Narrator: Americans are buying more plants than ever before.
In 2020, sales for potted foliage plants were up 23%,
and a year later, the plant-growing industry
was worth $16 billion.
What's behind the growing interest in things that grow?
Whoa!
Narrator: Thousands of social media influencers
sharing their collections
and touting the health benefits of houseplants.
Influencers like Summer.
Summer: Come on in.
I personally bought that plant for $39,
which was pretty expensive at the time.
Now, you get a small plant like this
for hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
Narrator: But nearly half of all the houseplants
grown in the US die at some point along the supply chain.
Summer: I've gone to many big-box stores,
and those plants are in sad condition.
Narrator: These are living products, after all.
We can't just flick a switch.
We're not making soda pop bottles.
We're not producing toilet paper.
Narrator: And new plant parents make terrible caretakers.
They kill another half of the plants they take home,
according to one study.
So as demand increases, so does the amount of waste
the houseplant industry creates.
Be as much as seven or eight years to produce the plants.
Summer: Think about all of the input
that had to go into that plant,
and to just have it thrown out the door.
Narrator: So why do so many plants die in the supply chain?
And what are growers and plant influencers doing about it?
We went to one of America's largest farms to find out.
Costa Farm, here in Miami,
produces 1.6 million plants every week.
The company supplies giant retailers
like Home Depot, Walmart, Ikea, and Whole Foods.
This is Mike.
He's the production manager.
Mike: We're here at our soil processing plant.
This is the beginning of the growing cycle.
Narrator: Mike makes a living keeping plants healthy.
That's the main goal -- keep it alive.
Narrator: But at this scale, that's not always easy.
Costa has to maintain the perfect ratio
of light, water, temperature, and food.
Mike: We can only deal with the natural factors.
Narrator: Every grower will lose some plants along the way.
That's what the industry calls shrinkage.
But Costa has taken steps to minimize it.
It all starts with this potting mix.
Costa uses coconut coir,
which comes from the fibrous middle part of the fruit.
Narrator: This is a more sustainable alternative
than peat moss, which releases carbon dioxide
when harvested and takes a long time to grow back.
Linda: We're just talking about millimeters,
or fractions of millimeters, of growth a year.
Narrator: After the coconut coir arrives at Costa,
these machines rehydrate it.
It's then ground and mixed with wood fibers.
This machine drops the soil mixture
and fertilizer into pots.
Workers gently flatten the soil by hand
to get an even spread.
Costa says this recipe gives plants the best chance
of survival until they reach store shelves.
Next, the pots head over to the production area
to get their young plants.
These are cuttings taken from the stems
of more mature plants.
These workers place the cuttings into pots.
They're fragile, so they have to move fast.
Narrator: During this process, growers nationally
lose an average of 20% of their plants,
although Costa says it loses half that.
Another reason plants die? Disease and pests.
The biggest concerns are spider mites and mealybugs.
Linda: They're sucking the juices out of it.
The leaf is not able to get the proper nutrition.
Narrator: Workers inspect every plant.
If they spot any spider mites,
they fire up this fancy gun,
which is actually a repurposed leaf blower.
The dust that comes out is full of bigger predatory mites.
Narrator: Predatory mites don't hurt the plants or people
but instead feed on the dangerous spider mites.
They're also a safer alternative to pesticides.
Afterwards, this giant sprinkler moves through
to water them.
Mike: This plant now will spend its life cycle growing here.
Narrator: Costa then hardens off some of its plants
to avoid any more shrinkage.
That means towards the end of the growth cycle
growers starve the plants of humidity, light, and water.
The goal?
To mimic conditions indoors.
Summer: And then that plant will toughen up,
and we'll feel like we have more of a green thumb,
because we'll have been able to care for that plant better.
Narrator: The plants then get one more inspection.
One worker places plants on the belt.
Another inspects the quality, removing any dead leaves.
If they notice any wilting, the plants will be removed,
and Costa will try and revive them.
But on average, another 10% of plants perish
during production in the US.
Costa trucks its plants to retailers all over North America.
Some are sold online.
But the shrinkage continues in the store.
It's estimated about 10% of plants don't make it out.
The big-box stores,
they don't tend to have horticulturists on staff.
They just have people that may or may not water things.
I don't know about you,
but I've gone to many big-box stores,
and those plants are in sad condition.
Narrator: Think wilted or yellowing leaves or rotted roots.
Linda: We go and we look at the tomatoes and the bananas
and everything, we look for bruises.
Is it really ripe enough?
And so we need to look at plants even more that way.
Narrator: But the biggest plant murderers are consumers.
Summer: You haven't grown a plant
unless you killed it three times.
Narrator: One survey found new gardeners
kill 70% of their plants.
Even experienced ones kill about one-third of what they grow.
That's where we make our money,
but hey, let's not say that, right?
So folks, when they get plants,
they tend to love them so much,
they may over-care for them,
and they may not be so successful.
Narrator: So out of 10 houseplants,
only three will survive a significant amount
of time in a customer's home.
When everyone was stuck inside during the pandemic,
more people turned to plants for their health benefits,
and there's actually science to back that up.
Researchers found that having plants in hospitals
can speed up recovery time for patients,
reduce their anxiety levels, and elevate their moods.
Linda: The presence of plants does things
like decrease blood pressure,
decrease heart rate, increase endorphins.
All the things that make you feel better.
Narrator: Plus, they're pretty.
Exotic plants went viral on social media.
Today on TikTok, there are over 4 billion views
on videos with the hashtag #planttiktok.
Social media influencers like Summer
have made a living off sharing their collections
and plant-care tips.
Summer: You can make something look really good
with photography and with lighting.
People all of a sudden may feel the need
to have that plant.
And it's driving sales at just unprecedented levels.
Narrator: And that's driven up prices.
Justin: We saw some people reselling the plants
on social media for, like, $1,500 each.
Narrator: The demand has put a squeeze
on producers like Costa.
We haven't.
Mike: We have also grown our portfolio
to include different varieties of plants.
Narrator: But starting a new line of plants,
like this aglaonema, could take up to eight years.
And trends change fast.
Through the hardening process,
pest control, and quality checks,
growers like Costa are working to minimize shrinkage.
Costa says its shrinkage is half the national average.
But as consumers buy more, there's a lot of waste,
from the lost plants to the growing number of plastic pots,
peat, water, and space across the supply chain.
Summer: You wouldn't typically think
that houseplants is an extractive industry.
But in many cases, it actually is an extractive industry.
Narrator: But there are ways consumers
and producers can be more green.
Consumers can get clippings from friends
and learn how to take care
of the plants they've already purchased.
Linda: And we understand how our pets function.
We have to do the same with the plants.
We have to figure out what exactly it is that they need
so we learn not to overwater plants.
Most of the time, you don't need a lot of fertilizer.
Narrator: Linda would like to see all growers swap peat moss
for renewable potting mixtures,
like the coconut coir Costa uses.
They can always compost the plants and recycle the pots.
Narrator: But if consumers are having a hard time
keeping plants alive, they should ask one simple question.
Do you really need that plant?