By Karen Weir-Jimerson

You buy everything online (clothes, shoes, phone chargers, sofas, your favorite coffee beans), but did you know that you can also buy Costa Farms plants from a variety of different retailers?

With the click of a button, you can see, select, and purchase an adorable cactus garden for your living room table. Or a fiddle leaf fig for your living room. Plant shopping just got easier. Online shops carry small to tall houseplants for any home décor.

Are you a little nervous about buying a live plant online? Don’t be. Here’s what Apartment Therapy has to say about buying plants online:

“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 hydrangea bush for your backyard. 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.”

So what do you get when you order a plant online? It depends on the grower. Costa Farms, for example, has developed the right mix of expert packaging and fast shipping methods that takes a freshly grown plant from the greenhouse and delivers it to your door within days. You unwrap a plant that is healthy and ready to enliven your home. Let’s take a look at the process from greenhouse to your living room.

Fresh Picks Just for You
When you buy a Costa Farms plant online from one of our retail partners, the order goes directly to our expert Plant Pickers. They search through the freshest and most healthy plants in the greenhouse to complete your order.

Packaging for a Ride
Costa Farms wants your plants to arrive at your door looking as good as they did when they left the greenhouse. So we use a variety of recyclable packaging materials that ensure that your pothos arrives with leaves intact, for instance. We use protective paper, taped to hold the plant in place. Most plant shipments also have a bamboo stake that keeps the plant from moving around inside the package. That means if your delivery person fumbles the package in your driveway, you won’t end up with a mussed up plant.
NOTE: Sometimes delivery mishaps occur. If you ever receive a plant that has been damaged, call (1-800-251-9909) or email ([email protected]). Our Customer Care staff will always help you remedy the situation.

Arrival on Your Doorstep
When your plant arrives, it’s important to unwrap it immediately. Plants are living things that survive on water, air, and sunlight, so it goes without saying that a dark cardboard box is not an ideal long-term living solution.

The Grand Opening!
Unwrap your plant by opening the box from the top, then determining how to proceed based on the packaging. You may want to turn the package on the side and cut open the bottom of the box so you can slip the container out holding the pot. Or you can use a knife or box cutter to carefully cut the side of the box to release the plant. Never pull a plant out by the stems or leaves because this can injure the plant.
Tip: While we pack our plants as carefully as we can, it's natural for some of the potting mix to spill out of the pot. It's helpful to unbox your plant in an area where it's easy to clean up some spilled soil, if necessary. 

Placement in your Home
Plants are shipped with a Care Guide that will help you figure out where to place your plant so that it will thrive and grow. Light is super important to plants, but each type of plant has its own light requirements. For example, a fidddle leaf fig likes bright indirect light. But a succulent likes bright direct sunlight.

Placement in your Yard
You can also buy plants for your garden, patio, and landscaping. If you have a big area, you can even by plants in bulk. See “Plants in Bulk: Prettier by the Dozen” for reasons why buying a large group of plants makes sense in your yard.

Long-Term Success
We grow most of our Costa Farms plants with a time-release fertilizer mixed into the potting mix. That way you don't have to worry about feeding your new plants for the next few months. 

So the next time you click and shop for a pair of jeans, a ride to a party, or a meal delivered to your home, add a (snake plant, jade plant, succulent bowl -- you pick!) to your shopping list. Buying plants online is just like buying everything else you love online--it’s fast, you get to choose from a great selection, and you get it all delivered directly to your home (no messy car or struggling with a big plant on a crowded bus or subway).

Plant lovers, say hello to the ultimate easy way to garden: Home delivery!

Find retailers that offer Costa Farms plants online at http://www.costafarms.com/retailers
Visit the Costa Farms online plant shop at https://shop.costafarms.com/