I’ve been after a black cherry philodendron for a while.. maybe they’re not that rare, but I just adore them. I ordered a “starter plant” from Etsy a few weeks ago (quotation marks b/c it was more like a cutting). It arrived with root rot from being packed in a wet paper towel & plastic wrap (ugh) and was battered beyond all belief, lol. Usually plant babies come to life during the couple of days after they’re unpacked but the Etsy philo looked more and more raggedy…eventually I decided to nip the old nasty roots and propagate new ones (bottom two pics, right side, after cleaning her up…thoughts & prayers for our fallen soldier, she may still have some fight in her if we’re lucky).
I was so frustrated that I ended up going online to find a more reputable seller (bc I was gonna get my hands on that plant so HELP me g-d) and impulsively purchased a starter plant from a shop w/ an independent website maybe five days ago. The black cherry arrived today (right side) & the night and day difference between the plants that arrived has me BLOWN AWAY.
The price points weren’t all that different after factoring in that the independent seller offered free shipping, and the way that the plants were packed made it clear that the independent seller knows wtf she is doing, actually CARES about the plants she grows, and wants them to arrive healthy and lush. Literally packed every leaf with the kind of stuffing that comes in a stuffed animal. 😭 Not to mention the black cherry I received and the black cherry shown in the listing were VERY SIMILAR (unlike shops on etsy that stay bait and switching lmao).
Pic on the right is about ten minutes after unpacking the new black cherry. How nice is it when you can just tell that the person you’ve purchased something from is good at what they do, cares about how they do it, and wants you to enjoy what you receive… especially when it’s a lil plant you will love for the length of its life :’)
just thought I’d post to share the crazy difference btwn these two experiences… I’ve officially learned my lesson about plant shopping on etsy 😭. I also got a prince of orange philo from the independent shop that is equally gorgeous and healthy, happy to post pics for anyone curious!
by erinyums
5 Comments
Welp that did it I’ll never get the plants I want because I can’t find a seller only place I’ve seen them is Etsy 😞 I’ve just been so scared to buy them thinking they will come like this😭
Did the Etsy seller have lots of good ratings and still sent that miserable plant over? Or was it some random listing you found?
Thanks for this post, I’ve been debating buying online for the first time and this gives me an idea of what to look for
So stoked for your awesome new plant! It’s unfortunate how hit or miss Etsy can be. For a lot of people just starting out, it’s one of the few options to start to build a client base. It can be difficult to drive traffic to a website.
It’s not foolproof, but no matter what platform I’m using I try to find smaller operations a lot of the time, people that are selling from their own mother plants and not larger nurseries selling from wholesale stock. I do really enjoy buying from r/takeaplantleaveaplant 🙂
ETA: I also try buying exact plants instead of grower’s choice as much as possible which again isn’t a guarantee but has worked for me so far 😊
I have a highly trained stuffing extractor for my plant shipping.
https://preview.redd.it/me4kh8upav5g1.jpeg?width=2047&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b57f160bba375b95f38d343bc00db7a6792e865
And the stuffed animals were donated for him to play with so in the shipping process they get a third life.