The results are in! We asked and you delivered, so read on to find out how you responded to the 2023 Great Australian Plant Survey. Why do we love plants so much? Which is Australia's most-overrated plant? Oh, and most importantly, what your favourite plant care brand?

We had to dust out the high school maths books to make sense of the results, but we've finally got there. With almost 300 participants, this years survey was our biggest ever*. So without further delay, let's go through it!

Plant People

Who would have thought? Turns out, all our respondents love plants. Almost 25% of you own between 11 and 20 plants in your home, with a 11% of you hanging out with over 100 plants!

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the garden centres and nurseries came out in front in terms of where people buy their plants, but we were very excited to see the local Indoor Plant Shops coming in a close second. And a big win for independent small businesses - the big chain stores like Bunnings came in with only 16% of respondents doing their plant shopping there. 

Additionally, it turns out that out our plant-passions are well and truly growing! almost 3/4 of you (72%) have more plants they you did at this time last year, and only 8% of you have downsized your plant fam.

Plants v Pets

Back in our plant peddling days, we were often approached by customers wondering about how certain plants would go with their pets. There are a heap of plants that can be toxic to animals (if you're wondering we've blogged about this here), so we figured it could be a good time to see just how we're all managing (if at all) to create plant and pet harmony. 

Well, guess what? It turns out most of us aren't phased at all about having pets and plants in the same space. 68% of respondents said they have pets in their homes (in case you're wondering, most of you are dog people), and of that 68%, only 3 respondents said their pets had ever been sick because of their plants. We're not saying you shouldn't be careful, but it is nice to know that the chances are slim of something happening - especially if you follow our tips!

Check out those Green Thumbs

We asked what level of plant mastery you thought you were. From the responses, looks like a few of you have been reading our blogs, (or at least keeping up with our hot tips on Instagram).

Only 3% of you thought of yourself as absolute beginners (no shade! You have to start somewhere), while the majority of you (50%) put your plant skills down as solid ("I can tell the difference between a Devils Ivy and a Swiss Cheese Vine"). 

Shout out to the 40 respondents coming in hot as plant masters ('Like, Really Green')! Here's to hoping we can increase those numbers by the time next years quiz rolls around!

This was reflected in our questioning about propagation success too - with 85% respondents have recorded propagation success. And for those 15% of you who haven't yet kicked that goal, pop on over to our propagation blog here and  see how you get on. 

Let's Talk Plants

Time to dish the dirt! We asked about you plant fam, what you wanted and what you hated and boy did you guys deliver!

Let's start with the most wanted - Turns out you're Monstera fiends, with the Monstera Thai Constellation coming in as the top most wanted plant (closely followed by that so much pricier, (but way more beautiful) Monstera borsigiana Albo Variegata. And if you're wondering what the difference is, then have a read over here. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the Fiddle Leaf took out the number 3 spot in our most wanted list. We've been saying the fiddle is on the way out for two years now, so here's to knocking up another year of being completely wrong in our plant trend predictions. Although, I guess when they look as good as this one at Dom's house, you can kinda see the appeal...

Then there was the most over-rated plant. Confusingly, it was also the Monstera Thai Constellation. So we're chalking that up to being loved by one half of the country and loathed by the other. Here's a pic so you know what we're talking about - you be the judge. 

Plant Care Habits

So here is the juicy stuff. We checked in to find out about your fertilising routines, ideal potting medias and even what sort of water you use on your plants!

First up, spending routines. Most of you (25%) spend between $31 and $70 per year on plant care. (or, in Plant Runner terms, just enough to sort yourself out with a Booster Kit and a bag of Potting Mix), but just behind the average were a a number of hard core plant fiends dropping a cool $200+ each year on keeping their plant fam thriving. 

Also - shout out to the mavericks making those plants work for themselves - 0.7% of you don't spend a dime on plant care products.

For potting media, most respondents (but only just) are hitting the generic potting mixes from the local garden centre. But coming in a hot second were the species-specific potting mixes (like Aroid or Cacti, for example). 

For fertilising, we're happy that the majority of you (40%) feeding once a month, while 8 respondents have never fertilised their plants. If you're on the fence and not sure why its important, have a read of our fertiliser info page when you're done here.

Finally, we checked in to see what sort of water you use when watering your plants. As we expected, most of you (70%) are using tap water when fertilising your plants. But we would be remiss not to shout out the absolute baller (1 person) watering their plants with the bubbly stuff aka sparkling water. We've heard this was a thing but never met anyone doing it, so we'd love to hear from you to find out about how your plants respond to it

World's (Well, Australia's) Best Plant Care Brand

And finally, the data we all wanted to find out about. Let's not concern ourselves that this survey was conducted primarily amongst our followers and email subscribers, or worry about the sample size. Instead, lets focus on the the news that The Plant Runner was overwhelmingly voted Australia's most used Plant Care Brand, with 62% of respondents saying they mainly use the Plant Runner for their plant care needs. 

And to our ten winners - we'll be reaching out to you this week with your $100 gift vouchers. Thanks to everyone who got involved here's to an even bigger survey next year.

* it was also our first ever, but hey who's counting?