How store-bought plants are manufactured, not grown
Why mass-produced houseplants struggle in real homes
The environmental impact of factory-farmed foliage
What we can do instead (without giving up plants)
Propagation as a sustainable, low-impact alternative
Your mid-year propagation action plan
And more…
🇬🇧 Sheffield Answers
Every week, I get tons of questions about growing houseplants. In “Sheffield Answers”, I’m going to pick one out each week and answer it. Want to submit your own and get it featured next week? Click here to ask me a question!
Question: "The roots are coming out of the bottom of my pot, can I simply cut them because the plant isn’t big enough to repot?" Yvette
My Answer: Sure, I always cut the roots that are poking out of the pot, particularly if it’s hampering getting the plant out. A prune of the root ball also works if you want to keep the same size pot. Cut off no more than a 1/3 to be safe.
The Hidden Cost Of Houseplants
You walk into a shop and spot it.
A new plant. Shiny. Perfect. Sitting there with its proud little label, practically begging to come home with you.
You don’t think twice. Into the basket it goes.
But here’s what most people don’t realise:
That innocent-looking houseplant has been on quite a journey, and not necessarily a clean one.
Because under the surface of your latest pothos or peace lily, there’s a murkier story unfolding.
And it starts long before it even landed in your local garden centre.
The darker side of the houseplant industry
To meet growing demand, houseplants today are mass-produced at industrial scale, often in enormous greenhouses that span hundreds of metres.
In these factory farms, plants are:
Force-grown under artificial light
Heavily fertilised to boost speed and size
Sprayed with growth inhibitors to keep them compact
Grown in synthetic soils full of chemical additives
It’s manufacturing and not farming. And all of it is designed for one goal: shelf appeal. 🌶️
These plants aren’t bred to thrive in your home. They’re bred to survive transport, look good in the shop, and of course to sell quickly.
Once they’re in your care, many start to suffer, because their entire lives have been managed in artificial perfection.
And when they falter? You blame yourself.
But there’s an even bigger problem…
It’s not just about individual plants struggling to survive in real-world homes.
It’s about scale.
The houseplant industry is now a multi-billion pound global business, with Europe leading the charge.
Millions of plants are produced every year, grown in heated greenhouses that guzzle energy, depend on chemical inputs, and contribute to the very climate issues that many plant lovers care deeply about.
Think about it.
We buy houseplants because we love nature. We want green in our homes, a little slice of the wild.
But behind the scenes, the process is anything but natural.
It’s fast. It’s synthetic. And it’s unsustainable.
So Reader, what can we do about it?
Let’s be realistic.
We’re not going to take down the industrial houseplant complex overnight. But what if, instead of feeding the system, we stepped outside it?
What if the next plant you added to your home didn’t come from a greenhouse in Denmark, flown or trucked in with a carbon footprint longer than a snake plant?
What if it came from your kitchen windowsill?
From your neighbour’s pothos?
From a clipping gifted by a friend?
Of course, this is where propagation comes in.
Propagation is a quiet rebellion
It’s not just a way to multiply your plants. Because you’re making something out of an existing plant, it’s also a way to opt out and to stop buying chemical-addicted plants raised in synthetic soil under synthetic lights.
To grow plants that are resilient from day one, because they were born in your environment, not engineered in a glass box.
It’s sustainable.
It’s budget-friendly.
And frankly, it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do as a plant parent.
Each propagated plant is a quiet showing against the system. And if enough of us did it, it might not stay so quiet for long.
Your Mid-Year Plant Action Plan
Here’s how to get started, whether it’s your first time propagating or your fiftieth.
Choose your donor
Snip smart
Place in water (or a crafted perlite box)
Pop the cutting in a jar of clean, room-temp water
Be patient
Pot when ready
Celebrate the win (and impact you’re having)
Want more help?
If you’d like a full, step-by-step system that takes the guesswork out of propagation…
You’re in luck.
Today I'm opening up the Plant Propagation Workshop for just $27 (normally $97). And it’s available only to newsletter subscribers, which is less than 10% of our lovely green family!
This is a practical, straight-talking, photo-guided system I use myself to multiply plants reliably at home (containing exclusive content not on my YT channel either).
Inside, you’ll learn:
How to take clean, successful cuttings
When to root in water vs soil
What tools and containers to use
How to pot up your babies without shocking them
And how to avoid the most common propagation mistakes
Plus much much more
Oh, and you’ll be seeing more of me this week than usual. I truly care about more people starting this habit. Soooo… I’ll be sharing a new tip every day this week. Even if you don’t join the workshop, you’ll still walk away with ideas you can use.
The Oxalis triangularis, also known as the Purple Shamrock, actually “sleeps” at night. Its leaves fold up like little umbrellas when the sun goes down, a process called nyctinasty, triggered by changes in light and temperature. It’s one of the few houseplants that visibly “respond” to the time of day, making it feel more like a living, breathing roommate than just décor.
Houseplant Digest is brought to you by the Plant Propagation Workshop, which is on sale this week, exclusively for my newsletter subscribers (a.k.a YOU!).
