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Nobody wants to hear it, but a lot of plant care advice online is wrong. And I mean confusing, conflicting, and sometimes the very reason your plants are struggling. I thought I was doing everything right as a first-time plant parent by reading blogs, watching videos, and trying every “tip” I could find on the internet. But it just made things worse because there are so many clashing opinions online: More watering! More repotting! More… stress for me and my plants. It took some time for me to realize that the problem wasn’t me. It was the noise.

So in this episode, I sat down with Tanner the Planter, one of the largest houseplant accounts in the US, with 1.8 million followers on TikTok alone. I also had his wife, Erika, as a guest a few episodes ago, where we talked about how they run their business as a couple! Tanner and I talked about his new book, the biggest mistakes he sees plant parents make, and the not-so-comfortable truth that social media might actually be killing your plants. Let's dive in!

 

In this episode, we learn:

• [02:54] Meet Tanner the Planter
• [04:05] How Tanner’s relationship with plants evolved
• [05:03] Why he stopped trusting plant blogs
• [06:51]  Where did Tanner get his information while learning?
• [08:03] AI, Google, and why beginner plant advice keeps getting more confusing
• [09:31] Why “just put ice on it” is a perfect example of bad internet plant care!
• [11:56] How Tanner and Erica built a viral plant brand
• [16:46] Enjoy a richer sweetener with 3x the antioxidants of regular honey from Manukora!
• [18:33] Spring clean your houseplants with high-quality soils and fertilizers from Espoma Organic!
• [22:32] How Tanner approached writing his plant care book!
• [24:15] Why you should focus on mastering the basics in plant care
• [26:26] Wild customer stories, dead bonsai expectations, and one repotting win
• [30:34] How to give yourself more grace when plants die
• [32:15] My Hoya heart wedding favors!
• [34:12] Why florist planters with no drainage are set up to fail
• [35:03] When houseplants were more like decor than companions
• [35:47] Did millennials change the emotional relationship we have with plants?
• [37:27] Why modern plant culture got way too complicated after COVID
• [39:41] Why “intuition” is overrated when you’re learning plant care
• [40:54] How understanding light makes the rest of plant care easier
• [42:03] Skipped generations, lost skills, and why killing plants isn’t your fault
• [44:22] How older generations were naturally more connected to plants than we are now
• [45:42] What Tanner means by “social media is killing your plants”
• [47:45] The cycle of overcorrecting, overspending, and stressing plants to death
• [49:12] White-variegated plant trends and the missing “after” pictures
• [52:21] How much joy even one plant can bring to you
• [54:50] Where to find Tanner, Erica, their shop, and his new book!

 

 

 

Order my book!

Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

 

 

What is Social Media Plant Misinformation?

The content that performs best online is the content that looks BEST. For example, a perfectly styled monstera or a before-and-after with 3 million views.

But viral doesn't mean accurate, and pretty doesn't mean practical. What the algorithm rewards is engagement, and rarely correctness!

When you Google why your pothos is yellowing, you get the same five blog articles recycled across hundreds of websites. In fact, Tanner noticed this back in 2016, so he skipped the blogs entirely and went straight to Google Scholar and university extension programs to find actual peer-reviewed research.

And now there’s AI. They all sound confident and authoritative when you ask them a question, but it's just scraping the same unreliable blogs and packaging it differently. It’s as inaccurate as its sources but just better at sounding like it is.

Tanner gets DMs daily from people asking him to verify what an AI told them. His answer is almost always the same: “That's wildly wrong for your situation.”

 

 

Why Are Your Plants Dying?

If your indoor plants are dying, it’s usually not because you “don’t have a green thumb.”

Tanner said that plant care is about pattern recognition and that the real culprit is disconnection from nature, from the seasons, or from simply observing what's right in front of us.

A lot of common houseplant problems are not caused by one dramatic mistake.

They’re caused by a pile-up of smaller ones, like too much handling, too many products, or too much intervention.

What actually helps your plants are:

• Noticing small changes in your plant before they become big problems
• Watching seasonal patterns
• Slowing down instead of immediately Googling a quick fix

 

 

Why Social Media Is Making Plant Care Harder

Social media made us fall in love with plants, but it has also made plant care way more complicated and performative!

Like what Tanner said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

When plants blew up on social media around 2019 and 2020, everyone started seeing perfect plants in post after post. And they started believing that's what their plants should look like too. 

Here's how that plays out in real life:

• Buying for aesthetics, not light – Tanner's store gets people wanting a fiddle leaf fig 20 feet from the window… without having a bright light.
• Over-intervening – The plant isn't growing, so they repot it, then switch to LECA, then add fertilizer, then repot again. The plant never gets a chance to settle.
• Chasing the perfect leaf – Those viral photos of highly variegated monsteras and variegated alocasias? Captured in a 24-hour window of perfection. Nobody shows you the browning edges and yellowing that follows.
• Overcomplicating the basics – Before 2019, most people just used peat moss and perlite. Then came chunky soil, semi-hydro, and a dozen amendments nobody actually needs.

 

 

The Biggest Plant Care Mistakes Beginners Make

Tanner sees these plant care mistakes most often:

• Repotting too soon
• Overwatering
• Using the wrong light
• Following too many sources
• Changing too many things at once

 

You do not need a complicated setup to keep plants alive. You just need a few strong basics, repeated consistently.

 

 

The Best Thing Social Media Ever Did for My Plant Journey

Social media isn’t all that bad because it introduced me to people like Tanner!

Because for every misleading trend and recycled blog article out there, there are a handful of voices actually doing the work. Those who do the research, show up consistently, and tell you the truth even when it's not what you want to hear.

If you want a better understanding of your plants, pre-order Tanner's upcoming book For the Love of Houseplants: Caring for & Keeping Plants with Confidence, and also check out previous Growing Joy episodes for more plant care and self-care tips!

 

 

 

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Pre-order Tanner’s new book: For the Love of Houseplants: Caring for & Keeping Plants with Confidence
• Growing Joy 327: Growing a Plant Business, A Marriage and A Community of Plant Parents with @mrstannertheplant
• Google Scholar
• Maria's Espoma Storefront

 

 

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Manukora

Swap your artificial sweeteners with single-origin manuka honey! Manukora honey is a rich, creamy honey from the remote forests of New Zealand, ethically harvested and packed with powerful nutrients. It contains triple the antioxidants and prebiotics of regular honey, supporting immunity and gut health. Versatile and delicious, it can be used in coffee, smoothies, smoothie bowls, or enjoyed straight from the spoon for an energy boost.

Go to manukora.com/bloom to get up to 31% off the starter kit that includes their 850+ Manukora honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, and a guidebook, PLUS $25 worth of free gifts!

Espoma Organic

Complete your spring cleaning by repotting your plants with fresh soil and adding organic fertilizer! Espoma Organic is dedicated to making safe indoor and outdoor gardening products for people, pets, and the planet. They have an amazing variety of high-quality, organic potting mixes, garden soil, fertilizers, and pest control products that are organic and eco-friendly. To top it all off, they have a huge sustainability commitment with a 100% solar-powered plant, zero-waste manufacturing, and eco-friendly packaging.

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

 

 

Follow Tanner the Planter:

Website
Facebook
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube

 

 

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)

Support Growing Joy with Maria by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

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