25 Best Gifts for Plant Lovers of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Oct 16, 2024

By Samantha Schoech

Samantha Schoech is a writer focusing on gifts. She spends her time finding things that combine quality, beauty, usefulness, and delight.

We’ve added a few new plant-perfect gifts to this guide, including a living lemon tree, a succulent surprise, and another self-watering hack.

For those who love plants, there’s no better gift than one that helps them enhance their home jungle. Our gift picks will help the green-thumbed person in your life learn about, tend, and enjoy the plants around them in unexpected, delightful ways.

For more plant-focused guides and tips check out The Best Gifts for Gardeners, Keeping Houseplants Alive and Happy When You’re Away Is Easier Than You Think, and The Best Places to Buy Houseplants Online.

Each box from this Massachusetts farm contains from two to five randomly selected succulents ready to replant.

For a true plant lover, receiving a Rare Succulent Mystery Box creates a childlike feeling of excitement and joy. Choose from a small box containing two to three plants or a large box with five to six plants; April Farm in Massachusetts will send a random assortment of succulent plants labeled with their names. They arrive wrapped in fluffy batting and tissue paper ready to plant with roots washed and trimmed to prevent insects and fungus and encourage new growth. The selection is large, but a mystery box might contain anything from exotic and colorful echeverias to chubby Graptopetalum amethystinum to Haworthia, which looks like a sea creature. They can thrive indoors or out, depending on the climate where you’re sending them.

These hollow terracotta spikes hold any large bottle, enabling water to seep gradually into soil.

Think of the Modern Innovations Ceramic Terracotta Self Watering Spikes as plant babysitters—only much cheaper. They keep plants watered while you are away and couldn’t be simpler to use. Just fill a large bottle—wine, soda—stick the mouth into the terra-cotta spike’s opening, and embed it into the soil of any plant that needs continuous, slow moisture. The spikes are on the larger size—about the length of a hand and 1.5 inches wide—and work best in pots over 9 inches. They can be used indoors or out and, depending on conditions, a liter bottle should last about a week. (Not all plants are suitable for self-watering.) They come in boxes of four, six, eight, or 10.

This disease-resistant, indoor/outdoor tree blooms with fragrant white flowers. And, with time and care, it may eventually bear Meyer lemons. But they’re restricted in California.

As staff writer Mari Uyehara writes in her ode to giving trees as gifts, “In a world of instant gratification, trees both demand something deeper and offer something more to their owners.” If you’re going to give a tree, we like the Fast Growing Trees Meyer Lemon Tree (unless your giftee is in California, where it cannot be shipped due to agricultural restrictions). They can live inside or out, depending on your growing zone, potted or in the ground. Plus, they make lemons! It’s true that lemon trees can be finicky and take a rather long time to bear fruit (especially in cool climates) but the ones from Fast Growing Trees come with lots of watering, feeding, and planting info. Choose from two sizes. Each tree comes with a one-year guarantee.

Cytokinins, or plant hormones that promote cell division, are suspended in a water-resistant lanolin paste. Dabbed on dormant plant nodes, it almost always stimulates new growth.

It’s only the most patient—or lucky—of plant lovers who manages to get an orchid to bloom after it drops its first showy blooms. Southside Plants’s Crazy Keiki Cloning Paste, a lanolin-based blend of the plant-growth hormone cytokinin, is a shortcut for everyone else. Apply it to the tiny buds that appear on orchid stems to stimulate the mother plant to produce an exact clone—and new blooms. It can also help jades, bonsais, African violets, roses, and geraniums.

This old-fashioned wooden contraption turns newspaper into seedling pots in about 15 seconds.

If the plant lover in your life enjoys coaxing seedlings from seeds, the simple, two-piece Gardener’s Supply Company Paper Pot Maker is the gift that keeps on giving. A strip of newspaper and about 15 seconds is all they’ll need to create a germination-friendly 1.75-inch paper seed pot—just wrap the wood dowel in paper and then press it into the base, and voilà! Once the sprouts are ready to transplant, your plant lover can protect delicate root systems by sticking the entire pot in a planter, where it will eventually disintegrate.

These small yet vigorous houseplants arrive in pleasing themed bundles, offering a simple and affordable way to expand someone’s plant family.

The Assorted Bundles from Rooted, one of our favorite places to buy plants online, come in lots of configurations, with varying plants, quantities, and care requirements. Each set contains a random assortment according to themes such as ferns, ficus, or pet-friendly plants. And we appreciate that all of the plants in each bundle have the same care instructions, so they can all thrive in the same place with the same amount of water. The Rooted bundle plants arrive small yet vigorous, planted in plastic pots and nestled carefully in a cardboard box. (If you want to be extra generous with your gift, you might consider buying some attractive 4-inch pots to go with them.) Don’t know which bundle to get? For recommendations, take Rooted’s plant quiz with your gift recipient in mind.

Written by indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, this modern classic explores the human connection with all living things, including plants.

Praised for its beautiful, moving prose and its message of ecological connection and wisdom, Braiding Sweetgrass has become a modern classic of nature writing. This collection of best-selling essays was published in 2015, but the ideas explored by indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer—advocating for the voices of all living things and exploring the human-plant connection—have an enlightened, timeless appeal.

Display these little click-together succulents clustered as a group or spread out. The only care they need is dusting.

What’s a plant lover to do when all of their plants are thriving? Assemble Lego Succulents, of course. The nine individual plants (aloe vera, hens and chicks, and red echeveria among them) each stand about 6 inches tall and sit in their own square planter, so they can be displayed clustered together or individually. If the 771-piece project is a real hit with your giftee, keep in mind that our testers also loved all of the plants in the Lego Botanical Collection.

These graceful, modern brass plant sticks prop up delicate stems and coax climbers upward.

Fruitsuper’s Plant Sticks come in a set of three, with different lengths and shapes to prop up fragile stems, provide support for leaners, and encourage climbers to grab on. And they are so much better-looking than the green sticks or twist ties that most folks use. As the sticks age, the solid brass will patina, but it also polishes up nicely, if that’s the look your giftee prefers.

This elegant, shatter-resistant vase is the perfect vessel for sprouting avocado pits.

Plant lovers will thrill at watching their avocado plants sprout roots and grow leaves in the shapely Ilex Studio Avocado Vase, which is designed just for that purpose. The neck holds the pit so that it’s perfectly settled in the water, and then you simply let nature take its course. Made of shatter-resistant borosilicate glass, this vase comes in clear, smoke gray, and blue, among other dreamy shades. And it comes with a helpful book of avocado lore and growing tips.

This set of waterproof repotting mats includes a smaller version for countertop projects and a larger version for bigger jobs and outdoor use. Both fold up easily.

A repotting mat is a simple but essential tool for indoor gardening. These mats keep water and soil from getting everywhere, and plant tenders can use them to collect leftover soil for reuse. You won’t find a lot of difference among various potting mats–they are simply rectangles of waterproof fabric that snap at the corners to create shallow, spill-proof surfaces. We like the Ellazyy Repotting Square Mats set because it includes two mats: a smaller one for countertop repotting and a larger one for bigger jobs and outdoor use. They’re definitely not fancy, but if the plant lover in your life doesn’t already have some mats, this gift could be life-changing (or at least very useful).

The plant lover in your life wants to be sure their plants are getting enough to drink. These moisture-sensing sticks change color to let them know.

Sustee, a Japanese company, worked in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Agriculture to create a patented indicator to monitor potential force (pF) values, or soil moisture tension. When someone waters a plant, the refillable sensor in each Sustee Aquameter turns blue as the pF reaches about 2.0. That’s the sweet spot, representing a soil-moisture range that all plants enjoy. When the sensor turns white, though, plants are in danger of wilting. The Sustee Aquameter is excellent for helping plant owners figure out the unique hydration rhythms of each plant. And though they’re pricey, the sensors last about a year in most soils and can be replaced after that.

If your pal has plants that prefer a light misting over a good soak, this handsome brass mister is just the ticket. And it holds up for years.

For plants that require just a whisper of water (such as some succulents, hanging air plants, and orchids), or for those that prefer to absorb some moisture through their leaves, a mister such as the Sustainable Village Brass Plant Mister is just the tool. It prevents one from drowning beloved plants, and with its brass-plated finish and elegant shape, it looks beautiful in the home. Wirecutter supervising editor Hannah Morrill gave one to her partner at least five years ago. She reports that the brass has since developed a pleasing patina, and their diva-esque maidenhair fern is still going strong.

Houseplants are much harder to kill in these pretty terra-cotta-and-glass self-watering planters, which slowly absorb water to keep soil moist.

This nifty planter comes recommended by supervising editor Marilyn Ong. Though Marilyn has always been suspicious of gimmicky gifts, after the MoMA Self-Watering Wet Pot Planter rehabilitated her desiccated fiddle-leaf fig, turning it into a lush specimen in just a few months, she has become a sworn convert. The wet pot is actually two pots, consisting of a terra-cotta planter inside a reservoir made of glass. And as with so many good things, the concept here is simple: Just fill the glass reservoir with water, and the soil’s moisture level dictates how much the terra-cotta pot absorbs. Take note, however, that only thirsty plants—not succulents or orchids—would appreciate this home.

Lab-grade test tubes securely nestle in unfinished wooden blocks to create a utilitarian and minimalist propagation station.

The Ivolador Glass Double Test Tube Plant Terrariums are simply constructed from an unfinished block of wood and two test tubes. And yet, thanks to a few well-placed holes, this vessel is the perfect station for at-home propagation. The vase is unsanded and a skosh chunky, but that also means it won’t readily tip and upset delicate burgeoning root systems. For this price, you can buy a few; that way, your gift recipient can propagate Boston ferns, pothos, philodendrons, and ZZ cuttings to their heart’s content.

These mini cacti magnets aren’t the strongest in the world, but they come in six detailed varieties and easily keep a photo on the fridge.

What could be better than a fridge covered in tiny cacti? TabEnter’s Decorative Refrigerator Magnets hold photos, lists, and children’s artwork on the fridge, and they require no care whatsoever. The diminutive cactus sculptures are strong and pleasantly detailed—we especially like the bunny ear cactus and the hoya heart—and they make a useful, aww-inducing gift, especially for the price.

This watering can’s extra-long spout is precise and steady, so plant lovers can easily reach hanging plants and other tricky fronds. However, its delicate stream isn’t as great for big plants that require large glugs of water.

With an extra-long spout that’s precise and steady, the Qilebi Long Spout Watering Can is ideal for watering hanging plants or those with bushy leaves that hide soil. During our testing, we appreciated that this vessel’s clear body allowed us to see when we needed to head to the sink for a refill. The measuring lines make it easy to add precise plant-food quantities. Plus, it just looks cute, whether shelved in the garage or tucked in the brush of an indoor garden.

Sharp, stainless blades and a spring-action handle make these precise micro-tip shears especially easy—even pleasant—to use.

Designed to encourage new growth on small plants and flowers, the Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips come recommended by senior staff writer Rachel Wharton. She uses them to cut herbs straight from the stem and to deadhead flowering plants like geraniums and petunias. The lock is reliable enough that Rachel feels comfortable toting these shears in her pocket while gardening, and the blades spring back after each snip, minimizing hand fatigue and strain.

These gallery-worthy plant straws use a cotton cord to slowly draw water from the container vessel into plants’ soil. The straws are available in many colors, but you have to supply the water container.

To help irrigate their crops, outdoor gardeners historically used ollas (unglazed ceramic jars), which they filled with water and buried in the ground. The sculptural Plantstraws, available in brass or stainless steel, employ a similar basic technology for houseplants. A wick running through the straw pulls water from a jar or bottle into the plant’s soil, helping to provide a slow, steady flow of moisture. This type of watering suits plants that like moist soil, including baby’s tears (Soleirolia soleirolii) and umbrella papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius). The straws can also serve as a trellis for climbing plants. Your gift recipient simply has to wash the straw and cut off (or replace) the cord when needed—and they can keep it going forever.

Artist Sasha Duerr collected local, seasonal plants from seven regions in the US and used them to dye microclimate color wheels. The vibrant, 14-by-20-inch prints of her work come on thick, toothy paper and are special enough to frame.

A wreath of sorts, the Seasonal Color Wheel is a snapshot of the plants and foods that grow in one of seven areas, including Hawaii, Los Angeles, New England, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area. To make the wheels, artist Sasha Duerr collected local plants from these regions throughout the year to create natural dyes, using various mordants (chemicals used to set dye) to manipulate the colors. The composition derives its uncanny sense of movement from the way Duerr applied the pigments to the high-quality paper. As each poster says, this is a gift to “awaken the senses” and to inspire new ways of looking at landscapes.

Though it’s only 2.5 inches long, this stainless steel loupe has a glass lens offering 10x magnification—just enough to reveal details, but not so much as to render specimens unrecognizable.

Hand lenses are invaluable optical aids for botanists, and they’re a perfect gift for the home gardener. Loupes encourage basic botanical discoveries of plant parts such as stomata, the pores on stems and leaves that allow carbon dioxide in and oxygen and water vapor out. Perhaps even more important, loupes aid in the discovery and proper identification of insects, something that plant caretakers must manage. The best ones, like the HTS 202A0 Jeweler’s Singlet Loupe, are simple, with well-constructed metal sheaths that protect a high-quality glass lens. We’ve found that 10x magnification meets all the basic needs.

This comprehensive, money-saving guide to successfully propagating house plants is equipped with easy steps and helpful, beautiful photographs.

During active and dormant seasons alike, the plant fan in your life will likely appreciate a guide to houseplants—both for reference and for inspiration. Root, Nurture, Grow: The Essential Guide to Propagating and Sharing Houseplants will teach people brimming with botanical enthusiasm how to take cuttings to propagate any houseplant (for keeping or sharing) and how to prepare organic rooting mediums.

This delicate-seeming plant is hardier than it looks and recovers quickly from shipping. The 6-inch “Horti white pot” is sturdy, neutral and attractive.

Pilea peperomioides goes by many names—Chinese money plant, UFO plant, pancake plant, missionary plant, lefse plant. But this cheerful, round-leafed plant’s curious name and history are secondary to the fact that it’s very easy to maintain (it prefers bright but indirect light). It’s also simple to propagate, so the gift you give today may return later in the form of a cutting. And that has earned Pilea peperomioides yet another nickname: the friendship plant. We like the Pilea Peperomioides from Horti, another one of our favorite places to buy plants online, because it ships its plants in protective boxes (with free heat packs in the winter), and every plant is covered by a 15-day guarantee.

This solid scoop is ideal for potting and repotting, and it helps to minimize soil spillage. It’s also good-looking enough to leave out.

Most people have scoops for flour, sugar, and coffee—so why not for soil? The stainless steel Bloomscape Soil Scoop has a deep base cup and high sides for transferring soil from bag to container with minimal spillage. With an attractive wooden handle and a leather loop, this scoop is also good-looking enough to hang in the open. To help your gift recipient set intentions (and to make sure they don’t use the scoop for protein powder), pair it with a bag of soil. We prefer this potting soil from the specialists at Organic Mechanics because it contains compost and worm castings; these ingredients are not found in most commercial mixes, but they support soil fertility, which is hard to maintain when you’re gardening in containers.

Nothing is quite as pleasant and inspiring as taking a stroll through a botanical garden. Membership provides year-round access and supports the efforts to keep such places alive.

Botanical gardens elevate the art of caring for plants in captivity to its highest form, and they make this art accessible to the public. In these gardens, skilled horticulturalists and arborists maintain stunning living collections. A botanical garden membership provides unlimited inspiration as well as access to classes, research, library collections, herbaria, and plant sales. The American Horticultural Society’s garden directory will lead you to local and regional gardens across the country. While you’re on the AHS website, you can browse its catalog of national plant events and design a destination trip for (or with) your loved one.

We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.

Makalé Cullen contributed reporting. This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.

Samantha Schoech

Except for the time she gave a boyfriend her mother’s old toaster for Christmas, staff writer Samantha Schoech has a reputation as an excellent gift giver. She lives in San Francisco with two teens, two cats, a geriatric betta fish, and a bookseller husband. Her first book of short stories, My Mother’s Boyfriends, is coming out in 2024.

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