Where to buy houseplants in the UK
Succulents from Cornwall-based nursery Surreal Succulents on display at the Hampton Court Palace flower show. Photograph: Jane Perrone.
Last updated July 29 2022...
I am frequently asked - where do you buy your plants? So here’s my potted guide to the best places to purchase houseplants in the UK (if you’re in the US, click here). Included here are many recommendations of my own, plus several from listeners who I petitioned on Twitter for their favourite places to buy plants - you can read the whole thread here.
I'd like to keep adding to this guide as I find - or you tell me about - great new suppliers, so please get in touch if you want to tell me where you source your plants in the UK. Also check out this Google map of places to buy houseplants, created by Samantha Tremlin.
It’s a long list, so try the shortcuts below to find what you are looking for…
Looking for houseplant sellers that focus on sustainable practices? Check out this list of sustainable sellers.
Boutique shops | Swaps, freebies and person-to-person | DIY sheds, discount stores and supermarkets | Mail order firms | Garden centres | Specialist nurseries | IKEA | Subscription services | Plant societies | Seeds
Boutique shops
Prick cactus boutique in London.
Boutique houseplant shops are popping up all over the place, and they are a great way to get expert advice on your plants and become part of the local planty community: you’ll pay a little more, but you get top quality advice, well-packed plants and an inspiring place to shop. There are also quite a few boutique online shops popping up, too, which are listed at the top. I’ve divided the physical shops into regions of the UK so you can find places closest to home.
Online boutique stores
Eastern Tropicals are specialists in “Monstera, Philodendron, Rhaphidophora and many more unusual species. If it is the rare and unusual that you are after, then you have found the right place!”
The Ginger Jungle - owner Sue Venn is based in West Sussex but posts plants across the UK. Great selection of rare Aroids and other houseplants.
House of Plants London is a new business set up during lockdown; selling houseplants from their home in East London and offering mail order and socially-distanced drop-ins for locals.
Moose Plant Shop is named after the owner’s dog and sells plants and accessories.
Plants For All Seasons has a wide selection, including some rarer varieties, plus a YouTube channel where you can get a 3D view of a plant prior to purchase.
Silver Roots If you don't mind buying smaller plants that will take a while to bulk up and mature, this is a good option.
Spicesotic Plants is a small family business in Essex. Growing tropical, subtropical and spice plants started as a hobby and eventually the collection has turned into business. They also have a wide range of orchids.
Twisted Leaf and Vine have a tropical houseplant specialism and strive to be an eco-friendly company with a zero carbon footprint.
Craftyplants will help you with all your Tillandsia needs!
Botanical Babe Houseplants is an online houseplants shop based out of North Wales and newly trading as of 2020.
Leaf Envy is an online plant store with a plant subscription box option.
Parvus Plants is a tiny houseplant nursery based in Machynlleth, Wales that specialises in small plants.
Loft Leaf is also in Wales, though in the south, in Cardiff, and we hear high praise of its packing quality, not least the biodegradable packaging!
All-ways Blooming has a specialism in Tillandsia air plants.
Beanstalk Plant Co. is an online plant shop selling out of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has some glowing testimonials on its website.
Poppy’s Potting Shed is supplying houseplants - as well as garden plants - from Leeds, West Yorkshire, as of summer 2020.
Oxy-plants deliver a wide range of houseplants and pots to your door. It’s also possible to rent indoor office plants for businesses across the North West of England and beyond!
XenPlants, based out of Romsey, Hampshire, has an Etsy shop + Facebook & Instagram pages, with many a positive customer review!
Corseside Nursery, in Pembrokeshire, is a boutique, family-run nursery that specialises in succulents, growing them from propagation. Purchase online or the nursery can visited by appointment.
Happy Houseplants operates from Berwick Farm, in the Essex countryside, and helps you create your home (or work) jungle. They were a gold medal winner at the prestigious 2022 Chelsea Flower Show.
Physical stores
London and the home counties
Conservatory Archives in East London is one of the most established houseplant shops in the capital: there are two branches to choose from.
A listener has enthused about “the variety of unusual houseplants and stylish pots” at Hertford’s Love Flowers.
Garden of Eden is a black-owned houseplant business in Lewisham, South East London, that has been recommended to us for its affordable prices and selection of rare plants.
The Bexley Butterfly House and Plant Centre, in Kent, comes highly recommended to us for its good prices and its Hoyas, which are just a part of its wider selection!
Flowerland Home & Garden at Bourne End Garden Centre, in Buckinghamshire, is both a physical and online shop which has been around for over 40 years.
Mar Mar has both a physical shop in Margate, Kent, as well as an online store selling from rare, to hanging, to floor, to shelf plants!
Mmea London is a plants emporium in the Brockley Rise Arcade in the SE23 area, offering ‘unusual and large specimens’ according to an enthusiastic On The Ledge listener!
Southern England
Between Two Thorns is a Brighton-based plant shop offering workshops, plant styling and more.
From Victoria is a self-described ‘bohemian lifestyle shop’ in Lewes, near to Brighton, East Sussex, specialising in houseplants, dried flowers and homewares.
Hand Spun Botanics has two shops in East Sussex - one in Alfriston and one in Lewes: they specialise in kokedama but also sell other houseplants and terrariums.
Mystic Jungle is another Sussex-based plant shop, with stalls in Haywards Heath (Orchards Shopping Centre) + Horsham (Horsham Markets) as well as an online shop with national delivery. They supply ‘quality, trendy, rare and unusual plants’ and also offer home and office visits, makeovers and styling advice.
Rose Clover in Portsmouth has been going since 2015 and they offer workshops and plant hire for events as well as a range of plants and accessories.
Southwest England
The Aroid Attic is in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds.
Botanica Studio in Bath also has a photography studio above the shop that is available for hire.
The Greenhouse Looe is a houseplant and coffee shop in Cornwall that additionally stocks pots and other plant-related items.
Hutch Houseplants in Exeter sells houseplants and terrariums.
Little Green is a houseplant business with an emphasis on sustainability, delivering in the Bristol area and mail order to the rest of the UK.
Mint Plants has two physical shops in Gloucestershire plus an online shop for delivery UK-wide.
Old Market Plants in Bristol: its curators have impeccable horticultural qualifications, so this is definitely on my "must visit" list...
The Planted House in Penzance, Cornwall sells plants, pots and ephemera.
You’ll find Sapling & Bud popping up at various markets in Cornwall, with a selection of houseplants and a specialism in succulents.
Spiralis Plants has a shop in Falmouth, Cornwall, plus a stall at Falmouth Market every Saturday. You can also visit them online for nationwide delivery.
Trillium Houseplants in Newquay, Cornwall is a new enterprise by an ex-Eden Project horticulturist: offering mail order as well as local delivery.
MoonKo in Sheffield.
Northern England
Botanic in York is definitely on my hit-list of plant shops I need to visit.
Flourish Manchester came to my attention when they did a fabulously imaginative houseplant display at the RHS Tatton show - they sell online too with an innovative 'limited edition', including some pretty hard to get plants, so are definitely worth keeping an eye on! Flourish also has a branch in the Manchester suburb of Didsbury.
MoonKo in Sheffield has been going since 2013 and has a focus on sustainability, with a pot recycling scheme.
Feels Like Home is also in Sheffield but has an online shop too. Alongside plants, including air plants, there are also terrariums and workshops to make them.
Plant Shop Manchester was born following a trip to Australia in 2016. You can hire out this leafy space for special events, too!
Plant One On Me is a Bradford-based houseplant tea room - great combination!
For “unique, healthy and affordable plants” from either their high street shop or online store, head to Liverpool’s Root, an independent business, which also offers a subscription service and an installation / maintenance service for local retail stores and restaurants.
The Plant Point in Leeds, and also in Ilkley, is a family affair, run by two sisters with a passion for houseplants!
Wild - The Plant Shop is in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, on the high street there, where it opened in June 2019, with “a strong emphasis on exotic and exciting houseplants”!
The Plant Workshop - gold medal winners at the 2022 Chelsea Flower Show, despite stepping in at the last minute, two weeks before! - has three branches: in Newcastle Upon Tyne, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, and in Billingham, Teeside. Run by Dave & Steve, you may also bump into Winston the Springer Spaniel at one of the stores!
East Anglia
Scaped Nature is a new indoor gardening/aquascaping shop in Norwich which also sells kokedama and terrarium setups.
Bo-tanical is a permanent shop based at Norwich Market that offers a wide range of houseplants.
Leslie Terrance Home, Gift and Garden is also in Norwich, selling a large array of products for your home and garden, including a fine selection of houseplants!
Nelly Mosa is based in Bedford and offers a range of houseplants and eco-conscious homewares.
Also close to Norwich is Pretty Cactus, in Brooke. You can shop the online range too, including accessories and books on the subject.
Small and Green now has its own shop in Cambridge following its previous market location and pop-ups - sharing the space with cafe The Garden Kitchen.
Pretty Cactus - don’t be fooled by the name! - is a shop in Brooke, near Norwich, selling ‘a range succulents and leafy houseplants’ as well as cacti! You can purchase from afar via the website too.
The Watering Can is a plant and gift shop in the village of Coltishall, just north of Norwich, run by plant enthusiasts, Lisa and Sarah.
Nell and Green Botanics are plant specialists based in Sudbury, Suffolk, who offer ‘a selection of beautiful houseplants, from the rare & unusual to the classic favourites’ and provide a range of pots, baskets and terrariums.
Greenroom has a destination store in the iconic Snape Maltings in East Suffolk, selling cut flowers alongside houseplants, and all things botanical, bespoke and beautiful!
Midlands
Notanotherjungle in Northampton is Tony LeBritton’s store specialising in rare plants, particularly aroids.
Windowsill, in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is in the Harborough Eco Village. It stocks a wide range of plants, including succulents and cacti, small plants to start a child’s first collection and larger plants that make a statement in your home, plus everything in between!
Isherwood & Co is a Birmingham florist with a selection of houseplants as well as pots, hangers and other accessories.
The Garden Room in Shrewsbury is a small indendent shop with a specialism in terrariums. You’ll also find pots, planters, plant care accessories, terrarium tools and a carefully curated collection of homeware and botanical gifts to help you create your perfect green space.
Wales
Jyngl is a popup plant shop, so if you’re in Wales it may be popping up at a market or event near you soon!
Eartha is a plant shop based in a shared space on City Road in Cardiff. There’s no website for this one, but check out their Facebook page!
Scotland
Apercu has two shops in Glasgow, plus one in Edinburgh's Haymarket.
Dahlia is in Stockbridge, Edinburgh and sells plants of course, as well as candles, ceramics and skincare.
Grow Urban in central Edinburgh serves coffee and cakes alongside its plants and has two branches, Fountainbridge and Stockbridge, with the latter focusing more on outdoor plants and city gardening.
Seb’s Urban Jungle is also Edinburgh-based but with an online-only presence. With an emphasis on convenience and affordability, there is a range of plants on offer, plus accessories and even subscriptions for monthly deliveries!
Green Meadows is your go-to place in Edinburgh for an emphasis on sustainability, both environmental and social.
Blooms in Glasgow offers in-person houseplant sales as well as plants by post.
Willow House Plants in Doune, near Stirling, has everything from tiny cacti to colourful orchids and large foliage plants, plus pots, plant care products and botanical-themed gifts.
Calluna is a small independent, family-run business in Stirling, where you’ll find houseplants alongside ethical clothing, homeware, food and drink!
Petals By The Shore is a florist in Edinburgh that also sells houseplants and has been in business for over twenty years!
Sustainable houseplants
As you’ll know if you listen to my podcast, I am passionate about sustainability (you can listen to my series on sustainability here). If you would like to buy from suppliers that have worked hard to make sure every aspect of their business is run on sustainable principles, check out the list below.
Little Green delivers in the Bristol area (95% by bicycle!) plus mail order to the rest of the UK as well as popping up at markets in the city. Plants come in terracotta pots and the business runs on renewable energy.
Harriet’s Plants is a houseplant grower in Lichfield, Staffordshire, producing peat-free houseplants in coir pots available via mail order alongside botanical wares such as pots and coir poles.
Parvus Plants is a tiny houseplant nursery in Wales that specialises in small plants, grows peat free and only sells ‘home-grown’ (rather than imported) plants.
Pointless Plants promises to plant 10 trees for every order placed. They are challenging plastic pots and packaging, peat-based soil, wastage and transportation.
Green.Meadows is a modern take on a tropical plant shop, based in Edinburgh, with social and environmental sustainability at its centre: ‘renewable consumerism’. Shop without a guilty conscience!
Wild Roots in Poole, Dorset, is a houseplants and interiors shop with a focus on environmental sustainablility. There is a physical, as well as online, shop and services offered include plant maintenance and bespoke event dressing.
Swaps, freebies and person to person purchases
I’d never advise “half-inching” cuttings without the owner’s permission, but you’d be surprised how often plant lovers are happy enough to share their bounty with you, even if they don’t know you from Adam. If you see a plant you like, don’t be afraid to politely ask for a cutting: the worst thing that can happen is they say no.
A bit of knowledge about plant propagation is useful: for instance, certain plants won’t grow properly from single leaves (eg fiddle leaf figs and Hoyas) whereas others (Streptocarpus, African violets and Echeverias, for instance) will. The small hobby seller may also be offering plants for sale via a Facebook page or the like, and this is definitely an exciting way to buy, but test out with a small purchase before sending a lot of money their way. If you do take a cutting, place it in a clear plastic bag, ideally wrapped in some moistened kitchen paper until you can get it home. Then get it in some water or moist compost as soon as possible.
Also keep an eye on Gumtree, Preloved, Freegle, Freecycle and local Facebook groups for people looking to offload houseplants as this can be a cheap or free way of expanding your collection - but check the plants carefully for pests before you let them join your precious collection, otherwise they may bring an unwelcome payload with them! (In fact, this is good practice for new plants you buy from anywhere...)
Check out: There are various UK based swap groups on Facebook including Houseplant Swap Club - UK and Succulent Leaf Share UK.
DIY sheds, discount stores and supermarkets
I picked up these spearhead succulents (Senecio kleiniiformis) in a single pot from WIlkinsons... labelled simply as "succulents" of course. (Pots not included.)
You can pick up some cheap houseplants from the likes of B&Q, Homebase, Tesco and Waitrose, but its usually the "usual suspects" rather than anything particularly unusual. Try to pounce on them as soon as they come into the shop, as most stores give plants no attention or watering once they’re on the shelves (top tip: Lidl's plant deliveries seem to arrive on a Thursday - go on Sunday and they are usually mostly gone or half dead). Labelling is hit and miss to say the least, (often it's just one word; "succulent" or "fern") but it’s a good way of getting plants locally if you’re on a tight budget. One last hitch - these plants are often potted in poor quality compost - or sometimes the wrong compost entirely - so consider repotting plants as soon as you get them home. And the whole glittery/painted succulents thing? I'll tackle that in a different post but please, just... don't.
Check out: Wilko seems to have occasional "motherloads" of nice succulents from time to time over the summer, and Morrisons has the best houseplants of the supermarkets, in my opinion.
Mail order firms (including eBay.co.uk)
Staghorn ferns in the hothouse at Perfectplants.co.uk. Photograph: Jane Perrone
Some of the mail order seed and plant outfits are now cottoning on to the popularity of houseplants: Suttons sells a range of interesting begonias, Streptocarpus and African violets which are supplied by the specialist nursery Dibleys, while Crocus sells a good range of plants too. A listener tells us that Thompson and Morgan can sometimes be worth a look.
One of the major players is bakker.com: I have ordered from them in the past and the plants were not bad, but I have heard gripes from other customers about their customer service.
I haven't tried Best4Garden but they seem to have a reasonably big range of houseplants. Hortology has a large range of plants and a stylish website, and sells a large range of pots, too: I haven’t tried this one but I have heard good things about them.
I'd also recommend Shrubland Park Nurseries in Suffolk which has a lovely range of houseplants available via mail order, and perfectplants.co.uk, an online garden centre in East Sussex which sells an impressive range of houseplants from its hothouse (pictured above).
I have recently discovered the world of vivarium supply shops as a source for interesting houseplants: these may not be your obvious choice, but they are a great way to buy certain plants such as bromeliads, vines and ferns: things that will do well in the high humidity setting of a closed terrarium. They are sometimes sold in pots but also as rooted cuttings which, provided you are confident at potting them up, are a cheap way of getting more plants. I’ve bought from Dartfrog on ebay.co.uk but there are many more.
Ebay sellers can offer a way of getting hold of rarer plants and seeds, but it’s a bit of a “buyer beware” situation, particularly if you are ordering seeds from outside the UK - I have heard of people getting burned with seed packets containing chaff or something they clearly didn’t order. Postage costs can be high, too. And listener Callym Cooke has alerted us to Arcanopy, which while a small range can include plants not often found elsewhere.
Garden Centres
After a period when many garden centres ditched houseplants aside from as a seasonal extra, they are now realising there is money to be made and ramping up their offerings again. Some are still on the rather boring side, but if you’re lucky you may have an excellent source of houseplants on your doorstep. If you're really lucky, they'll also have an active social media presence, too.
Perrywood in Essex (their Instagram account @perrywoodhouseplants is shown above), Bodmin Nursery in Cornwall, Clifton Nurseries in London and Surrey, Ayletts in St Albans, The Secret Garden Centre in Crystal Palace, London and Alleyn Park in West Dulwich, London, and all got shout-outs on Twitter; the best garden centre near me (Bedfordshire) for houseplants is Frosts.
I've also heard very good things about Ferndale Garden Centre south of Sheffield, N1 Garden Centre and Dulwich Pot and Plant Garden in Dulwich, London, but haven't paid a visit to any of them myself - yet!
If you’re in, or near, Manchester, there’s Bud Garden Centre, with its varied range of houseplants, in addition to locally made, plus German, houseplant pots.
There’s also the shop at the RHS Garden Wisley, for a reported good selection of small and not-so-common plants.
Out south west, in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, you’ll find the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery with its huge range of houseplants in a glasshouse - quite possibly the largest range in the region, including more unusual plants!
If you’re in north London, there’s the Boma Garden Centre in Kentish Town, with a range of indoor plants, from miniatures to large specimens.
On the outskirts of Newcastle, as recommended by listener Thea, you’ll find Cowell’s Garden Centre which also has an online shop: “Good prices, healthy plants and well packaged!”.
IKEA
The blue and yellow box does deserve a category all to its because, let's face it, many of us buy plants here. I've written on my blog already and for gardenista.com about IKEA's houseplant offerings so won't say too much more, other than that they offer a reasonably interesting range of plants at a good price, but as per the big box DIY places, you need to get in quick on new deliveries, and check plants carefully when you buy as in-store care tends to be minimal.
Specialist nurseries
Craig House Cacti at Chelsea 2017.
If you have a passion for a particular type of plant, be it orchids, cacti, Tillandsias or carnivorous plants, one of the best places to head for is a specialist nursery: either by mail order or, ideally, in person. These guys really know their stuff, and while not the very cheapest, you are ensured excellent quality plants and great aftercare.
If you are looking for orchids, Burnham Orchids in South Devon comes highly recommended.
For Begonias, Coleus and Gesneriads such as African violets and Streptocarpus, Dibleys in North Wales is brilliant and very reliable.
I've bought wonderful cacti and succulents from Cactus Shop in Devon and fell in love with Craig House Cacti at last year's Chelsea. Surreal Succulents based in Cornwall offer an excellent selection of, you guessed it, succulents! Trichocereus UK offers homegrown Trichocereus cactus by mail order.
There is also the “world’s widest selection of carnivorous plants & seeds available on the web” from Triffid Nurseries, in Suffolk.
In Hassocks, East Sussex, you’ll find specialist growers, Allwoods Plant Nursery, and their “ever-expanding succulent collection, full of interesting, choice varieties alongside common favourites”.
There are of course dozens of specialist nurseries out there: use the Independent Nurseries Guide to find what you are looking for, or visit one of the big plant fairs or flower shows such as Chelsea or Hampton Court to meet the growers in person.
Subscription services
You can get subscription services for everything from hot sauce to earrings now, so not surprising, then, that some have popped up for houseplants. They suit some people down to the ground: a great way of getting new plants delivered straight to your door without having to trawl around for them.
Bloombox Club offers a monthly subscription service at £39/month, although there’s a saving for paying annually.
Canopy Plants is based in London and offers a subscription service delivered with 100% recyclable packaging by a carbon neutral courier: choose from pet friendly or classic packages.
Lazy Flora offers a houseplant devliery every one or two months, either with or without a pot - there are also edible and outdoor subscription packages.
Leaf Envy’s subscription boxes start from £24 a month and offers carbon neutral delivery.
If you’d prefer to try growing something edible, Silly Greens offer microgreens by post, delivered every one to six weeks.
It's not a route I'd go down: I have so many plants already I am usually searching out something really weird or unusual, not something I'd often find on a subscription service. But it may be right for you…
Societies
If you're passionate about a group of plants, joining a society will bring you into contact with people who feel the same way! You can expand your collection through attending meetings where sales are held, and by swaps and sales with other members through group forums and Facebook pages. Here's a few houseplant-related forums I know of ...
Seeds
Perhaps you've never dreamed about growing your own houseplants from seed, but it's a cheap, fun way of expanding your collection. Here’s a list of some of the seed companies I have either used, or heard good first-hand customer feedback about…
Chiltern Seeds (UK-based) have an extensive collection including cacti and succulents, Episcias, Clivias and Coleus.
Seedaholic (UK-based) have various succulents, Coleus, and Strelitzia.
Jungle Seeds (UK-based), who have Christmas cactus, Adenium obesum (desert rose) and others.
Silverhill Seeds (South Africa-based) sell a huge range of South African natives, mostly succulents.
SuccSeed (Sweden-based) sell a range of cacti and succulent seed.
UnusualSeeds (Serbia-based) have an Etsy shop selling a wide range of succulents and carnivorous plants: particularly good for Adeniums.
If you want to learn more about growing houseplant from seed, please check out the On The Ledge sowalong on my podcast feed…
Check out my blog for more houseplant advice…
I'm running my annual sowalong on On The Ledge podcast right now, so let me explain why you should get involved.