Creating a More Compassionate World
Plantcestry™ is an online gathering space where sharing a plant becomes an act of care — connecting people through shared stories, experiences, and a love of growing things.
We’re not a team of experts, and there’s no room for judgment here. Every stage of growth is honored, because people — like plants — thrive with compassion, curiosity, and the right conditions.
Plantcestry is rooted in connection, not commerce, and sustained by the community it serves.
What Plantcestry 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 help support our shared mission, the heart of Plantcestry is rooted in connection, not commerce.
What Plantcestry 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. While not a 501(c)3 nonprofit, it is sustained by the community it serves.
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 plant or propagation 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 information.
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 is to track gifted plant cuttings across the country and see where these plants and their future generations connect us to others through the Plantcestry Map.
Give it a try – hopefully you’ll find joy in the new connections you will make along the way.
With love and hope for a better world for all,
Rachel