to look for.
Have a look at (and a feel of) the surface of the leaves. Then, inspect the underside of the leaves, along the petioles, and along the stems.
Can you see any soft areas? That might be rot or another type of permanent damage.
How about little beige bumps? Yeah, that would be scale.
Are the edges of the leaves starting to turn brown or yellow? If so, is it one leaf or multiple leaves? If it’s multiple leaves, that may indicate a problem with water absorption.
Honestly, if the plant already showed signs of damage, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to buy it. Unless it was significantly reduced and I knew exactly how to fix the problem.
3. Does the soil look soggy and drenched?
This goes hand in hand with – and may often be the cause of – hidden damage.
I’ve noticed that most of the large plant stores that I go to have an automatic watering system. The plants are sitting on large tray-like displays that are automatically filled with water at regular intervals.
This automation makes it easier to keep the plants watered, but it’s not fine-tuned to the needs of individual plants. So, some plants end up seriously overwatered.
A houseplant that is getting too much water becomes prone to all sorts of problems. In a worst-case scenario, It could end up suffering from root rot or develop a hospitable environment for fungus gnats.
Would I still buy a houseplant with soggy soil?
It depends.
First, I’d give it a good sniff (and here’s why). If it smelled moldy, I’d give it a pass. You can’t fix rotted roots.
If the plant looked otherwise healthy, I would probably take my chances and buy it. But only if I really, really wanted that particular plant. And I’d make it a point to inspect it thoroughly when I got home and repot it, if needed.
4. Are there any pests visible?
I’m not saying you should take a magnifying glass to the plant store. But I’m not saying you shouldn’t take one either. That would give you a good chance to play Sherlock and investigate any houseplant darling before you take it home.
Are there signs of pests?
Can you see any black spots in silver circles? Those are thrips!
Any tiny white flying things or delicate spider webs? Those are spider mites!
How about powdery-shelled crawlies? Those would be the much-maligned mealy bugs.
And juicy white or gray dots prancing around? Yeah, they’re called aphids.
Would I still buy a plant that had pests?
Absolutely not. All of these pests spread incredibly quickly.
If I found any of these on the houseplant at the store, I would steer way clear of it. And I mean waaaaay clear! In fact, I would go get something from a different aisle altogether and not look back.
If you were to bring a contaminated plant home, the menace would soon spread to other unsuspecting houseplants in the same house. And if you think, It’s ok, I’ll just put the newcomer in another room, just forget about it. You could put it under a glass dome, and the thrips and mealies would still find a way to get to new hosts.
If you think there are quick fixes to get rid of these pests, let me assure you that you’ll be battling them for months to come. Or possibly forever.
5. Can you detect a root mesh?
I wrote an entire article about this growing trend of confining houseplant roots in mesh.
I’ll give you the gist: Commercial growers wrap mesh around the roots of houseplants in order to improve their rate of propagation success. The mesh locks in the moisture and keeps it even, which in turn helps with root formation in cuttings and cultivated tissue.
Another advantage (but only for growers) is that the mesh keeps the plants a certain size until they sell. It also makes plants easier for growers to transplant, transport and keep watered.
Some root meshes are biodegradable – made out of either paper or fabric that breaks down as the root structure expands.
However, increasingly, meshes are made from plastic. Some are even hard plastic. (Have a look at this article where I took some photos of what I found.) This means that, as the plants grow, the mesh would constrict the growth of the roots, interfere with water absorption and slowly kill the plant.
You can check for root mesh before you buy the plant. Sometimes you may be able to spot it – it looks like a ring around the stem. If you can, and without disturbing or destroying the plant, you can stick your finger in the soil a couple of inches away from the stem and see if you can feel any fabric-like resistance.
But you’ll be more likely to find it if the plant pot is small and if the roots are close to the surface. For larger plants, the mesh is impossible to see until you start repotting.
Would I still buy a plant with root mesh?
Yes, I would. If you catch it early enough, it won’t have done any damage. But I’d make a plan to repot it. Not right away, but after a few weeks, after it has had the chance to recover from the shock of environmental changes.
And just as a reminder, not all repotting means upsizing the container. Your best bet for a newly acquired plant is to reuse the same container. Or you may even have to choose a smaller pot in these scenarios.
6. Has it been “artificially beautified” in any way?
I’m sorry, I have no idea what else to call this trend. In my opinion, it’s the opposite of beauty. It’s pointless, wasteful and sometimes dangerous.
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.
Succulents covered in glitter. Spray-painted houseplants. Cacti with fake flowers hot glued on. Cacti with real flowers glued on, but not their own blooms. Even cacti with dry meadow flowers glued on. It’s absolutely bonkers what they’ll do to houseplants to make them look more “interesting.”
The sad thing is realizing that someone is still buying these plants since they’re still for sale and have been for years. There wouldn’t be any supply if there were no demand.
Please don’t be that someone.
Not only are you encouraging harmful practices, but you’re also wasting your money. These plants are more likely to die a slow death than thrive because the paint and the glue inhibit photosynthesis.
Spot the fake!
I suspect that sometimes people buy these plants because they don’t even realize there are some artificial add-ons. Succulents, for example, can naturally come in beautiful bright colors.
So when you spot a succulent such as the one in the photo above, you don’t think twice about it. Of course, succulents can be orange.
But this one isn’t. It’s fully spray-painted. In fact, someone had even scratched it a bit to test it. It wasn’t me, but I’m glad that whoever did it wasn’t fooled by it. They put it back on the shelf.
For some plants – such as the ones covered in glitter – it’s easy to spot the “beautification.” For others, you may need to scratch the surface a bit and see if the color comes off.
And if it’s a super bright neon color or a color that doesn’t really exist in nature (such as intense blue, for example), don’t even bother. It’s fake.
Would I still buy a painted plant?
No. I wouldn’t give my money to support this kind of nonsense.
If you’ve fallen for one of these painted plant tricks and you’ve already brought the poor thing home, my colleague Lindsay explains how you could attempt to clean it. Have a look at this article.
I know that this list of things to check before you buy a houseplant may seem a bit intimidating. But ultimately, once you’ve learned what to look for, it’s just a matter of taking less than a minute to make sure you bring home a healthy plant. It will be part of your everyday decor for years to come and I think it’s worth the trouble.
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