Greenhouse Happenings: Your Plant's Journey
Here at Wild Interiors, we pride ourselves in growing exceptional plants that are a step above the competition and a step towards a better environment. So what does the growing journey look like for a Wild Interiors plant? Where do we source our plants from and how long are they in our hands before they are ready to ship out to your favorite plant destination? There’s quite a lot that happens behind the scenes before a plant is ready to leave our greenhouse, so follow along as we take you on the growing journey of a Wild Interiors plant!
Where Do Our Plants Come From?
We source plant materials from all over the world! Central America, Africa, the U.S., Europe, and China are just a few of the locations that our plants come from. Our greenhouse buys from large growing operations and small farmers alike, who employ locals to sustainably produce plant material for us to share throughout North America. Plants arrive at our greenhouse in many different forms such as tissue cultures, plugs, and cuttings.
Some of our plants, such as the Tradescantia Zebrina, are actually propagated right in our greenhouse from stem cuttings!
After the Plants Arrive
When the young plants or plant material arrive at our greenhouse, they are carefully inspected and taken to a special environment to help them establish roots and grow a bit bigger before they are planted into larger pots. During this phase, it is very important that we give our young plants high humidity and water them frequently. They are often placed under large sheets of polyester to create a special microclimate that will keep them happy and healthy. The young plants take up to around eight weeks to establish their roots!
Planting the Young Plants
After the young plants have established a healthy and strong root system, each plug is then hand planted or “stuck” into larger grower pots with our potting mix of 70% peat moss and 30% hydrafiber (which is just a fancy name for wood fiber). We work to determine how many inputs to put in each foliage plant to ensure our plants grow strong root systems and fill the pot out to create healthy full plants. Once they have been planted, they are then placed on large tables that can be easily transported around the greenhouse (due to robotic technology) and sent to the proper environment to grow.
It’s important for us to get our young plants spaced correctly on the tables. If they are too close, they feel crowded and stretch to compete for light. If they are too far apart, they’ll get lazy and their leaves will droop. Our goal is to find the perfect spacing for each plant. We spend a lot of time doing different spacing trials. The challenge is to get as many plants per table without hurting the quality of the plant. We have even developed spacing trays to help us prevent spacing errors.
Growing Time
Once the plants have been properly planted and spaced onto growing tables, they are then sent out to different sections of our greenhouse and grouped together based on their care needs. For example, varieties that need a little more hand-holding (we’re looking at you, ferns) will be placed together in the same section so the growers can control and provide the correct amount of water, humidity, and light they need in order to thrive.
Depending on the plant variety, some plants will hang around the greenhouse and receive special care from our experienced growers for anywhere between 6 weeks to 6 months!
From the Greenhouse to Your Home
After many weeks of specialized care from our growing team, the plants are inspected by quality control before getting the green light to leave our greenhouse. During this time, inspection takes place to ensure consistent sizing and gorgeous, healthy plants. Once they have passed the test, they move on to receive their decorative pot and Wild Interiors wooden care pick- hand-placed by a crew of our team members.
Once they are fully accessorized, they are then packaged, shipped, and sent on their way to your favorite Wild Interiors retail locations around the U.S.!
The next time you’re shopping and you see a Wild Interiors plant, know that it was sustainably sourced and grown with special love and care!