Plants are the next quarantine hobby in Charlotte: Move over, puzzles and sourdough
Lakesha Clark’s aloe plant wouldn’t die, but it didn’t want to grow, either. For years, the divorced mother of two moved it around to different windows in her Shannon Park home. No dice. Maybe it needed better soil? She swapped it out. Or room to breathe? She repotted it three times and didn’t see a single shoot. Finally, she read that aloes like to be crowded. She added two more aloes and a guava plant to the oversized pot.
“Now it’s happy,” she said. “I took down some blinds, put it in front of a window where the sun comes in and it’s thriving.”
Buoyed by a sense of progress, Clark, who got laid off from her job at a nonprofit veterinary clinic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rushed headlong into a love affair with houseplants. The self-professed “crazy plant lady” now has about 40 plants in her living room, which over the last few months has transformed into a tranquil jungle.
“I don’t have a TV in my bedroom or living room,” she said. “Where other people watch Netflix, I binge watch videos on how to care for different plants and the kind of light they need. Those kinds of things distinguish a crazy plant lady from a normal plant mom. I had to figure out where’s south in my house,” she said with a chuckle.
Across the nation, sales of houseplants have soared as people are forced to spend more time at home, working alone and socially isolated during COVID-19. The physical and mental health benefits of indoor plants in this environment are hard to overstate. Homegrown greenery reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and pollutants in the air, releasing oxygen and regulating humidity levels. They also reduce stress and promote calm feelings. And the aesthetic of a lush, natural environment is a huge bonus.
Barry Greene, owner of Shades of Moss plant nursery in Elizabeth, wasn’t always into plants. Living in New York, plants were everywhere — “bodegas, bars and hotels” — but he really only saw them as a design element and didn’t own any. But he took a job at Lowe’s garden center. It was a rocky start.
“I was being trained, but it was trial and error, honestly. I’ll never forget ruining six African violets, drowning them. But I didn’t know. I was soaking them all the way through. Terrible. But I’m a lot better than that now.’
Plants are much more than decor, he said. They’re living things that give as much as they get from the people taking care of them.
“Aesthetics are one thing. Plants can completely change the dynamic. But there’s life around it. It encourages you, it’s a placebo for hope, almost. You’ve been watering this plant once a week, not thinking that it’s adding up to anything, and one day you see a new leaf that wasn’t there before. What makes you think that won’t happen in other aspects of your life?”
Opening a business in Charlotte during COVID-19
Greene opened Shades of Moss in the Elizabeth neighborhood in June. Mid-pandemic wouldn’t seem like the most logical time to launch a business, but it’s been working for Greene. He has close to 4,000 Instagram followers and dozens of enthusiastic regulars. About 60% of Greene’s customers are brand-new, first-time plant parents — and about 30% are men, which makes Greene happy.
“Plants should be gender neutral, but it’s a cultural norm for people to think women run the inside of the house and men take care of the outside, the lawn, the garden, maintenance. That’s a stigma I’m trying to break,” he said. “I get messages from men all the time: ‘It feels really good to see a guy with plants, talking about them.’ Look, if you’re keeping perennials alive, you should do just fine with a snake plant in the house. I want to build that confidence that we can do it,” he said.
Some customers come into Greene’s shop knowing exactly what kind of plant they want. Others just come knowing they want a plant. Greene sees his most important duty as making sure clients understand a plant’s needs so that they don’t get it for the look, kill it and get discouraged about being able to grow something.
Clients stop in to share photos of their plants’ progress or notes from their families (“Do not buy another plant,” one note warned the bearer). They chat or talk shop, masked and at a distance in the small retail space. New friends follow each other’s social media accounts and encourage each other to keep on the journey.
“People share advice and cuttings, tips and what’s worked for them, and I love to see that. I want us to grow as a community. It’s much bigger than plants and pots,” he said.
Monique Floyd, a personal branding photographer in Charlotte, is one of Greene’s customers. Growing up, her mom was a houseplant enthusiast — and it turned her off.
“My house was a jungle, and I said I’d never do that. I didn’t like plants. They were bigger than me, and I had no interest,” Floyd said.
Then something changed. She got a pothos, and that easy-to-care-for specimen did it. She started buying more plants and incorporating them in her shoots. It had a ripple effect on her circle of friends, including Clark, who she jokingly worried about. “She’s doing too much,” Floyd said.
Clark didn’t disagree. “I like to buy, I like to shop. When I got laid off, I needed to fill my void. I wasn’t going anywhere, so where I’d normally buy cute sandals and clothes for going out and taking trips, I put that energy into plants.”
Like many new parents, Clark got a bit obsessive. She accidentally cross-contaminated her houseplants with a fungus from her garden and had to treat and repot all 40 plants this spring. Then she struggled with gnats from too-moist soil. She bought a humidity thermometer and six different types of dirt, worm castings, plant food and more. She would complain about her problems to Floyd, whose indoor garden seemed a lot more effortless.
“Monique told me I was aggravating my plants. She just talks to hers,” Clark said.
In the last couple of weeks, Clark has tried to step back. Instead of daily watering and soil testing and general fussing, she just enjoys looking at them with a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine at night.
“I was spoiling them and giving them too much attention. Now they’re fine. I just mist them with water and enjoy watching the sun stream in on them for myself,” she said.
Best Plants for New Parents
Greene shared general suggestions to encourage new plant parents:
Brand New Plant Parents: My go-to plant recommendations are my zizis. The only way they die off is if they’re overwatered. They’re hearty plants, low-light tolerant and only require water every 2 weeks. Plus, they grow three and a half to four feet tall, so they get big.
Intermediate Plant Parents: Congratulations, you’ve worked up to the monstera. It’s a big beautiful plant you can only hope to contain. Once it’s in its groove, it grows fast and the leaves get as big as your hand or more. They grow five and a half to six feet tall with the moss pole. They need water once a week so it’s a little more maintenance, and make sure it gets bright, indirect light.
More places to connect with Charlotte’s plant community
There are dozens of places to purchase plants in Charlotte. Here are 10:
Blackhawk Hardware Garden Center
Blackhawk Hardware Garden Center, 4225 Park Road and @blackhawkhardware on Instagram.
The Cactus Club
The Cactus Club specialty plant shop, 1425 Winnifred St., Suite 106, and @cactusclubco on Instagram.
Exceptional Terrariums
Exceptional Terrariums, 2000 South Boulevard in Atherton Market and @exterrariums on Instagram.
Grow — A Plant Shop
Grow — A Plant Shop, 2008 Commonwealth Ave. and @grow.clt on Instagram.
Khali Yoga
Khali Yoga, 1210 E. 36th St. and @khaliyoga on Instagram. The yoga studio has a new “plant store” where the yoga bolsters and blocks used to be with plants by Grow — A Plant Shop. Khali is holding a virtual and in-person Plants 101 on Aug. 16. Signup required.
Malone’s Nursery
Malone’s Nursery, 100 Radio Road and @malonessucculentgreenhouse on Instagram.
Moxie Mercantile
Moxie Mercantile, 2008 Commonwealth Ave., has also partnered with Grow — A Plant Shop to add a space for plants. Curbside pickup and delivery is available. To order, DM on Instagram @grow.clt or email growaplantshop@gmail.com.
Noire Oasis
Noire Oasis pop-up plant boutique, @noireoasis on Instagram.
Oakdale Greenhouses
Oakdale Greenhouses, 5626 Statesville Road and @oakdalegreenhousesclt on Instagram.
Shades of Moss
Shades of Moss, 1419 E. 7th St., Suite. C, and @shadesofmoss on Instagram. In addition to plants, the store has local, one-of-a-kind artwork, T-shirts, pots and plant accessories.
Tayflower
Storefront space at Charlotte Collective, 1222 Central Ave., and the Hobbyist, 2100 N Davidson St., and @_tayflower_ on Instagram. In addition to weddings and special event florist services, Tayflower also offers interior and exterior plantscaping.
Verde Tribe
Verde Tribe, @verdetribe on Instagram. The service provides online shopping contactless delivery, which is free within 20 miles of its 28269 ZIP code home base. It also offers plant styling and design, rentals, events and classes — and you can even book an appointment for plant house call.
Wildly Urban
Wildly Urban, @wildlyurban on Instagram.
Send us your plant photos: Email us at charlottefive@charlottefive.com and let us know of your plant adventures during COVID-19. Tell us where you bought your plants, if you’ve managed to keep them alive and any tips you’ve learned. Include a horizontal picture, and we may include you in a future article.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
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