During these difficult times, bringing your community together is more important than ever. If you love all things plants, reconnect with others and host a free neighborhood plant exchange swap — sharing is caring!
Plant swaps are a rewarding method of promoting inclusivity within your neighborhood and allow you to share the love of plants with other green thumbs. A neighborhood plant swap can be anything from a small gathering in your backyard to leaving some flowers, seeds, or plants by your neighbor’s door.
Read more to explore plant swap best practices and ideas to host the perfect neighborhood plant swap of your own!
Take a Plant Leave a Plant (TAPLAP) is a wonderful community that facilitates sharing plants between fellow gardeners This eco-friendly movement has grown rapidly in recent years as more people discover the benefits of trading plants. In this article, we’ll explore what TAPLAP is, how it works, popular ways to participate, and the unexpected joys of sharing plants
What Exactly is Take a Plant Leave a Plant?
Take a Plant Leave a Plant is a network of people who exchange plants with each other. The concept is simple you take a plant you’d like from someone else’s collection and leave one of your own plants for them in return. This allows gardeners to easily trade cuttings, divisions, and extras from their plant collections
TAPLAP connects plant lovers through online groups, community events, and friend networks. Members swap tips on care as well as photos of interesting plants. It facilitates the sharing of rare, hard-to-find specimens that enthusiasts may not find anywhere else.
The Many Benefits of Trading Plants
Participating in TAPLAP offers numerous benefits:
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Discover new plants – It’s thrilling to try unique unusual species you’ve never grown before. TAPLAP is a great source of rare finds.
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Free plants – Trading plants instead of buying them saves money. It’s an affordable way to expand your plant collection.
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Share the joy – Dividing and sharing plants that bring you happiness spreads that positive feeling.
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Make connections – TAPLAP allows you to connect with fellow plant fanatics. Many close friendships bloom through a shared plant love.
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Give plants a good home – Trading helps ensure plants go to good homes with proper care instead of being discarded.
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Reduce waste – Sharing extras reduces the need to compost or throw away healthy plants. TAPLAP is eco-friendly.
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Learn new skills – Trading plants and making new friends can teach you new gardening skills and techniques.
How Take a Plant Leave a Plant Exchanges Work
TAPLAP exchanges follow a few basic guidelines:
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Offer healthy, pest-free plants and provide care tips to the new owner.
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Photograph your plant and share details like its name, growth habit, and needs.
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Browse fellow members’ available plants and connect to arrange trades.
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Agree on a neutral public location and time to meet and exchange plants. Keep it 1:1.
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Say thank you and follow up to be sure the plants thrive in their new homes.
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If you can’t care for a traded plant, offer it up for another swap. Don’t let it languish.
Most exchanges happen locally face-to-face, but some members will mail plant cuttings to distant members if shipping costs are agreed upon.
Popular Ways to Get Involved
There are many great ways to get involved with TAPLAP:
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Join Facebook groups – Large regional and national TAPLAP Facebook groups connect thousands of trading members.
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Use Reddit – The subreddit r/TakeaPlantLeaveaPlant has an active community of over 100,000 plant trading members.
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Attend events – Look for local plant swaps, garden shows, nursery exchanges and more.
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Talk to gardening friends – Spread the word to fellow gardening buddies to drum up interest in trading plants.
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Post on apps – Check Nextdoor, local Facebook groups, etc. to find potential trade partners nearby.
Helpful Tips for New Members
If you want to dive into the TAPLAP world, keep these tips in mind:
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Start with common, fast-growing plants to gain experience. Difficult or rare specimens add stress.
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Pack plants very securely in breathable bags or boxes so they aren’t damaged in transit.
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Keep plants labeled so you remember specifics on their care needs.
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Research plants thoroughly before bringing them home to ensure you can provide proper care.
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Quarantine new plants away from your existing collection to check for any signs of pests or diseases.
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Spread the word and invite fellow plant lovers to join the community. More members make trading easier!
The Unexpected Joys of Sharing Plants
What started as a simple way for gardeners to exchange extras has grown into an amazing community. TAPLAP fosters connections between people through a shared passion for plants. Many members have met sincere friends and found a sense of belonging.
There’s something special about seeing a plant you cared for thrive in someone else’s garden. Sharing these living gifts spreads joy and enhances well-being by building human connections.
So don’t let that beautiful orchid keiki or choice succulent offset go to waste. Consider sharing it through TAPLAP and brightening another plant lover’s day. Let the spirit of giving continue to spread and grow!
Tips for a Successful Plant Swap
To host a successful plant swap in your neighborhood, there are a few things you need to consider as you plan.
Reach Out to Your Neighbors
This step is important to gather interest from your community and seek out other plant lovers who may want to join your swap. To get the word out, try posting in a community newsletter or social media page if you have one or leave flyers at their doors!
Everyone has something they can contribute, so be sure to include others in the planning for more ideas and suggestions to make planning easier.
Once you get a feel for what kind of swap your neighborhood will be interested in, start planning out the details. Whether you want to host a virtual plant swap or a small get together over dinner, you’ll want to make sure the location, date, and time are set!
Then, you’ll want to set some guidelines so those attending your neighborhood plant swap are on the same page. Here’s a simple set of guidelines:
- Everyone must have at least one plant or seed packet to trade.
- All swapped items must be labeled with the type of plant and care instructions.
- Swapping plants must be pest-free and healthy.
These guidelines are perfect for any type of swap and will ensure the event will run smoothly and fairly.
How to Propagate any Plant |Multiply Your Plants for Free!|
FAQ
How to move a plant without killing it?
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1. Dig Carefully:Use a spade or trowel to dig around the plant, keeping as much of the root ball intact as possible.
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2. Protect the Roots:Wrap the root ball in burlap or a plastic bag to prevent it from drying out during the move.
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3. Pack Securely:Place the plant in a sturdy container or box, ensuring it has enough space to move but not enough to shift excessively.
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4. Label and Mark:Clearly label the box with “Fragile,” “Live Plant,” and “This Side Up” for extra care.
What is it called when you take a cutting from a plant?
Cuttings create new plants simply by, well, cutting off parts of existing plants. Many plants are amenable to creating cuttings. I’ll use the word propagation as well, which simply means “creating new plants (with roots) from cuttings”.
What plants should not be transplanted?
Crops that we grow for their roots, like carrots, beets and turnips also don’t transplant well.
What is it called when you take a plant out of the ground?
Uprooted. I uprooted the beets from the garden bed.