Why I’m Not a Plant Influencer (Even With 100+ Plants)
I Have Over 100 Plants… But I’m Not a Plant Influencer
I have over 100 plants.
I really do love plants, and I take good care of them. But despite the size of my collection, I have come to terms with something:
I do not have what it takes to be a plant influencer.
My plant personality is much more of a “let’s stick it in the dirt and see what happens” approach.
Sometimes nothing good happens.
But sometimes something wonderful does.
That’s actually how I ended up with one of my favorite plants in the house — a 10-foot mango tree grown from a seed. It started as a fun experiment and turned into something pretty amazing.
And honestly, that’s how a lot of my plant journey has unfolded.
I Don’t Follow Plant Trends
People often ask me which houseplant trends I’m into.
The truth is… I’m not really following any.
Many of my plants are 20 years old or more, and trends simply don’t last that long.
Plants come and go in popularity — fiddle leaf figs, monsteras, rare cuttings — but the plants you truly love tend to stay.
When you’ve kept a plant alive for decades, it stops being decor and starts becoming part of your life.
My Favorite Plants Took Decades
My favorite plants are citrus trees.
I currently have more than a dozen citrus plants, and yes — they do produce fruit every year now.
But that definitely wasn’t the case when I started.
My very first citrus tree was a lemon starter I bought when I first moved out on my own. I’ve now had that same plant for 28 years.
It only started producing lemons about 12 years ago.
Which means I waited 16 years before I saw my first fruit.
And honestly? That might be the most important plant lesson I’ve learned:
Sometimes the only thing a plant really needs is time and patience.
My Repotting Style Is… Not Instagram Ready
If you’ve ever watched one of those calming plant care videos where someone repots a plant on a spotless table with perfectly arranged tools…
That is not what happens at my house.
When I repot plants:
- There is dirt everywhere
- Several plants are sitting around bare root waiting for pots
- I realize halfway through that I forgot something important
- And at some point I go outside and grab a stick from the yard to use as a trellis
It’s chaotic.
It’s messy.
But somehow, it works.
I’m a Maker, Not an Influencer
At the end of the day, I’m a maker more than an influencer.
I love creating things. I love designing, building, experimenting, and seeing where an idea might lead.
That’s why so many of my plants end up living in failed 3D prints, experimental planters, and early prototypes.
My plants are basically part of the product development team.
Some experiments work.
Some definitely don’t.
But trying things is the fun part.
And in many ways, that’s what gardening is too.
You plant something, take care of it, and wait to see what happens.
Sometimes nothing.
Sometimes lemons.
