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what PLANTCESTRYTM is

  • a way to spread joy and connection—each shared plant is an act of care that nurtures both people and the world around them.
  • a digital gathering space where people come together to grow community—rooted in shared stories, experiences, and a love for plants.
  • sustained by the community it serves. While membership contributions will help support our shared mission, the heart of Plantcestry is rooted in connection, not commerce.

what PLANTCESTRYTM is not

  • a place for comparison or judgement - we honor every stage of learning and believe growth happens through shared compassion and curiosity.
  • powered by a team of experts with all the answers - it's nurtured by a community that learns together, growing stronger with mutual care.
  • a conventional service platform. It's sustained by the community it serves. While membership contributions help support our shared mission, the heart of Plantcestry is rooted in connection, not commerce.

MISSION and VISION

 

Mission

 

To cultivate connection and compassion by sharing plants and mapping their growth - nurturing both people and plants through community, care, and opportunity.


Vision


A world where every plant - and every person - can thrive, rooted in shared care, inclusivity, and a deeply connected community.

VALUES


Plantcestry members believe:

  • that people, like plants, come in all colors, shapes, and circumstances - each needing care, opportunity, and the right conditions to thrive 
  • in sharing and not selling plant propagations*
  • that compassion and kindness will prevail
  • even if a cutting doesn’t thrive, its journey isn’t over—each shared piece carries the hope of new roots, new hands, and new beginnings


See  Roles and Guidelines for more detailed information

A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER


Rachel Bio Pic

I’m not sure how you coped with the COVID pandemic, but I found a lot of comfort by renewing my long-time passion for plants. Growing up, I helped my father in the garden, and had my own collection of indoor plants, which I continued to grow in my first house when I was in my mid-twenties. Somewhere along the line, once I moved to Cleveland, I stopped wanting to take care of the plants I had in the house. Perhaps it was that I became too busy, my focus changing to my new family and household. The pandemic forced me to spend more time at home, and I tried to find ways to make my surroundings bring me joy amidst all the pain and unrest beyond my front door. Thus, the need for having living things around me in my home “blossomed” in me again.


During that time, I was feeling nostalgic about a specific Impatiens plant I had in my first house in New Mexico, flourishing for years under my skylight across from my piano. Sadly, when I moved to Cleveland, the plant did not survive. Because of the strong memory of this plant, which brightened my home for so many years, I began propagating Impatiens with the intention of giving them away to others. After sharing for several months with friends, I formed Plantcestry LLC in September of 2020, where my dream to track gifted plant cuttings across the country, with the ability to see where and how these plants and their future generations connect us to others through the Plantcestry Map.


I ask the following of you upon accepting a gifted plant:


  • You make an honest attempt to care for the plant. Think of this not as a replacement for, but a reminder of your friends, family, and loved ones. You will find that you are more invested in caring for this plant and in seeing where its offspring will end up.
  • When, NOT IF (think positively!) your cutting grows into a good-sized plant, you will share your cuttings with at least five others, just as your Giftor has shared their plant with you.
  • You will record your plant and its cuttings to create a plant “family tree” using the sharing materials on the Plantcestry website. You and all those with whom you share your plants will have a free membership. You will be able to record new cuttings and the status of your plant once you register.
  • You keep your plant indoors before you share it, so it is not exposed to pests or disease, which you don’t want to spread when you gift your cutting.
  • You agree to Plantcestry's Vision, Values, and Mission to create a more compassionate world through the propagation and sharing of plants.


With love and hope for a better world for all,


Rachel