7 Great Sources for Buying Inexpensive Plants Online

updated Jun 3, 2019
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(Image credit: Ellie Arciaga Lillstrom)

You no longer have to leave the comfort of your couch to curate your houseplant collection, or head into a nursery to pick up an extra basil starter for your windowsill. All you need to do is take out your phone in between your evening Netflix binge, and you can have anything from a Chinese Money plant to a Juniper shrub delivered straight to your front door between two to five business days — all without breaking the bank.

But not all plant sites are created equal. Ahead are some of the best places to buy plants online with your budget in mind. Now all you have to do is figure out how to keep them alive.

Goldon Pothos, $35 (Image credit: Bloomscape)

Bloomscape sends potted plants that and are shipped directly from their greenhouse, so you won’t receive any neglected warehouse ferns that look like they’re on their last legs. If you’re a plant novice, the site makes it easy to find what might be the best for you— you can narrow down your selection by choosing your size, level of difficulty, light level, pet friendliness, and whether or not you’re looking for an air cleaner.

They also set you up with customized tips and tricks to make sure your newest additions survive. No more wilted Fiddle-leaf figs in the dining room! And if you still feel like your blooms are fading, they have real-time expert support where you can email, tweet, or call them for some guidance — as they say, “Plant Mom is standing by!”

ZZ Plant, $19 (Image credit: The Sill)

The Sill is all about — you guessed it — windowsill friendly potted plants. You can choose between mini plants that sprout from one to three inches, small plants that grow from three to five inches, and medium plants that reach a manageable six to nine inches. But what makes The Sill special is that it’s encouraging to those who think they’re cursed with a black thumb.

“There is no such thing as a green thumb. Plants take practice — just like anything else,” their homepage reads. And they’re here to help you take your first steps. Not only do they have a curated collection devoted to beginners, but they also let you return any plant within 30 days. So if you feel like your ZZ Plant is more work than you originally thought, you can send it back, no questions asked. They also have something called “The Sill Plant Promise,” where certain plants can be returned within a year. It’s the perfect site for those just starting out in their plant parent journey. And the best part? Plants start at just $5.

Nature Hills Nursery started out as a neighborhood tree nursery, but grew into a place where you can get everything from rose bushes for your patio to avocado trees for your backyard to ferns for your balcony. You can choose between trees, bushes, fruit, perennials, grasses, and roses, and while they might not have a large selection of houseplants, you can get flower bulbs and grow your own. They ship nationwide, and your order will come complete with planting, care, and storage instructions so you’ll know exactly what to do the moment you sign for it.

Majesty Palm, $49 (Image credit: Amazon)

4. Amazon

You can get everything on Amazon — including live plants. They launched their garden shop a few years ago and it lets you browse everything from parlor palms to trendy succulents to delicate orchids, and you can filter between house plants, garden plants, and patio plants, depending on what you’re in the mood for. A lot of the options are also available on Amazon Prime, so you can get them in two days or less, without spending a ton of money.

Lavender, $15 (Image credit: White Flower Farm)

White Flower Farm has been a family-run nursery since 1950. This is a great spot to browse if you’re looking to update your front yard or wash your garden in color. You can scroll through daffodils, tulips, peonies, perennials, shrubs, and vines to find exactly what you need.

Credit: Horti

6. Horti

Horti is a plant subscription service designed for city dwellers, sending hardy, hard-to-kill indoor plants straight to your apartment. It started out in New York, a city packed with apartment buildings and people, and helps to bring a little greenery into your urban existence. In the beginning you’ll get easy-to-maintain species, and as the months pass you will be upgraded to more exotic varieties as your skill level, er, blooms.

Plants come as part of a kit, and they arrive in hand-painted pots with artfully designed care cards that will help you keep your plant alive well after the month is done. You can choose to either get plants monthly or bi-monthly, and there aren’t any forced commitments so you can cancel or skip a kit whenever you want.

7. Jet

Believe it or not, Jet has a decent selection of affordable houseplants, garden flowers, seed selections, and even bushes and shrubs. And with free shipping for orders $35 and up, you can get a nice selection while still keeping your budget intact.

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: 7 Great Budget Sources for Buying Plants Online