Sympathy Plants, and How Long Each One Lasts
Peace lilies, orchids, dish gardens and succulents for a funeral or the family home. Compare light and watering needs to choose a plant that suits the household.
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Is a plant one more thing for them to look after?
It is a fair worry and it deserves answering before you choose rather than after. The honest version: most of these ask almost nothing and one of them asks quite a lot. That is why the watering line sits next to every group below instead of in a care leaflet nobody reads.
If you know the household is overwhelmed, send from the succulent group. A bright windowsill and water every two or three weeks is the whole routine, and the common way people lose one is watering it too often. A peace lily is next easiest because it tells you when it is thirsty: it droops, you water it, it stands back up the same afternoon. Watering needs vary with light and room temperature; follow the care instructions supplied.
A plant for their space and routine
Plants can remain in the home long after the service when their light and watering needs are met. A succulent suits a bright spot with infrequent watering; leafy plants generally prefer indirect light. Use the care guide below to choose for the household.
How long each type lasts
Light and water in one line each, written for someone who has never kept a houseplant. Counts and prices are read from what is in stock right now.
Succulents and jade
Years, and a jade plant can run to decades
The brightest windowsill in the house, and a drink every two to three weeks.
5 in stock$59.99 – $74.99
Peace lily, dracaena and fern
Years indoors
Happy in low or filtered light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
3 in stock$74.99 – $94.99
Dish and mixed gardens
Months as planted, then longer once they are split up
Bright indirect light. Water lightly, since the whole container drains as one.
6 in stock$69.99 – $99.99
Orchids
Six to twelve weeks in bloom, then years as a plant
Bright indirect light, never direct sun. One drink a week, poured off so nothing stands in the pot.
6 in stock$94.99 – $194.99
Planted keepsakes
Years for the plant, indefinitely for the container
Bright indirect light and water when the top inch dries suits nearly all of them.
8 in stock$69.99 – $94.99
All 28 sympathy plants
Grouped by what they are and how much they ask of the person receiving them, easiest first. Delivery is included in every price.
Succulents and jade
5 plants · $59.99 – $74.99
A living gift for a bright spot in the home, with less frequent watering than many leafy plants. Choose this group when the recipient has a sunny windowsill and prefers a simple care routine. Follow the supplied care instructions and allow the soil to dry between waterings.
- How long
- Years, and a jade plant can run to decades
- Light and water
- The brightest windowsill in the house, and a drink every two to three weeks.
Peace lily, dracaena and fern
3 plants · $74.99 – $94.99
The plants that end up with a permanent place. A peace lily flowers on and off for years and is honest about being thirsty: it droops, you water it, it stands back up the same afternoon, which makes it forgiving of a household that is not thinking about plants right now. A dracaena will live in a dim corner that nothing else tolerates. The Boston fern is the one exception to the easy rule here — it wants humidity and evenly damp soil, so it does best in a bright bathroom or above a kitchen sink rather than a dry living room.
- How long
- Years indoors
- Light and water
- Happy in low or filtered light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry.
Dish and mixed gardens
6 plants · $69.99 – $99.99
Several plants growing together in one container, which is the practical choice when you do not know the house or the person well. Something in the mix will suit wherever it ends up. Families often take these apart after a few months and move the strongest plants into their own pots, and that is not the gift failing — it is the point where one arrangement becomes three or four things on a windowsill.
- How long
- Months as planted, then longer once they are split up
- Light and water
- Bright indirect light. Water lightly, since the whole container drains as one.
Orchids
6 plants · $94.99 – $194.99
An orchid offers a longer flowering period than a cut bouquet and can flower again with suitable care. Choose a spot with bright, indirect light, follow the supplied watering instructions and allow the pot to drain completely. The plant can remain a part of the home after the current flowers fade.
- How long
- Six to twelve weeks in bloom, then years as a plant
- Light and water
- Bright indirect light, never direct sun. One drink a week, poured off so nothing stands in the pot.
Planted keepsakes
8 plants · $69.99 – $94.99
Small plants set into a glass or ceramic vessel rather than a plastic grower pot. The container is the part that lasts longest: when the plant is eventually repotted or replaced, what stays on the shelf is a piece of glassware that came from a particular week. Light and water depend on what is planted and the tag in the pot says which, since a few of these are planted with blooms rather than foliage alone.
- How long
- Years for the plant, indefinitely for the container
- Light and water
- Bright indirect light and water when the top inch dries suits nearly all of them.
A plant is not always the right answer
Timing and destination decide this more than taste does. If you recognize yourself on the left, send flowers instead — there is no version of this where a plant to an empty house is the better gift.
Send cut flowers when
- The service has not happened yet
- You are sending to a funeral home or a church
- You want something that speaks on one particular day
- The family is travelling and the house will be empty afterwards
Send a plant when
- The service has already passed
- You are sending to the family home
- You want to send a living gift with ongoing care instructions
- The household keeps houseplants or gardens
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Questions about sympathy plants
- How long does a sympathy plant last?
- Longer than cut flowers, and the range is wide. An orchid holds its blooms for six to twelve weeks and then reblooms in later years. A peace lily or dracaena lives for years indoors. A jade plant kept in a bright window can run to decades. A dish garden lasts months as planted, and longer once the strongest plants are moved into their own pots.
- Is it appropriate to send a plant instead of flowers after a death?
- Yes, and after the service it is often the better choice. Cut flowers are for the day itself — the visitation, the chapel, the house full of people. A plant is for the weeks afterwards, when the visitors have stopped and the arrangements have been carried out.
- Which sympathy plant needs the least care?
- A succulent or jade planting. The whole routine is a bright windowsill and a drink every two to three weeks, and the usual mistake is watering too often rather than too rarely. A peace lily is the next easiest, because it droops when it is thirsty and stands back up within hours of being watered.
- Can a plant be delivered to a funeral home?
- Yes. Give us the funeral home name, the street address, and the name of the deceased as it appears in the obituary, because funeral homes hold several services at once and route deliveries by that name. Many senders choose the family home address instead, so the plant does not have to be carried out to a car at the end of the day.
- Is it too late to send a plant weeks after the funeral?
- No. A plant arriving in the weeks after the service is not late — that is the stretch when the house has gone quiet and it is noticed most. If you missed the service, sending later is a choice rather than an apology.
- How soon can a sympathy plant arrive, and what does delivery cost?
- Order by 2:00 PM recipient local time, Monday to Saturday, and it is delivered today. Delivery is free on all orders and there are no service fees, so the price you see is the price you pay, plus applicable sales tax.