I recently became aware of a great new site called Do Leaf when they offered to send me some plants so that I could test out their site (it’s still in beta). Do Leaf is the brain child of Sarah, Ryan, and Micah who were fed up with the mediocre selection of plants at their local big box stores. They decided to put their web development skills to work creating a portal where people like you and me can find plants from specialty nurseries all over the country.
I ordered three plants: Ficus ‘Ruby,’ Nutmeg Scented Geranium , and Catnip. Here are the photos of the unboxing…
The plants were happy to get out of the box!
I planted the catnip under my apple tree. I’ve already pinched off a few leaves and fed them to my cats. They strongly approve!
Aren’t these leaves stunning? I was really impressed with the size of this Ficus. It sells for $7 through Do Leaf, but similar sized houseplants sell for around $20 at my favorite local nursery. And quite frankly, they aren’t as interesting.
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The Do Leaf site has over 400 plants and seeds currently listed, ranging from Curly Boy Croton to Peachy Sunrise Day Lily, and a whole heck of a lot in between. It seems like more plants and new nurseries are being added all the time.
In our day and age of corporate customer service automatons, I’ve become obsessed with businesses that act “real.” I think Do Leaf is just the sort of company I would love to hand my hard earned dollars. I like the idea of supporting young people who saw a problem and created a solution. People who are passionate about what they do and how they do it.
With that in mind, I think I am going to order a few of these ‘Grape Magic’ Hemerocallis (Day Lilies). I’ve been dreaming about a planter near my front door that had purple lilies and orange Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker Plant). The only problem is that I challenged myself to grow stuff from seed/bulb this year. Plant lust or personal challenge?! I’m not sure I have enough self-control to resist…Does “bareroot” count as growing something from seed or bulb?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the write up! I also have a Ruby Ficus sitting on my desk. I had no idea they even existed until Jeffrey, one of our sellers, put them up for sale. Like you say, it’s quite a plant.
And while we love to take your hard earned dollars, it’s important to remember that the lion’s share goes directly to the nursery owners themselves. So, you’re not only supporting a group of passionate web developers, you’re also helping to support small businesses around the country. The recession has hit them particularly hard, and we’re hoping that DoLeaf can help them find new sales channels and customers.
Thanks again for the kind words!
well, if you can’t find the plant you want in blub or seed form then bareroot would be your only choice anyways right? Or a cutting from someone else lucky enough to have the one you want…
oooo the red on that Ficus is wonderful! I am so going on a spending spree there after my next stock sale!
I bought some Grape Magic Day Lilies last fall from DoLeaf’s seller Bloomin Designs. They come shipped as a fan, which means that you have a bulb with a cropped bit of leaves on top. (You probably know that, but initially I thought a “fan” was just a plant that you’d really like.) I planted two of my fans and gave the last one away to a deserving friend. The little guys put forward some great bright-green shoots in the fall when I planted them. I’m looking forward to a purple-tastic spring!
This sounds like a wonderful idea. Too bad it doesn’t ship to Canada. It’s good example, though, of someone finding a solution to a problem and creating a business.
Helen–Yeah, I don’t think shipping plants across the border would work. I think most countries have strict rules about importing plants, and the whole customs process would probably cause the plants to arrive to the end customer in bad shape. But maybe there are some Canadian specialty nurseries that might want to work with Do Leaf to provide some options for you guys?!
Sarah–Hmm, a fan sounds a lot like how iris rhizomes are shipped. I think that qualifies under my goal. Definitely going to order me som lilies! Woot!
Fern – you are correct, a daylily and iris are similar, both have rhizomes roots and are often shipped bareroot