The Controversial Thing Plant Shop Owners Say You Should Never Do

If you’ve got a green thumb, you may be looking for ways to grow your plant collection quickly and cheaply, and that’s totally possible with resources like no-buy groups, seed catalogs at local libraries, and more. You’ve probably heard of plant propagating — something that you can do yourself by snipping off part of a favorite plant to grow into its own little plant. Or you can get your hands on a new-to-you plant by attending (or throwing) a propagation party, in which each friend brings a plant cutting for someone to propagate. 

But one version of propagating, called “proplifting,” is one that plant shop owners urge you to skip. Here’s what to know about proplifting and why you should avoid it.

“Proplifting refers to the act of taking plant leaves, plant cuttings, or any part of a plant [from a store] that is then later used at home to grow a new plant or ‘propagation,’” says Sarah Hardy, owner of Found Things Plant Shop.

And although taking a leaf off the ground or directly from a plant might seem harmless, it’s theft and can be especially detrimental to small, locally owned plant shops. For Abby Perry, master gardener and owner of Abby’s Garden Parties, this topic personally hits home for her as it happened recently. 

“At a recent market, I had three beautiful strings of pearl plants hanging in our booth,” Perry says. “It had taken months of care and patience to grow them to look that way. As people walked by admiring them, one person reached out, grabbed a handful of pearls, and slipped them straight into her purse. When I noticed, my heart sank.”

Perry says the plant, which she was selling for $40, had an obvious bald spot right in the front and she could no longer sell it. “It may have looked like just a handful of pearls to someone walking by, but to me, it was months of love and work,” she says.

With that in mind, there are other ways to get plant cuttings that are totally above board and might even teach you a thing or two in the meantime. 

“Our shop offers propagation classes, propagation swap nights, and other various workshops and events to connect with other plant-loving people in the Nashville area,” says Kerbi Howat, owner of Flora Plant Shop in Nashville. 

Additionally, Hardy adds that other popular ways these days to secure plant cuttings include joining local plant groups on Facebook. You can even talk to the associate working in a store and ask if they sell any cuttings — it could help you form a relationship that leads to more plant knowledge, connections, and yes, possibly discounted or free plants in the future. 

“At the end of the day, keeping your integrity as a customer is how you form long-lasting relationships with your local shops, which is far more worth it than snagging a tiny cutting,” Hardy says.