10 Perfect Plant Gifts for Any Home or Host
Updated: Mar. 02, 2023Need the perfect gift? Plants are always on trend! Find the right one to suit any personality or occasion.
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Trendy Plant Gift
Everyone has that one friend who must always be on trend. According to user pics posted to the GrowIt! digital plant community app, Pothos topped the charts for the most shared images, and pictures of Pothos with variegated leaves were extra-popular. As a bonus, Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants to grow and handles a wide range of indoor environments, making it a good gift choice for first-time plant parents, too.
Plant Gift for Adventurous Types
If you need a gift for someone whose soul is soothed by the great outdoors, consider giving them an aloe plant. They can break off a piece of the plant and use the gel inside to soothe scrapes, rashes, bug bites and sunburn.
Parents of active kids would also appreciate and make good use of aloe’s healing properties.
Empty Nesters
Has someone you know downsized recently? Help them make the most of their new home’s available space with a housewarming gift that lets them create a vertical garden. A pretty wall planter for indoors can be given as-is, or you can complete the look for them by adding succulents or a trailing plant. Either way, it will be a perfect fit. Find more useful gifts for new homeowners — you can’t go wrong with one of these!
On the Mend
Having plants in the room helps people heal faster, according to studies compiled by the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture. Mind your bedside manners and give a plant gift that is cheery but low maintenance. A red Aglaonema is easy to grow and has colorful leaves splashed with red and green, which make it a fun gift at holiday time as well.
Holiday Host
When you need a host gift during the holidays, bring a Christmas cactus to help deck the halls. It will bloom from Thanksgiving through the winter holidays. Your gift is one that can keep on giving because it’s ultra-easy to grow a new Christmas cactus by rooting a few leaf cuttings.
Have a friend who’s a gardener? Check out the best gifts for them that are guaranteed to please.
Kids (and the Young at Heart)
For a unique birthday gift for a child, consider giving them a goldfish plant. This plant looks just like a school of bright orange fish, but no fish tank cleaning is required! Goldfish plants are related to African violets and will bloom frequently without a lot of special care.
College Students
For the ultimate in low-care houseplants, give your favorite dorm dweller an air plant (also known as Tillandsia, or “Tilly” for short). Perfect for small spaces, air plants in a hanging planter look great without creating clutter. Plus, they may even help with their study habits. “When plants are around, students are just smarter and pay more attention,” says Dr. Charles Hall, a professor at Texas A&M.
Office Plant
Reward someone on their work anniversary (or for a recent promotion) with a plant for their desk. Studies show a nearby plant can help office workers stay on task. Another study by NASA reveals an indoor plant can also help improve air quality in office environments. A birds nest fern is a practical choice for a desktop garden, with its upright leaves that won’t get in the way.
Mixologist Cocktail Garden
If you’re invited to a cocktail party, bring the host a plant that they can use! Plant and cocktail lover C.L. Fornari, author of The Cocktail Hour Garden, loves to make drinks with lemon verbena and other edible flowers, herbs and aromatic plants. Help your favorite bartender grow a cocktail garden with plants that can flavor and garnish hard and non-alcoholic drinks.
Globe-Trotter
When you need a gift for that relative or friend who is on the road more than they are at home, give them a ZZ plant that doesn’t need frequent watering. In fact, this plant is easy-care all around.
This also makes a ZZ plant — short for Zamioculcas zamiifolia — the perfect gift for new parents who are too busy caring for a baby to fuss over a plant.
