Why I Grow My Plants from Propagation

My love for plants started with propagation.

I was fascinated by the idea that an entirely new plant could grow from a small cutting. Watching roots form, new leaves emerge, and seeing something thrive from your care never gets old. That rewarding experience is what pulled me deeper into the plant hobby and eventually led me to create Emmy’s Emerald Gardens.

Many of the plants available in my online shop are grown from my own mother plants through propagation. I don’t import plants or grow from tissue culture. Each plant is started, rooted, and grown out by me.

It can be a slower and more hands-on process, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Growing plants this way allows me to truly understand them, from how they root and grow to what conditions help them thrive. It also means I can select for the healthiest plants that are ready to continue growing in your space.

As I spent more time propagating and experimenting with different substrates, I became increasingly interested in where these plants come from in the wild. Learning about native habitats, light, soil, humidity conditions, and natural growth patterns deepened my passion for plant-keeping. I developed a fascination with the unique traits these plants exhibit and the ecosystems they come from.

Understanding a plant’s native environment can completely change the way you care for it. Once you understand how a plant grows naturally its care needs indoors start to become more intuitive.

One of the First Plant Traits That Fascinated Me

One of the first things that sparked my curiosity was the iconic holes, or fenestrations, found on Monstera leaves. Beneath the dense rainforest canopy of Central and South America, these plants spend their lives climbing up trees toward brighter light. Research suggests fenestrations may help optimize light capture beneath the forest canopy while also improving airflow in humid tropical conditions. Learning this was so fascinating to me. Plants are incredibly resilient and adaptable, and my curiosity with them is never-ending. There are endless genera and unusual species to explore, propagate, grow, and display in creative ways.

Understanding this changed the way I viewed houseplants. Beyond decorative greenery, I started seeing them as resilient organisms shaped by complex ecosystems and evolutionary adaptations. Once I began thinking about native habitat, plant care started to make much more sense. Things like filtered light, humidity, moss poles, and varying growth habits suddenly connected back to how these plants evolved in nature.

Learning how plants grow in the wild has completely influenced the way I care for them indoors and deepened my appreciation for the ecosystems they come from. That curiosity continues to shape the way I grow and care for each plant.

The connection between growing and appreciating nature is at the heart of Emmy’s Emerald Gardens. My goal is to help people bring more plant life into their homes while experiencing the beauty, creativity, and everyday grounding that plants can provide, all while feeling more connected to the natural world around them.