Skip to main content
Home & Garden

I tried The Sill’s popular plant delivery service—here’s what happened

Would ordering a plant from The Sill help give me a green thumb?

A ZZ plant in a grey pot sitting on a desk with books. Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser & Naidin Concul-Ticas

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

We at Reviewed are just as curious about those flashy products we see in our Instagram feeds as you are. For our 'As Seen On IG' series, our writers buy them and put them through their paces to find out if they're actually as good as they look online—or too good to be true. Spot one that we've missed? Email us at AsSeenOn@reviewed.com.

Editor’s Note: September 23, 2021. We are happy to report that the ZZ plant is still thriving, and is almost twice as big as what's pictured in this article and in need of a larger pot. We have also tested The Sill’s new blooming flower delivery service. Thoughts on the blooms are included below.

By all accounts, I should be a great plant mom. I’m nurturing, I enjoy the outdoors, and I’m around my home often enough that tending to its needs shouldn’t be an issue. In practice, however, the moment I cross the threshold into my apartment, plant in hand, a death knell tolls. The end is nigh.

I’ll water it too often. Or lose track of time and forget altogether. And while we’re on the topic, how much water am I even supposed to be using? (I assume just pouring out the last few sips from an old water bottle is frowned upon?) I know plants need light, but I can’t help myself from giving them a home on a side table in the corner. Do aesthetics count for nothing?

Then one day, while scrolling through my Instagram feed of friends who manage to keep children and pets healthy on a daily basis, I spotted a post about The Sill, an online plant retailer aimed at helping the growing number of would-be apartment-dwelling gardeners like myself.

I read the slogan: Can’t kill it. Just try. Oh, really? Challenge accepted.

What is it like to order plants from The Sill?

A screenshot of the Sill online shop.
Credit: The Sill

The Sill online shop is attractive and easy to use.

Choosing a plant was difficult because I wanted them all. Each and every one of The Sill’s offerings looks like it’s ready to start its own Instagram account. Planters—which aren’t included, but are worth it if you’re someone who doesn’t have extra pots laying around—have simple silhouettes and muted colors in pastels and neutrals to fit into any home’s style.

I wanted something more challenging than a succulent—although I’ve killed plenty of those—but I wasn’t ready to jump into a high-maintenance relationship. I perused the plants for beginners and landed on a small, 4.5-inch-tall ZZ plant in a pale grey Grant planter for $41, one that uses a French-drain configuration with lava rocks to eliminate the need for a drainage hole, where water and soil can pool over time—one less thing to clean. Plus, opting for a plant already in its planter eliminated the need to transplant upon arrival.

ZZ plants, the on-page biography explains, hail from eastern Africa and thrive in medium to low indirect light. They only need watering once every two weeks, which seemed about on par with the level of attention they’d be getting from me. But just to be safe, I tacked on an additional $10 Summer Plant Care workshop (akin to one of the workshops currently available) to learn a few tips.

My little plant configuration is unfortunately no longer available online, but this small ZZ plant is identical aside from its more square August planter. (Set on the Grant planter? Size up two inches to this medium, 6.7-inch-tall ZZ plant.)

How do plants from The Sill arrive?

Left: A plant from the Sill wrapped in bubble wrap; right: the plant unwrapped.
Credit: Reviewed / Meghan Kavanaugh

The Sill plant we ordered arrived in great condition thanks to careful packaging.

Having already grown attached to my plant baby, I was nervous about the shipping process. Plants seem delicate to start—could they really withstand a few days of rough transit? The answer, thankfully, is yes. Wrapped in plenty of bubble wrap and packing materials, my ZZ plant arrived picture-perfect in just over 24 hours after I placed the order.

Once the plant was unpacked, I followed the instructions to give it an initial water and a name. The second part was decidedly harder, but after making a list of plant-centric names, I dubbed her Branche Devereaux after one of my favorite characters on The Golden Girls.

It being a Friday, I then abandoned Branche on my desk at work for a long weekend, during which time she survived perfectly fine. But I decided to take the plant home to my apartment; leaving it on my desk would be too much of a daily reminder that she needed water, sunlight, and general care. My apartment, on the other hand, would be a more realistic test of my attentiveness—and satisfy my desire to have more plants in my living space.

The journey home was enough to speak to this plant’s hardiness. I carried it in my arms as I walked in 92-degree weather to the bus, where it sat on my lap in extra-long traffic. Off the bus, it was more walking in the heat to reach my apartment. The plant fared better than I did, and soon it was nestled next to my current batch of succulents at home.

How hard is it to keep plants from The Sill alive?

Left: A selfie of the author holding a plant; right: a ZZ plant on a shelf with other smaller plants.
Credit: Reviewed / Meghan Kavanaugh

Testing the ZZ plant from The Sill meant transporting it home from the office (hi, plant selfie), and making it at home with the rest of my botanical family.

Keeping this ZZ plant alive has proven mostly uneventful. Maybe it’s because it’s larger in size than my typical succulents, or maybe it’s because I always had this testing assignment on my mind, but I never truly forgot about having to take care of it.

One reason that made it less likely that I’d neglect this plant: Over the span of three months, I received nearly 60 marketing emails from The Sill.

Per the instructions in the Summer Plant Care workshop—something that was no more helpful than the free resources already available on The Sill’s website, and not worth the $10—I placed it in indirect light, watered it once every two weeks or so (as best as I could remember on my own), and rotated it to give all sides equal access to sunlight. There was one instance where a vacation away would push me into the three-week zone for watering and I returned to a plant that was ever-so-slightly drooping. A quick watering and she perked right back up.

There was one other reason that could have kept this plant top of mind, and therefore less likely that I’d neglect it: Over the span of three months, I received nearly 60 marketing emails from The Sill, announcing with emoji-filled subject lines new plants, details about its monthly subscription service, information on virtual plant consultations, and a profile of someone dubbed a “plantfluencer.”

There was also an email about plant-themed baby onesies, just one offering in The Sill’s non-botanical gifts that also include a Plant Lady necklace, Plants Make People Happy T-shirts and tote bags, and even a botany cross stitch kit. While I give The Sill credit for creating merchandise and gifting opportunities that are actually stylish and, dare I say, cool, the email campaigns are a bit too much for someone who had already purchased something in the first place.

Are plants from The Sill worth it?

Left: A green ZZ plant in front off a blue wall; right: the same plant three months later, slightly larger.
Credit: Reviewed / Meghan Kavanaugh

From the first day, left, to three months in, The Sill's ZZ plant (whose leaves and branches have settled slightly post-shipping) still looks alive and well.

After being a plant mom for a full three months now, I’m happy to report that there’s nothing to report. The plant is alive and looking great despite me being a tad forgetful, perhaps heavy-handed with the air conditioning on more than one occasion, and generally not interfering too much. If anything, there were times I had to remind myself not to water it, that overwatering was just as bad—or worse—than underwatering.

And throughout all of this, my ZZ plant became a welcome addition to my living room, and something that garnered plenty of compliments from guests. And while I’d likely skip purchasing a workshop again, I’d buy another Sill plant in a heartbeat. First, it’s fairly comparable in price to a less-trendy version from Home Depot. In both cases, it's less expensive to purchase the plant itself in a more temporary (and less attractive) pot, but it does require more effort to move it to its forever home.

Plus, The Sill has so many different sizes to choose from, not to mention even more colors and styles for the planters, and I feel confident in the resources available to keep me informed and on track should I encounter any issues.

Would I now consider my thumb any greener than before? Not quite, but having Branche thrive for a few months now is enough to give me the confidence to keep at it.

Should you order blooming plants from The Sill?

Left: A white orchid on a shelf; right: the same white orchid three months later, still blooming.
Credit: Reviewed / Meghan Kavanaugh

The Sill's white orchid blooms have only become more vibrant in the time the plant arrived on March 28 (left) to today, 37 days later (right).

After proving myself in the succulent and green plant game, I decided to take my chances on a more delicate plant companion, one with perfectly precious petals that wouldn’t be so resilient when faced with inevitable neglect.

Out of the many blooms available (note that some currently have a waitlist because of high Mother's Day demand)—including the speckled spotted orchids, vibrant purple orchids, pink calla lilies, and red anthuriums—I chose the petite white orchid for one specific reason. I had killed a white orchid before, and I wanted redemption.

In my defense, thanks to information included in my shipment from The Sill, I now know that orchids may play dead, or lose all their petals, while remaining very much alive. All you need is patience (oops!) and continued care (double oops!), and blooms should return.

Shipping was the same as with the non-flowering plants, but I was even more impressed seeing as orchids seem more prone to damage if handled incorrectly. The plant arrived safely and it was quickly set up in my living room. I was a bit unsure if the instruction to remove dry moss applied to the moss in this planter—which, about halfway through the removal process, seemed more alive than not—but it hasn’t seemed to matter in terms of its appearance or performance.

More than a month later (37 days to be exact), I’m beyond thrilled to report that my orchid, named Orlando Bloom, seems to be thriving. All 14 buds are now open—the fact that five were closed when it first arrived made checking its progress exciting.

It was such an easy process to order and keep the orchid alive that I gifted the same one to my mom for Mother’s Day. (Shipping was even faster than I expected, so no spoiler alerts here.) Her orchid has already arrived safe and sound and looking just as healthy as mine, which is a vote of confidence in the consistency of The Sill’s plants from one customer to another.

Especially as we spend so much time indoors these days, it’s been refreshing to enjoy a bit of nature from the comfort of my couch.

Get one of The Sill's live plants starting at $5

Up next