Lively Root Rating: 81.5

Grade: B-

So, how did we come up with our rating? We evaluate and score 10 different categories. You can read details on what each category means and how we score it here.

While this may not seem to be very high, it is a rating that would put them into our top 10 of top rated online landscape plant nurseries.

LivelyRoot.com sells houseplants online and ships them nationwide (excluding Hawaii and Alaska). As one of their ads states; “Large, medium or small. Sun or shade. Pet friendly & air-purifying. – We’ve got them all! Lively Root’s farm fresh indoor and outdoor plants delivered to your doorstep.”

Lively Root has been on our radar since 2021.  They are relatively new online, having debuted in late 2020. Then we saw where they had raised some capital in June, 2022 and it made us take a closer look.

They are good enough, in our opinion, to be one of the top 6 nurseries to buy houseplants online.

We just ordered a couple of houseplants from them and will update our review with unboxing pictures after they arrive. Getting around on their site is super easy. There are very logical filtering options, the site is super fast and the features and benefits of the various plants are laid out where even I can easily grasp them. We eventually decided on a couple of easy-to-grow, pet friendly plants.

Lively Root offers free shipping on orders over $49. That pretty much pushed us into buying 2 plants to qualify for free shipping. A lot of the plants we were considering were in the $30 range at the time.

They apparently grow most of their plants at their greenhouses in San Diego but also have partners around the country. Their ‘About Us’ page states:

With over 200 combined years of horticultural experience, our founders are fathers who want to pass their love of green spaces down to their future generations. From our first nursery in San Diego to our local nursery partners across the US we are able to deliver handpacked, healthy and happy plants right to your doorstep.

The also offer a pretty neat Plant Quiz that helps you find the right plant for your needs.

They also seem to be very pet friendly. We’re strong advocates for pet adoptions ourselves. They have numerous plant pictures posted with dogs. They even have a blog post; “Creating an Outdoor Space for Your Dog – What is a Sensory Garden?”

Selling houseplants online has become competitive. The COVID restrictions caused a pretty big spike in the sale of plants online. With that surge came a lot of investors sniffing around. We have done over a dozen consulting calls with pretty large venture capital firms considering betting on various online stores in this space.

Lively Root kind of stands out to us because it is pretty obvious they are passionate about plants and care.  That’s not to say other online nurseries selling houseplants aren’t but there just a number of smaller things that stood out to us.

We have actually exchanged emails with the CEO and a few of their marketing people. They are very personable, humble and enthusiastic.

With good prices, good selection and passionate people, we are pretty comfortable saying Lively Root should be near the top of your list for where to buy houseplants online.

 

Where is Lively Root located?

They are based in San Diego, CA.

Does Lively Root offer free shipping?

Yes! Orders over $49 qualify for free shipping.

Does Lively Root offer a guarantee?

About our price comparisons:

We have either worked for, visited (to evaluate) or ordered from over 50 online garden centers. We strive to compare prices from online nurseries that we have experienced send the highest quality plants at the lowest prices.  Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews, price comparisons or the price you pay. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choices.

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