Ostensibly, works lovers should beryllium the easiest to store for. Just get them a plant, right?
Wrong. (Well, astir of the time.) I reappraisal indoor hydroponic gardens for WIRED and person been a arrogant works genitor for astir 30 years, truthful I tin accidental that adjacent if you person a moving intelligence catalog of each your recipient's houseplants and cognize which ones they don't yet have, you whitethorn not cognize what they person abstraction for, oregon what benignant of substrate oregon cookware they'd similar to beryllium using.
In general, the champion gifts punctual them of the plants they bash have, oregon that volition assistance them attraction for them. However, accidental you cognize beyond a shadiness of a uncertainty your recipient would so similar a plant. In that case, we've included a mates of mail-order options from companies we've tried and recommend, including a fortunate jade works and a histrion that bears edible fruit.
For much acquisition ideas, cheque retired our different gift guides, including Gifts for Bird Lovers, Gifts for Coworkers, Gifts for Book Lovers, and the Best Flower Delivery Services.
Updated December 2025: We've added caller gifts from LetPot and Ferry-Morse, and ensured up-to-date links and prices.
A Stylish Propagation Station
Mkono
Plant Propagation Tubes
Propagation tubes arsenic decor is not a caller concept, but not everyone has the array oregon support abstraction for the fig of tubes they need. This hanging mentation comes successful small, medium, oregon ample sizes, arsenic good arsenic your prime of wood finishes. There's besides a achromatic mentation with colored tubes if your recipient wanted to bent it successful beforehand of a model for a stained-glass effect. (They whitethorn privation to dainty the tubes with hydrogen peroxide archetypal to debar algae growth.)
Pair 1 with a gift paper to Palmstreet, an online marketplace for unrecorded plants successful the vein of Etsy oregon Poshmark. The app's a spot cumbersome, but I had a amazingly large clip buying enigma boxes of houseplant cuttings to capable my ain propagation tubes. Unwrapping each cutting was its ain gift—I had nary thought what specimens I was going to get, immoderate of which ended up being rather absorbing and/or rare. (Boxes mean astir $15 to $25.)
For Keeping Leaves Clean and Healthy
Houseplants person a inclination to stitchery dust, particularly connected precocious shelves oregon successful peculiarly dusty areas similar adjacent a litter box. This is atrocious quality for works wellness immoderate time, but particularly truthful during the wintertime months, erstwhile leaves request arsenic overmuch airy arsenic they tin get. If your giftee has plants with tons of long, bladed leaves, similar a corn plant oregon ponytail palm, the Goha Leaf Sweep is an invaluable tool—it features small microfiber “socks” that acceptable implicit lockable integrative tongs, truthful you tin cleanable some sides of the leaves astatine the aforesaid time. I besides similar to fastener it successful spot and usage 1 broadside astatine a clip for plants with larger leaves, similar monstera oregon philodendron. The “sock” covers tin beryllium rotated successful bid to usage each spot of cleanable surface, and are besides afloat instrumentality washable.
A Strong Grow Light
LetPot
100-Watt Grow Light
Grow lights are captious for keeping houseplants happy successful winter, and I similar this full-spectrum exemplary from LetPot owed to the size of its lamp (2 x 3 feet), which keeps plants and seedlings from becoming leggy, and the information it tin bent oregon stand. While connected its stand, the airy tin rotate astir 360 degrees to beryllium positioned wherever you request it, and portion it works with LetPot's app, it besides sports a corded distant with buttons for adjusting the airy intensity. Do note, however, that portion the container says the basal tin widen to 72 inches, I was lone capable to get it up to astir 60 inches, truthful if you person truly gangly plants, you whitethorn request to spell with the hanging option.
Grow Your Own Mushrooms
North Spore
Organic Spray & Grow Mushroom Kit
You person astir apt seen different brands' versions of this kit, but those are usually stored dehydrated and are lone bully for 1 fruiting, if you're lucky. North Spore's are shipped fresh, with an enclosed small squirt vessel for keeping moist (sorry), truthful they'll beryllium bully for aggregate fruitings. My pinkish oyster mushroom artifact is astir to person its third. Oyster mushrooms are typically the astir beginner-friendly, and North Spore offers 2 antithetic kinds—pink and blue, arsenic good arsenic trendy lion's mane if your recipient is simply a much experienced mycologist.
Suppose your giftee loves increasing mushrooms but has graduated to much challenging varieties. In that case, North Spore makes an automated monotub ($165) that tin beryllium paired with either substrate oregon the brand's fruiting blocks. It keeps the increasing situation with the due airflow and humidity, and I've grown truthful galore mushrooms successful excavation that I've turned into a Crazy Mushroom Lady, leaving bags connected neighbors' porches and chasing down acquaintances successful the market store.
(Note that the photograph shows aureate oyster mushrooms, which mycologists are investigating arsenic a potential invasive species. North Spore says it is presently phasing retired its yellowish oyster mushroom kits portion it works connected processing a sporeless strain.)
A Decorative Indoor Trellis
If your person oregon loved 1 is supporting their vines oregon floppy potted plants with bendable moss poles or, worse, a jury-rigged ladder made retired of duct-taped pencils (it was an emergency, OK?), dainty them to 1 of these hand-finished, laser-cut works supports. There are staked and modular versions, arsenic good arsenic coasters, partition mounts, and adjacent a paintable peperomia leaf. I tested two—one shaped similar a monstera leafage and different similar a palm—and some person held up good with floppy philodendrons and occasionally over-watered soil.
A Smart Planter for Black Thumbs
If your giftee loves houseplants but has a dismal way grounds of keeping them alive, this is the acquisition for them. This 7 x 8-inch astute planter, which debuted astatine CES 2025, takes attraction of your works for you—fill the cookware erstwhile a period with h2o and it volition h2o the works via small jets astatine the apical erstwhile the sensors observe it's necessary, nonstop you alerts done the LeafyPod app if the works needs much airy oregon a antithetic temperature, and way humidity to marque definite everything is optimal for the works you've chosen. (The app volition adjacent place your works if you don't cognize what it is oregon what it needs.)
Using a LeafyPod cookware makes your works “virtually intolerable to kill,” according to the company's marketing, and I admit I person been impressed successful my testing—I chose cuttings from a finicky inch works I had killed doubly earlier from overwatering, and the LeafyPod planter has kept them not lone alive, but thriving and growing. Note that you tin opt to acquisition a LeafyPod planter unsocial oregon with a span if you program connected adding much LeafyPods astir your location successful the future.
A Versatile Plant Stand
As idiosyncratic with a paucity of level space, I looked acold and wide for a works basal that was reasonably priced but sturdy and practical, and had a slatted bottommost that wouldn't artifact a level register. This 3-foot-tall folding exemplary acceptable the bill. Not lone is each support wide capable for seed-starting trays (the bundle identifies it arsenic a “seed starting station”), but the full happening sets up successful minutes without immoderate tools oregon assembly, and collapses backmost down for retention erstwhile not successful use. It's besides highly sturdy, capable to clasp adjacent my heaviest pot.
A Fun Puzzle
Cavallini & Co.
Cacti & Succulents Vintage Puzzle
This 1,000-piece puzzle is based connected a vintage botanical poster and not lone looks great, it's ace challenging with each the achromatic abstraction and similar-looking greenery. The pieces travel successful a drawstring cloth container wrong the giftable tube-shaped container, and there's a tiny poster included to assistance with orientation. If succulents aren't your recipient's thing, Cavallini besides makes akin vintage-inspired versions with houseplants, floral specimens, a angiosperm garden, and wildflowers.
A Plant That Lasts Forever
Though this completed Lego acceptable takes up invaluable support oregon array existent property that could beryllium unfastened for plants, it could supply a cheery popular of colour for a acheronian country oregon country wherever plants mightiness not thrive. My household has some this best-seller succulent kit and the bonsai histrion ($50), which features seasonal blossoms.
Instant Gardener
New homeowner funny successful starting a garden? Established gardener with rusty, aged tools mislaid successful the depths of the garage? Both of them volition emotion this tote set, which has each the tools they'll request to get planting travel spring, on with a sturdy, applicable canvas container with handles to bent connected a wheelbarrow oregon tree. They'll get quality, solid-wood-handled versions of a manus cultivator, razor hoe, multi-weeder tool, plot snips, and, my idiosyncratic favorite, a Hori Hori weapon and trowel combo, with a ruler connected the broadside for measuring planting depth.
For Your Recipient—and Their Plants
Humidity is indispensable for plants year-round, but particularly successful winter. If your recipient lives successful a adust environment, wherefore not springiness them a double-duty gift—a humidifier with a planter successful it! The Natura is made with recycled materials and FSC-certified bamboo, meaning the bamboo was harvested from responsibly managed forests.
WIRED contributing reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro tested it for our usher to the Best Humidifiers and liked that it could beryllium filled either from the apical oregon from the side, and that the mist spout could beryllium rotated for customized spray directions.
A Lucky Jade
We emotion Urban Stems' flower delivery, but it turns retired the marque besides offers a enactment of works gifts that vessel successful conscionable a mates of days, cleanable for a housewarming oregon anytime gift. The Good Omen consists of a tiny jade succulent—thought to pull wealthiness and prosperity according to feng shui principles, owed to its coin-shaped leaves—in an elephant-shaped planter. (Elephants are besides considered bully luck successful galore cultures.)
It comes precise cautiously wrapped successful stiff cardboard and foam, and the vintage-inspired, off-white planter looks adjacent amended successful idiosyncratic than it does online. If the stems look a small mashed astatine first, not to worry—it volition perk up successful astir a week. If your recipient already has a jade, Urban Stems offers orchids, cacti, ZZs, and more.
An Indoor Garden for Herbs
I trial a batch of indoor hydroponic gardens, and this stylish small planter (read our afloat reappraisal here) hits the saccharine spot of occurrence and easiness of use. You tin turn immoderate you privation successful the coco coir pots, which are slotted connected the bottommost truthful the roots tin scope the reservoir below. When the h2o is empty, a dial connected the broadside with a bid of achromatic dots shows a reddish dot. Fill it backmost up with h2o and the included nutrients, and the dial rolls backmost to the archetypal achromatic dot.
I wouldn't turn thing different than herbs successful present owed to the airy barroom tallness (there's supposedly a mounting for tomatoes and peppers, but successful my experience, the yields won't beryllium worthy it successful a plot of this size), but herbs it so does well. (It comes with basil and parsley.)
Grow and Then Chop Your Own Herbs
John Boos
Herb Enthusiast Gift Pack
If you cognize idiosyncratic who's funny successful increasing culinary herbs but doesn't privation to perpetrate to a afloat garden setup, this acquisition acceptable from cutting committee shaper John Boos & Co. could beryllium the ticket. It includes 3 Kratky-method hydroponic herb-growing kits—rosemary, cilantro, and basil—along with a harvest portion instrumentality that I loved truthful overmuch I would give it arsenic a acquisition connected its own, a 17 x 12 x 1-inch Boos Block walnut cutting board, and a burlap farmers marketplace bag. I admit I wasn't definite what to expect from the disconcertingly elemental mason-jar herb kits from Modern Sprout, but excavation are each increasing successfully successful a sunny room window. (Albeit precise slowly—make definite your giftee isn't successful contiguous request of a harvest.)
A Mail-Order Fruit Tree
A favourite from our usher to the Best Flower Delivery Services, Via Citrus sends astir 2-foot-tall effect trees successful achromatic integrative pots, caller from Florida. Options see Meyer lemon, kumquat, and calamondin orange. We've tried them all, astir precocious the kumquat and Meyer lemon, the erstwhile arriving with greenish fruit, the second with fragrant blossoms. They tin unrecorded indoors oregon outdoors—WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell has had the calamondin orangish surviving connected her Southern California patio for the past year. Indoors, you'll astir apt request a turn airy (see the 1 we urge above) to support them happy.
Also to note, if your giftee lives successful a colder area, they whitethorn spot immoderate leafage driblet aft a week oregon truthful owed to the daze and somesthesia change—citrus trees are notorious for this, but leafage driblet doesn't mean the histrion is dying. While the kumquat dropped the bulk of its leaves wrong days of its accomplishment astatine my Pacific Northwest home, it inactive has plentifulness of caller maturation astatine the top. (The Meyer lemon, which arrived astatine the aforesaid time, did not driblet immoderate leaves.)
For Making Compost Indoors
As seen successful our usher to the Best Kitchen Composters, the Reencle Prime doesn't afloat marque ready-to-use compost, but it comes the closest retired of immoderate of the large brands. It functions a batch similar a heated trash can—just propulsion your room scraps in, and microbes volition interruption them down implicit clip into a benignant of loamy mixture. When the measurement of the Prime reaches the capable line, the substance tin beryllium scooped retired and added astatine a 1:4 ratio with potting soil, past near to cure for 3 weeks. After this, it tin beryllium utilized for some outdoor and indoor plants. Not lone volition it escaped up abstraction successful your giftee's trash tin and chopped down connected dangerous greenhouse state production, it volition marque their plants happy.
A Splurge Showpiece
Gardyn
Indoor Hydroponic Garden
This is my favourite indoor hydroponic garden. (Read my afloat reappraisal here.) It's pricey, and it's a symptom to cleanable erstwhile it's clip to crook implicit your plants, but the vertical conduit plan and front-mounted airy barroom let the plants to turn arsenic gangly oregon arsenic wide arsenic they request to, resulting successful thing that looks much similar a surviving creation portion than a rootlike garden. (In conscionable 2 quadrate feet!) An optional subscription plan allows for guided increasing done “Kelby,” an AI gardening adjunct who tells you erstwhile to adhd h2o and nutrients and trim roots, and tin adjacent compile a chill time-lapse video of your existent maturation cycle. No greenish thumbs required. Gardyn conscionable released an updated mentation of its smaller Studio model, the Studio 2, which has each the features of the larger plot but with fractional the plants, for $350 less.

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