Horti is a new houseplant subscription box for urban dwellers that not only sends plants but educates you on how easy it can be to take care of them. Pick how often you'd like to receive a new plant--monthly or bi-monthly--and a plant, plant pot, and dehydrated soil will be shipped right to your door. NYC based subscribers can also choose a bi-monthly plan that includes a plant and additional planting accessories.
This is a review of the Newbie US, $35 every other month, box. According to the Horti site:
Every two months, you will receive a 6” plant (or two or three smaller plants) with a beautiful hand-painted pot or planting accessory, along with the key information to sustain it.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Horti Houseplant Subscription Box
The Subscription Box: Horti
The Cost: $35.00 + free ground shipping
The Products: Each box will include a 6" robust houseplant with a hand-painted pot or planting accessory, soil, and care instructions.
Ships to: US
Horti January 2018 Review
My first shipment from Horti came with an envelope with info cards inside. This first card gives more information on the company's mission to "sell you on planting" and that they are"building a community of urban gardeners who aspire to cultivate cleaner, happier lives!"
This card tells you how to check your plant to see if it needs water and also provides a chart to help diagnose common plant issues.
The next card explains how to safely re-pot your new plant from its shipping pot into its new home.
This card provides some extra info on ferns:
"Ferns are among the oldest living plants on earth. There are an estimated 15000 varieties in existence and they don't produce fruits or seeds, instead reproducing by spores. Fern species live in a wide variety of habitats, from remote mountain elevations, to dry desert rock faces, to bodies of water or in open fields."
It also lets me know that my new fern is going to need moderate to bright, diffused light and would prefer a warm, humid environment. Sad news for this fern - my house is chilly and dry!
Next, there's a list of possible ferns. I had no idea there were so many! My new plant friend (victim?) is a Crispy Fern. My husband and I name all of our house plants after celebrities and so this one shall be named Crispin Glover.
Here's how everything looked straight out of the box. The plant is well-packed in bubble wrap.
When I removed the bubble wrap, I found that the plant had been shipped with a little heat pack to keep it safe from freezing temperatures during the winter. Horti actually emailed me as soon as I placed my first order to let me know that there would be a shipping delay due to the extremely cold temperatures during the Polar Vortex. I like that they let me know what was going on and care about their plants arriving alive.
Shipping the fern in this zip-top bag helped keep the soil from going everywhere and also helped keep moisture close to the plant.
Crispy Fern - Estimated Value $12.00
My new crispy fern arrived looking very green, well-hydrated, and very happy. I'd never seen this type of fern before receiving in this box. I like the long leaves and how wavy they are. They look like they've been through a hair crimper. I'm glad to add something more original to my collection than the Home Depot selection I already have. I estimated the value of this plant based on prices I've paid for more common plants plus the good health of the plant.
Hand-painted Terra Cotta Clay Pot with Drainage Tray - Estimated Value $10.00
My new fern came with a handpainted terra cotta pot with a matching tray for drainage. I like the simplicity of the terra cotta pot with the modern addition of the white dipped-look paint. So many cute plant pots I see don't have a hole for drainage, which can be bad if over-watered. The pot is stamped with a mark stating it was made in Italy. I'm glad I won't have to run out to find a new pot for my crispy fern, as I'll be happy to display this one in my home. It was a little tricky to find a good value on this pot because you can grab a terra cotta pot pretty cheap at the hardware store. This one is handpainted so that adds some value in my mind.
Wonder Soil Expanding Soil 3" Wafer - Buy a pack of 24 for $42.99
I almost missed his little soil wafer when I was unpacking the box. Just when I thought I'd have to go buy a bag of soil to re-pot my new plant, there was this hiding in the extra packaging materials. This is such a cool thing - you just add 1 1/2 cups of water to this wafer and the soil instantly expands to be the perfect amount for my new plant.
I put the soil wafer into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and then added 1 1/2 cups of water. The soil started to expand immediately and I helped it out by mushing the contents inside the bag. In less than a minute I had the perfect amount of soil to repot my fern into the included pot.
The Verdict: If you're trying to grow your houseplant collection and have trouble finding good local sources for plants - this subscription might be for you! I've found that when I pick up plants at Home Depot, there is little to no information on how to properly take care of the plant. All the information provided with my Horti subscription made me feel more confident about actually keeping this fern alive. I like that as I keep this sub going, they'll start introducing me to progressively more challenging plants. I'm also impressed with the care they used to ship the plant in the winter - my father in law had a company ship us orchids last winter and they arrived frozen.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? I can't say that you'll get the same fern as me if you sign up today, but they will get a plant shipped out to you quickly after you subscribe!
Value Breakdown: At $35.00 (includes free shipping) the average cost of each item is $11.67.
Check out more reviews in the Eco-Friendly Subscription Box List!
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Would you sign up for a houseplant subscription?
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