Actually, there are only three things I, a plant person, actually want.
- A day out looking round garden centres
- A grow light. So then I don’t have to choose one
- A nice pot. Specifically a big one, because we always run out
Buying presents is hard.
Especially for dads.
ESPECIALLY if your dad (like mine) doesn’t like sports, beer, or stuff. Any kind of stuff. He has what he needs.
For Christmas I bought him Mutti tomatoes because he usually gets Lidl’s own.
Plant people are easier, but not by much. Every gift guide out there will tell you to buy them a Monstera mug, a leaf-print cushion and a plant subscription. I used to write those lists too. I had 40 things on this one.
That’s it. If that’s all you needed, go and book the day out.
Except that’s the thing about garden centres! You don’t have to book!
If you want more detail (or you’re one of those people who needs to wrap something), read on.
1. A day out garden centre hunting
I’m putting this first because it’s the gift I’d pick over everything else on this page.
Here’s how a trip to buy a couple of bulb vases from Ikea goes for me. I have to drive to Newcastle. We drop into the Metrocentre and grab some lunch, and then we hit a few garden centres on the way home. Suddenly a £1.50 bulb vase has turned into the best day of the month.
Plant people love wandering round garden centres, but we rarely get to do it properly. There’s always someone waiting in the car, or a time limit, or we feel guilty dragging someone round the reduced section for the third time. Taking that away is the present.
How to make it a proper gift
A day out is lovely, but it’s hard to wrap. Here’s how to turn it into something they can open:
- Write the plan on a card. Which garden centres, roughly what time, where you’re stopping for lunch. The fact that you’ve planned it is half the present
- Add a gift card for their favourite garden centre or plant shop, so they’ve got a budget to spend on the day and don’t feel guilty about it
- You drive. That way they can fill the boot
- No rushing. If they want to spend 40 minutes looking at Calathea, that’s what the day is for
If they live in a city, a plant shop crawl works just as well. Pick three or four independent plant shops within walking distance of each other, and build lunch into the middle. And the cinema. And dinner. And cocktails.
And if you can’t make the day happen, a gift card on its own is still a good shout. It’s not lazy if it’s for the place they’d go anyway.
2. A grow light
Grow lights are a great Christmas gift (here in the northern hemisphere, anyway) because in the middle of winter houseplants are getting a bit light deprived.
Most plant people have more plants than good windows. A grow light means they can keep plants alive in the corners of the house that would otherwise be no-go zones, and it gets everything through winter in better shape.
You can get grow light bulbs that fit into normal lamps, ones that clip onto furniture, and strips that go under shelves. If you don’t know what they’d want, a bulb is the safest bet: it goes into a lamp they already own, and it works as a normal light too, so you can’t really go wrong. A couple of spare bulbs is a nice touch.
SANSI 4-Head Clip-On Grow Light
Four bendy heads that clip onto a shelf, so one light can cover a whole group of plants. It gives off normal white light rather than that purple glow, so it doesn’t make the living room look like a nightclub.
If you want to know more about what to look for, I’ve written about how I use grow lights here.
3. A nice pot
I like receiving pots of any kind, but the ones I always seem to run out of are large terracotta ones. Plant people repot constantly, and big pots are expensive and awkward to buy, so they’re a gift that will definitely get used.
There are two ways to go.
A pretty pot
Something they’d never justify buying for themselves. Etsy is brilliant for these, and I’ve rounded up my favourite shops here. A lot of plant lovers like terracotta because it wicks moisture out of the soil, and the old, beat-up ones look lovely.
A self-watering pot
Perfect for someone who’s busy, travels a lot, or keeps forgetting to water. I’ve tested a load of these and there’s a full breakdown here.
Elho Self-Watering Insert
It’s not a pot. It drops into pots they already own and turns them self-watering, so they don’t have to replace anything. Add the insert, fill the reservoir. Done.
How to pick a size when you don’t know their plants
Go bigger rather than smaller. A pot that’s too big just waits until a plant grows into it. A pot that’s too small is a nice ornament.
If you can sneak a look at what they’ve got, find a plant that looks a bit cramped and buy one size up from the pot it’s in. Or buy a decorative pot without a drainage hole (a cachepot) and they can drop a plant in its plastic nursery pot straight inside it.
If you must buy something else
These are all things I use and rate. They’re just not as good a gift as the three above. If you’ve already done the day out and want something to wrap, any of these will do the job.
A moisture meter
I challenge you to find an article on this website that doesn’t suggest one. They take the guesswork out of watering, and no plant person will turn their nose up at a second one, because we’ve all got plants upstairs and downstairs. Here’s how to use one.
A moss pole
Yes, practical and boring. But moss poles are usually bought as an afterthought, normally when someone’s Monstera has started attaching its aerial roots to the furniture. Getting a couple as a gift would be great. I’ve compared all the options here.
An Aerogarden
I’m OBSESSED with mine. It’s for growing herbs and veg hydroponically, but it has a very impressive light, and in winter I crowd all my succulents round it. A good one for someone who also cooks. My full Aerogarden review is here.
A plant care app subscription
Best for someone new to plants who wants reminders. I tested Planta to see if plant apps actually work. I’m not a fan but a LOT of people are.
What not to buy a plant person
This is the bit nobody else will tell you.
A humidifier (unless you’ve checked)
My house is humid af, so a humidifier would be useless to me. If their house is old and damp, or they mainly have cacti and snake plants, it’ll end up in a cupboard. Run this one past them, or someone who lives with them, first.
A mister
Misting is a bit controversial in the houseplant world, and there are three camps, all positive they’re correct. Camp 1: some plants need misting every day or they’ll die. Camp 2: misting does nothing for humidity and anyone who thinks it does is an idiot. Camp 3: don’t know, don’t care, sometimes I mist because it’s fun. You’ve got a two in three chance of buying it for someone who’ll silently judge it. Here’s where I stand on misting.
A plant subscription
These are a great idea in theory, but terrible value for money (IMO). Fine for someone brand new to plants. Someone with an established collection will already have most of what turns up, and would rather choose for themselves.
A random plant they didn’t choose
Plant people are picky. We know what we’ve got, what we want, and what will die in our house. Unless you know exactly what’s on their list, see the gift card idea above.
Plant-themed stuff
Monstera mugs, leaf-print cushions, cactus earrings, plant pun t-shirts. They’re not bad gifts, exactly, but they’re the gift every other plant person gets too. If you do go down this road, at least make it funny (see the end of this post).
A watering can
Most of us already have one we’re weirdly attached to. Mine is an old teapot, and I’m pretty happy with it.
If you’re set on giving a plant
I get it. A plant is the obvious gift. If you’re going to do it, give it the best chance of surviving until January:
- Buy something easy. A pothos, a ZZ plant or a snake plant will forgive a lot. Save the Calathea for someone who’s asked for one
- Check it for pests before you buy. Look under the leaves and along the stems. Nobody wants thrips for Christmas. Trust me. Here’s what to look for.
- Keep it warm on the way home. Wrap it up before it goes outside in winter, and don’t leave it in a cold car while you do the rest of your shopping
- Wrap the pot, not the plant. Leaves squashed under wrapping paper for a week don’t come out well, so give it to them as soon as you can
If you’re on a budget, there’s a gift I love that costs about £2. A few months before the big day, buy an avocado. Eat the avocado, wash the stone, wrap it in damp kitchen towel and put it on the windowsill in a zip-lock bag. When the roots emerge, put it in a jar so it’s half-submerged in water. A rooted avocado stone is an incredibly adorable gift. Buy a few avocados, just in case one doesn’t want to grow.
And if you want to buy them a plant they’ll actually like, these are my favourite Etsy plant shops. Pair it with a gift card and let them choose.
And finally: pug planters
I’ve spent this whole post telling you not to buy plant-themed tat.
But pug planters exist. They’re probs too tiny to be of much actual use, though they might work for propagating, I guess. I just wanted to show someone that pug planters exist.
If you’re a plant person and you think I’ve missed something, leave a comment (or give a scathing critique detailing how rubbish it would be to receive a moss pole for Christmas).
I’m in Memphis Tennessee, where all the tropicals come indoors in the Fall. Formerly lived in Toronto where the light in my apartment kept me busy taking cuttings and potting up for all the neighbors. If only I could learn to toss a fallen crassula leaf in the compost!
My real reason for this post is to thank you for helping me get through the past few months of anxiety and depression. Reading your blog, and caring for my plants helped keep me sane, and now that the waiting is over and a giant cloud has lifted, I wanted you to know you’re the best therapist yet.
Oh, I’m so so glad I could help, and I’m happy that you find solace in your plants and that the giant cloud has lifted. Both the act of caring for them and just having that bit of nature indoors can really boost mental health.
Propagating is addictive for sure – there’s no earthly reason that should root every cutting that I take off my pothos when I trim them, but I MUST. Burros tails are another I can’t just leave!