Plant parenting is the act of nurturing plants from the comfort of one’s home. Most plants that a plant parent nurtures are considered house plants and are suitable for that specific environment.
Plant parenting has become extremely trendy on social media and popular on the internet. Many people have begun posting their journey of nurturing plants and some have even become “plant influencers,” or someone who has gained a following and a sense of popularity from posting their journeys.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people became interested in becoming plant parents when cities and states issued stay-at-home orders in the spring. Now that life is slowly trying to return back to normal and with hopes of the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, many people will now have to balance the plant parenting lifestyle and their own busy lives.
“It’s definitely hard working 40 hours a week and you come home and do not have the energy to tend to all of your plants, but you can definitely find time,” said Jordan Vermillion, an employee at Native Nurseries on Centerville Road.
Some local nurseries have seen an increase in plant sales since they were allowed to open up once the stay-at-home order and shutdowns were lifted in May by Governor Ron DeSantis.
“For us here at Native Nurseries we went through a little rough patch because when the pandemic first exploded we were concerned about safety and we actually shut down to the public and everything went to curbside pickup and delivering plants. We were really happy when we got the mandate that wearing face masks helps our safety because it allowed us to open back,” Vermillion said. “Once we opened back up we were amazed to see the business just booming with new people; so many people working from home that are now allowed so much time to spend with nature and the plants in their home.”
Tallahassee Nurseries greenhouse manager, Savannah Atwell, also discussed how there has been recent increase in plant sales.
“I feel like the house plant crave was kind of already starting to happen before the pandemic and the pandemic just made it boom totally out of control and has absolutely increased since the pandemic,” said Atwell.
Nurturing plants has helped many people mentally and emotionally, especially during the pandemic. With all of the news that COVID-19 has brought to this year, many people needed an outlet and a way to relax.
“Having the presence of plants in your home specifically has a good mental impact,” said Vermillion.
According to an article by NBC, nurturing plants reduces stress and improves concentration by at least 15 percent.
“Having your house filled with plants gives sort of a relaxing tranquil vibe and a lot of people like to take pictures with them. There is a lot of self care happening especially with the pandemic and people nurturing plants is sort of like self-care,” Atwell said.
Plant parenting has influenced many millennials and Gen Zers, especially through social media which has contributed to the growing number of plant parents.