Working with plants in Palm Springs has taught me something: plants and people grow a lot alike. And I've got a mindset shift that's changed everything about how I tackle both.
THE PLANT DADDY DILEMMA
Let's be real. Those perfect Instagram plant shots? That's not real life. When you're in the trenches of professional plant care, you see the truth. Not every leaf unfurls perfectly. Not every growth spurt happens on schedule. And that's exactly how it should be.
WHAT MY PLANTS TAUGHT ME
Via Mel Robbin's podcast, I stumbled onto her game-changing phrase: "Let them." Two simple words that pack a punch. Plants grow at their own pace. They respond to their environment in their own way. Try rushing a cactus and see how that works out for you. Nature doesn't hurry, and neither should we.
DESERT WISDOM
The plants in Palm Springs are tough as nails. They don't waste energy comparing themselves to tropical varieties or alpine species. A saguaro doesn't wish it was a fern. It just does what it does best: thrives in harsh conditions and stands tall. There's a lesson there.
THE "LET THEM" APPROACH
When a client's succulent grows sideways instead of straight up? Let it. When your indoor jungle looks different from the one on social media? Let it. When that slow-growing plant takes its sweet time? Let it. This simple shift changed everything about how we measure success at Plant Autopilot.
FROM THE FIELD
In our years of hands-on work, we've seen thousands of plants. No two are identical. Our job isn't to force cookie-cutter resultsāit's to support natural growth patterns. The best plant care pros know when to step in and when to step back.
Pro Tip of the Week: Take a hard look at your plants without judgment. Notice how each one grows differently, and practice saying "let them" when you catch yourself getting antsy about their progress. They're doing exactly what they're supposed to do.
Ā
