finvsfin logo
finvsfin logo
finvsfin logo

Alex Goldberg

In this Article

Why Trust Us?

a female doctor

Doctors medically review our content.

a girl holding a magnifying glass and a boy holding a clipboard

We spend thousands of hours researching and testing products.

Millions of discerning shoppers already do.

Why Trust Us?

a female doctor

Our content is reviewed by licensed medical professionals.

a girl holding a magnifying glass and a boy holding a clipboard

We test hundreds of wellness platforms each year.

Millions of shoppers rely on our research to make smarter health-related purchases.

bloomscape vs the sill vs rooted - which is best

We earn commission if you buy through our links. Learn more about our editorial process.

Bloomscape vs The Sill vs Rooted: Where to Buy House Plants Online

About the Author

Alex Goldberg

Alex worked at three early-stage startups before starting Fin vs Fin. Covering the rise of direct-to-consumer health, his mission is to help patients access better treatments online. He's also a husband, father, and UC Berkeley grad who enjoys golf, podcasts, live music, cooking, and home improvement.

Learn more

In this Article

In this Article

Alex Goldberg

In this article, we’ll review three best online plant delivery sites for you to decide which one provides the most bang for your buck. 

 

Houseplants give liveliness to indoor areas, whether you want to add a burst of green to a bookshelf, desk, vacant bedroom corner, or even spruce up a doorway.

 

If you are anything like us, you prefer convenience over everything else.

 

Fortunately, shopping for plants online now is as simple as it could be. You no longer need to go to a local nursery, where the variety may be confined, and wrestle a plant into the backseat of your car or drag it around on the subway. 

 

Online plant sellers use innovative packaging and shipping methods to ensure that your beloved plant arrives in perfect condition, ready to flourish in your home. What’s more? Some merchants provide guarantees, and the majority include detailed instructions for the care of your plant.

 

Now you may be wondering what’s the best place to buy plants online. We won’t leaf you (pun intended :joy:) to ponder over this question on your own.

 

We’ve compared three of the top online houseplant delivery services head-to-head — Bloomscape vs The Sill vs Rooted vs Fast Growing Trees.com — to help you decide which one is the best fit for you. These are the finest sites to buy plants online, whether you want a tropical plant that blooms or a drought-tolerant Jade.

 

 

Why purchase plants online vs in-person?

 

Skeptical? Buying plants online has its own perks. Here are some reasons to put your faith in the online plant shopping process.

 

  1. Convenience 

You get your plant delivered at the doorstep; what else do you need? We all know how tedious the plant shopping process is: driving/parking your car, wandering around a humid greenhouse, waiting in line to pay, and so on. Even if you have wheels at your disposal, you may not want to track dirt into your backseat and risk muddying up your Italian leather during transport. You can avoid the humdrum of taking the plant home with care by ordering it online. And not just that they also promise to deliver on time.

 

  1. Greater variety 

The selection of plants available in the physical/local plant nursery is limited due to various factors, and they frequently carry the same conventional and boring plants. When you order plants online, you have a multitude of options to pick, ranging from floral, air-purifying, hard-to-kill, low-light indoor plants to medicinal plants. Aside from that, the thorough description of the plant’s care and other specifics available alongside will assist you in making an informed decision.

 

3. Less expensive 

Ordering plants online is possibly less expensive, just as shopping from various e-commerce portals. The rivalry among internet nurseries is fierce, resulting in competitive costs for all types of plants. On occasion, online nurseries will give a discount through coupons and promotional codes. Who doesn’t love savings? That being said, in our experience, a local nursery did have some slightly lower prices on some of the items that we reviewed, especially vs Fast-Growing-Trees.com. We’ll get more into the pricing review in a bit. 

 

  1. Support from community 

If you don’t know the first thing about house plants but desperately need more greenery in your life, online stores are an ideal choice. Most of them have blogs and community forums where new and experienced plant parents exchange ideas. It is far less scary to put your green thumb to the test after reading about so many other people’s experiences than it is to go at it alone.

 

Bloomscape vs The Sill vs Rooted vs Fast-Growing-Trees.com: which online plant delivery shop is the best?

 

To get you started on your horticultural journey, we’ve compared Bloomscape vs The Sill vs Rooted vs Fast-Growing-Trees.com over a few different categories. Let’s see if these websites have what you need to nurture your green thumb:

Best online plant store

Pricing range$35 – $195$5 – $154$17 – $135$14 – $500+
Shipping cost
  • $7 for orders under $75
  • Free for orders over $75
  • $5 for orders under $10
  • $10 for orders between $10 to $100
  • $25 for orders over $100
  • Free shipping for plant ordersUsually offer free shipping over $129
    Shipping time
  • 2 to 6 days for indoor plants
  • 8 to 10 days for edible indoor plants
  • Shipping time: 2 to 6 days
  • Delivery at your doorstep: 1 to 4 days
  • Shipping time: 2 to 4 days
  • Delivery at your doorstep: 3 to 5 days
  • East Coast: 1-3 days
  • West Coast: 4-5 days
  • Shipping areasContiguous U.S.Contiguous U.S.Contiguous U.S.Contiguous U.S.
    Kinds of plants offered
  • Indoor
  • Outdoor
  • Edible
  • Pet-friendly
  • Low maintenance
  • Air purifying
  • Low light
  • Bright light
  • Direct Sunlight
  • Faux/dried/preserved
  • Flowers/botanicals
  • Pet-friendly
  • Air purifying
  • Low light
  • Bright light
  • Blooming
  • Patterned
  • Cascading
  • Air plants
  • Desert plants
  • Fresh herbs
  • Tropical plants
  • Indoor
  • Outdoor
  • Trees
  • Fruit Trees
  • Container and Patio
  • Palm Trees
  • Shrubs
  • Vines
  • Guaranteed?(For 30 days after arrival)(1 year for certain plants)(For 14 days after arrival)(For 5 days after arrival)
    Return policyHowever, if a plant arrives dead, a replacement free of charge is sent within 30 days.25% restocking fee
    Monthly subscription
    Additional items
  • Pots
  • Tools
  • Supplies
  • Decor and accessories
  • Potting supplies
  • Grow kits
  • Wall arts and prints
  • Candles and stationery
  • Apothecary
  • Artisanal planters
  • Hanging planters
  • Wall planters
  • Supplies
  • Fertilizers
  • Plant Food
  • Pruning shears
  • Pots
  • rtisanal planters
  • Website

    If you’re interested in a different kind of plant delivery, check out our review on the best at-home (indoor!!!) garden growing systems. You’ll be set from your ZZ Plants to your Zucchinis.

     

    Now that you have a general idea of Bloomscape vs The Sill vs Rooted, let’s get into the specifics of each online shop.

     

    Review of Bloomscape’s online plant delivery shop

     

    Source: Bloomscape

     

    Bloomscape is welcoming and instructive, with Matisse-esque graphics, beautiful video content, and loads of helpful information to help you with your buying experience.

     

    When you order a houseplant from Bloomscape, it ships directly from their greenhouse and arrives in plastic-free packaging to safeguard it throughout transit. This means you won’t get any neglected storage ferns that appear to be on their last legs. Depending on the type of plant, it will be delivered in an elegant clay planter or an Eco pot consisting of up to 80% recyclable plastic.

     

    To begin shopping, you can first complete their meticulously curated quiz, which will match you to the best plant for your space, light levels, and even experience. If you’re a plant novice, this quiz will help you identify what could be ideal for you—you can personalize by the amount of growing difficulty, pet friendliness, size, and whether you’re looking for something for your home office.

     

    Bloomscape also provides Plant Care 101: plant-parenting tips, tactics, and guidelines. Plant Mom — her real name is Joyce, is Bloomscape’s official expert — who answers any questions you have about plant care or specific plants! The company has gone to great lengths to assure that there will be no more wilted Fiddle-leaf figs next to your couch!

     

    Bloomscape has convenient gift options and for the budget friendly folks (cough dorm students) a Last Chance area with select houseplants priced at 20% off

     

    Last, but certainly not the least, Bloomscape has an innovative app called Vera that helps you and your plants thrive. A few of the many features include:

     

    • Creating profiles for your plants with their name, picture, and the date you added them to your family
    • Setting schedules and getting reminders such as watering your plants
    • Logging activities, like your daily misting, the last time you re-potted, etc.
    • Seeing care tips for each plant and reading expert advice from Bloomscape’s Grow-How Team

    Source: Bloomscape

     

    What we like about Bloomscape 

     

    • Wide variety of plants to choose from
    • High level of filters to narrow down searches
    • Helpful information on planting and real-time support from experts
    • Plant care smartphone app

     

    What we don’t love 

    • Expensive compared to other options

     

     

    Review of The Sill’s online plant delivery shop

     

    Source: The Sill 

     

    The Sill is all about, you guessed it, window-sill-friendly potted plants. There’s a lot to appreciate about shopping for plants at The Sill, from their friendly and informative plant care recommendations to their lovely photos and easy-to-shop categories. What began as a small, fashionable boutique on Manhattan’s Lower East Side has grown into a bit of a craze among people looking to hone their green thumb and fill their home with Instagram-worthy house plants.

     

    Filters make it simple to search The Sill’s carefully curated houseplants by feature, variety, and size. You can choose from mini plants that grow one to three inches, small plants that grow three to five inches, and medium plants that grow six to nine inches. Anything larger can only be ordered in the New York or Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

     

    The website also features particular collections for pet owners and newbies, as well as low-light plants and succulents, so you can find the ideal plant for your lifestyle and aesthetic quickly.

     

    The Sill sells houseplants with and without planters. It also has a special plant care and planters section with various containers in modern designs. Their plant bundles contain two to three plants of varied sizes and care needs, allowing you to establish your own modest houseplant collection.

     

    They not only provide a selected assortment for beginners, but they also have a wealth of tools for the entire “Plant Parenthood” journey. If you believe your plant requires more attention than anticipated, you can get some advice virtually through their consultation service.

     

    Their plants arrive in their nursery pots, snugly nestled inside the ceramic planter you choose. According to the Sill, they know how delicate plants may be and wish to reduce the chance of shock during shipping. They give your plant the best chance of surviving by shipping it in the nursery pot rather than re-potting it before delivery. In the unlikely event that a plant is dead on arrival, The Sill will always provide a replacement or a complete refund. 

     

    What we like about The Sill:

     

    • Good source for popular houseplants
    • Wider selection of plants
    • Faux and preserved plants are also available 
    • Consultation services
    • Monthly plant subscription service available

     

    What we don’t love

     

    • Ships large plants only to New York or Los Angeles metropolitan areas

     

     

    Review of Rooted’s online plant delivery shop

     

    Source: Rooted

     

    Rooted was founded by transplants from California and Hawaii who missed the West Coast and tropical greenery when they relocated to New York. They’re on a mission to reconnect people to nature and make plant purchasing easy and exciting.

     

    They provide a 14-day money-back guarantee, free shipping on all plants, and free plant-care instructions and tips through email and text message. And all of the plants, from Becky, the ponytail palm, to Carol, the ric rac cactus, are cultivated and cared for at the corporate greenhouse, eliminating the need for a middleman.

     

    You’ll also get a good laugh reading the creative product write-ups. Who knew plant shopping could be so entertaining?

     

    Rooted features some of the unique plant types among the three shops mentioned in this article, including air, tropical, desert plants, and fresh herbs. While browsing their plants, you may sort them by light-sensitivity, size, maintenance, pet friendliness, and even watering schedule and humidity. The latter of these filters are not available to fine tune your search on Bloomscape or The Sill. This is a wonderful feature for folks who prioritize plant watering needs over everything else due to their hectic schedules.

     

    Another one-of-a-kind service offered by Rooted is their monthly plant subscription box, which is brought directly from their greenhouse to your door. They’ve something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a gift that keeps on giving or a personal monthly pick-me-up.

     

    They currently have two monthly themed boxes. You may start developing your fantasy indoor jungle by receiving a stunning surprise plant every month in the Mystery Jungle Box or a surprise pet-friendly plant in a 4″ diameter grow pot in the Furry Friends Box.

     

    If you’re stumped on where to begin, you can take their plant quiz to get personalized plant recommendations. The questionnaire considers factors such as your expertise, light levels in your area, travel, and even children (we’re guessing it’s either to account for the toxicity of the plant or to avoid having your floor-standing plant annihilated by a toddler).

     

    Rooted, like Bloomscape, has its own app called Plantopedia, which is a free, ever-expanding library of houseplants complete with care advice and assistance. Their SMS Plant Doctor also addresses any plant-related concerns you may have and assists you with everything from selecting the proper plant for your space to determining why your leaves are going yellow to getting rid of those pesky bugs. 

     

    Source: Rooted

     

    What we like about Rooted

     

    • Offers free shipping
    • Monthly themed subscription boxes
    • More filters to fine tune your search

     

    What we don’t love

     

    • Selection of plants in each category is limited

     

     

    Review of Fast-Growing-Trees

     

    Fast Growing Trees or fast-growing-trees.com is a really well known online tree and plant nursery that ships all over the continental USA. Fast Growing Trees ships from their nursery in South Carolina, and shipping times vary based on how close your address is to their nursery. 

     

    They have a huge variety of trees – large and small, including fruit trees like apples, pears, avocados, citrus, peaches, olives… maples, Japanese maples (many varieties), oak trees, palms – really, what seems to be the best selection of actual trees that can be shipped directly to your home. Additionally, you’ll find perennials, other flowers, cacti, vines, hedges. Really, they offer a huge selection of plants that you’d likely find at an amazing local nursery. 

     

    Fast Growing Trees is much less of a fancy, direct-to-consumer company and much more of a local nursery that happens to have a great website. Searching and checking out is easy. Plus, they have various tools to help you figure out which plant or tree is right for your location.

     

     

    Compared to Bloomscape or The Sill, Fast Growing Trees is a better place to get bigger plants and trees that you’d put into your garden (vs. keeping inside). 

     

    What we like about Fast Growing Trees

     

    • Amazing selection of plants and trees
    • Best place to find bigger sized trees for your outdoor garden
    • Cheap, 1 year “warranty” that replaces your plant if it dies in the first year (yes, you have to pay extra for this)

     

    What we don’t love

     

    • The prices can be higher than your local nursery; we found a few plants that were cheaper on Fast Growing Trees, but some are available locally for less – it really depends on the particular tree, and the quality of your local nursery

     

     

    Reviews: What are customers saying about Bloomscape,  The Sill, and Rooted online? 

     

    Bloomscape reviews

     

    Customers had minor troubles with Bloomscape, which are expected when ordering something as delicate as live plants online. Still, their excellent and prompt customer support was a repeating theme that rescued the day for many.

     

    (Source: Facebook

     

    (Source: Facebook

     

    Rooted reviews

     

    Rooted appears to have a loyal customer base that praises the company’s customer service and plants quality.

     

    Source: Rooted 

     

    (Source: Facebook

     

    The Sill reviews

     

    Customers of The Sill appreciate its seamless shopping experience, high quality product, and fast delivery. 

     

    (Source: Facebook)

     

    (Source: Facebook)

     

     

    The Verdict: What’s the best site to buy plants online?

     

    Few things are more straightforward than internet shopping, but it can be difficult to trust the process and take a leaf of faith (ba dum tss!) when acquiring something living, such as a plant. 

     

    After all, you want to ensure that it is of the highest quality, looks beautiful, and is also in a good condition when it arrives at your door. That is why it is important to order at an online retailer with a reputation for high-quality products, prompt delivery, and excellent customer service. We’ve taken the mystery out of this procedure for you with our list of the finest online shops to buy plants online. 

     

    Now that we have combed through Bloomscape, The Sill, and Rooted websites for their detailed descriptions and offerings, here are a few layouts to help you decide what’s the best site for you to buy plants online:

     

     

    But first let’s look at customizability options for each

     

    Bloomscape provides bespoke pot color options for your plants! They only have one style of container (their standard ecopot), but most plants come in one of five colors: stone, clay, charcoal, slate, and indigo. This is an excellent way to add a splash of color or drama to your space.

     

    The Sill offers custom planters in a variety of colors and styles. There are five standard colors available: black, blush, cream, mint, and terracotta. Some colors, such as peach, white, forest, light pink, navy, and soft grey, are exclusively available for specific planter kinds.

     

    They have seven different planter options to select from. Not every plant (or plant size) has all of the possibilities, but they differ in style, and one of the planters even has its own drip tray. For the majority of the plants, you may even have them shipped in their grow pot. If you already have a pot that you know will suit the plant, this is a fantastic alternative.

     

    Rooted only gives you the option to choose the size of certain plants. As a result, if you have a clear vision of your aesthetic and won’t settle for anything less, Rooted might not be the match for you. 

     

    Our top picks…

     

    Bloomscape is the most comprehensive online retailer for folks who know they want to do something green but don’t know where or how to get started. You pay a premium price, but you receive your money’s worth with a high-quality plant in a high-quality container, as well as good customer service. They even take plant care a step further with the ‘Plant Mom,’ who may be contacted if your plants start to die.

     

    The Sill is our pick for someone who wants a more full-service plant-buying experience, such as a support desk to answer queries or the ability to purchase a stylish planter, but without spending too much money. It also serves as a one-stop store for all of your plant-related needs, offering planters and other accessories.

     

    If you are a new plant parent, The Sill provides a $60 monthly subscription in which they send you a low maintenance plant in their medium size (6” diameter grow pot and 7” planter) every month. This membership is ideal for inexperienced folks who don’t know where to begin or a houseplant pro who wants to expand their plant family.

     

    Fast-Growing-Trees.com is the right choice for someone looking to do major, outdoor gardening or tree planting. The variety is likely to be much better than most local nurseries, although you can sometimes pay more vs. what you can get locally. Compared to Bloomscape or The Sill, Fast Growing Trees offers larger sized plants, so if you need to go big check them out.

     

    With free shipping, Rooted is the most cost-effective option on this list. There’s even a section dedicated to discounted plants and planters. Rooted is your best bet if you are a new plant enthusiast who does not want to commit to the label entirely. If you are unsure about your options, you can start slowly with their best for beginners plants or even a Mystery Jungle box.

     

    Have experience with ordering plants online? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

     

    Discover more innovative home goods​

    About the Author

    Alex Goldberg

    Alex worked at three early-stage startups before starting Fin vs Fin. Covering the rise of direct-to-consumer health, his mission is to help patients access better treatments online. He's also a husband, father, and UC Berkeley grad who enjoys golf, podcasts, live music, cooking, and home improvement.

    Learn more
    Alex Goldberg

    Alex Goldberg

    Alex worked at three early-stage startups before starting Fin vs Fin. Covering the rise of direct-to-consumer health, his mission is to help patients access better treatments online. He's also a husband, father, and UC Berkeley grad who enjoys golf, podcasts, live music, cooking, and home improvement.

    Book a free 1:1 coaching session with a licensed wellness expert.

    Whether you need help managing a specific health condition or general resources and recommendations to age gracefully, our wellness coaches can help you formulate a plan, stay motivated, and realize your health goals, no matter how ambitious.

    Submit the form below to apply for a free session:

    What's your name?
    What's your email?
    What would you like an expert's help with most?
    (Select one)
    What's your phone number?

    We promise keep your information safe and secure in accordance with our privacy policy 🔒