Have you ever wondered how plants get selected to become part of the Wild Interiors collections?  There’s quite a lot that happens behind the scenes before a plant is grown in our greenhouse and placed on the shelves at your favorite plant destination. So how do we choose? We talked with our experienced grower and head of research and development, Sarah, to give you the inside scoop of how we choose our plants here at Wild Interiors!

While we wish we could grow every plant under the sun, the reality is that some plants just can’t make the cut (we still love them, though). Each variety of plant goes through a series of tests or “gates” that they have to pass through before officially being selected for production.

Gate #1: Sarah

The first gate that the plant must go through is Sarah, herself. Many times, there are plants that Sarah simply chooses not to pursue. This can be because of how they look or how they grow. Sarah takes great consideration in choosing only the best (and coolest) plants to produce and grow for you!

Gate #2: Can We Get the Plant? 

There are a lot of plants that we would love to trial here in our greenhouse, but sometimes they are just not available or they are just too expensive to grow at a large scale.

Gate #3: Trial the Plant

Once the plant arrives at our facility as a cutting or tissue culture, it is time to help them grow! After weeks of close watch and care, the plants are examined to see how they hold up in greenhouse production. 
According to Sarah, about 10% of the plants that are trialled end up not making it. Many plants that don’t make the cut can be needy or finicky and require a bit more hand holding than others. 

Gate #4: Cold Chain Testing

After the plants are grown and fully developed to our standards, we do something called cold chain testing. This step is crucial for our plants. As you know, many of our plants can be found in major grocery chains, home improvement stores, and many other locations alike. 

Our plants are often delivered or placed in refrigerated trucks on their route to the retail environment. During their travels, we need to make sure that they are hardy and healthy enough to handle the change in temperature that may occur. This step helps us ensure that our plants will make their way from the store to your home in their absolute best state. 

Gate #5: The Final Test

After passing through the cold chain testing, each new plant is presented in front of our leadership team to discuss whether or not the plant is a good fit for the Wild Interiors line. We pride ourselves in growing plants that are not only beautiful, but also strong and healthy. If a plant passes through all of the gates, it is then ready to be grown at a large scale and sent off to your favorite plant destination!

From the Greenhouse to You

At any given time, Sarah can be found trialling 20-60+ new varieties of houseplants! Sarah says, “we put our plants through the paces”, because, at Wild Interiors, we want to provide you with the very best plant experience, so every person can feel empowered to own and care for plants.