You have probably seen other brands’ versions of this kit, but those are usually stored dehydrated and are only good for one fruiting, if you’re lucky. North Spore’s are shipped fresh, with an enclosed little squirt bottle for keeping moist (sorry), so they’ll be good for multiple fruitings. My pink oyster mushroom block is about to have its third. Oyster mushrooms are typically the most beginner-friendly, and North Spore offers two different kinds—pink and blue, as well as trendy lion’s mane if your recipient is a more experienced mycologist.

Suppose your giftee loves growing mushrooms but has graduated to more challenging varieties. In that case, North Spore makes an automated monotub ($165) that can be paired with either substrate or the brand’s fruiting blocks. It keeps the growing environment with the proper airflow and humidity, and I’ve grown so many mushrooms in mine that I’ve turned into a Crazy Mushroom Lady, leaving bags on neighbors’ porches and chasing down acquaintances in the grocery store.

(Note that the photo shows golden oyster mushrooms, which mycologists are investigating as a potential invasive species. North Spore says it is currently phasing out its yellow oyster mushroom kits while it works on developing a sporeless strain.)

If your friend or loved one is supporting their vines or floppy potted plants with bendable moss poles or, worse, a jury-rigged ladder made out of duct-taped pencils (it was an emergency, OK?), treat them to one of these hand-finished, laser-cut plant supports. There are staked versions, modular versions, coasters, wall mounts, and even a paintable peperomia leaf. I tested two—one shaped like a monstera leaf and another like a palm—and both have held up well with floppy philodendrons and occasionally over-watered soil.

If your giftee loves houseplants but has a dismal track record of keeping them alive, this is the gift for them. This 7 x 8-inch smart planter, which debuted at CES 2025, takes care of your plant for you—fill the pot once a month with water and it will water the plant via little jets at the top when the sensors detect it’s necessary, send you alerts through the LeafyPod app if the plant needs more light or a different temperature, and track humidity to make sure everything is optimal for the plant you’ve chosen. (The app will even identify your plant if you don’t know what it is or what it needs.)

Using a LeafyPod pot makes your plant “virtually impossible to kill,” according to the company’s marketing, and I admit I have been impressed in my testing—I chose cuttings from a finicky inch plant I had killed twice before from overwatering, and the LeafyPod planter has kept them not only alive, but thriving and growing. Note that you can opt to purchase a LeafyPod planter alone or with a bridge if you plan on adding more LeafyPods around your house in the future.

My houseplants are happy this year, thanks to a long summer that ended with a late frost and these indoor grow lights. Amazon lists a bunch of very similar multi-head USB-powered grow lights from brands with names like LEOTER, WTINTEL, bseah, and Sonamindary.

All are bendable, clippable, dimmable, and have simple timers activated with a few presses of the same button. I’ve ordered four sets since the first frost and found them all functional, and there’s a decent chance they’re all made in the same factory. The three-head model from Growstar is the only model I’ve reordered because the bulbs seem to be a little brighter on their highest setting and the clips are slightly more taut. If you’re trying to get your houseplants a little more light, this is a cheap and easy way to do it. —Martin Cizmar

This 1,000-piece puzzle is based on a vintage botanical poster and not only looks great, it’s super challenging with all the white space and similar-looking greenery. The pieces come in a drawstring fabric bag inside the giftable tube-shaped container, and there’s a small poster included to help with orientation. If succulents aren’t your recipient’s thing, Cavallini also makes similar vintage-inspired versions with houseplants, floral specimens, a flower garden, and wildflowers.

Though this completed Lego set takes up valuable shelf or table real estate that could be open for plants, it could provide a cheery pop of color for a dark corner or area where plants might not thrive. My household has both this best-seller succulent kit and the bonsai tree ($50), which features seasonal blossoms.

Humidity is essential for plants year-round, but particularly in winter. If your recipient lives in a dry environment, why not give them a double-duty gift—a humidifier with a planter in it! The Natura is made with recycled materials and FSC-certified bamboo, meaning the bamboo was harvested from responsibly managed forests.

WIRED contributing reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro tested it for our guide to the Best Humidifiers and liked that it could be filled either from the top or from the side, and that the mist spout could be rotated for customized spray directions.

We love Urban Stems’ flower delivery, but it turns out the brand also offers a selection of plant gifts that ship in just a couple of days, perfect for a housewarming or anytime gift. The Good Omen consists of a small jade succulent—thought to attract wealth and prosperity according to feng shui principles, due to its coin-shaped leaves—in an elephant-shaped planter. (Elephants are also considered good luck in many cultures.)

It comes very carefully wrapped in stiff cardboard and foam, and the vintage-inspired, off-white planter looks even better in person than it does online. If the stems look a little mashed at first, not to worry—it will perk up in about a week. If your recipient already has a jade, Urban Stems offers orchids, bromeliads, ZZs, and more.

Whether your recipient is an indoor or outdoor gardener, odds are they have some plants, seeds, or starts that could use some extra light. This easy-to-assemble grow box is a critical part of my gardening life—it features three LED light strips at the top with a timer and varied light-intensity settings.

It’s designed to fit Ferry-Morse’s seed-starting trays, but it’s also great for houseplant cuttings, starts, and any of the other myriad projects plant people often have going.

I test a lot of indoor hydroponic gardens, and this stylish little planter (read our full review here) hits the sweet spot of success and ease of use. You can grow whatever you want in the coco coir pots, which are slotted on the bottom so the roots can reach the reservoir below. When the water is empty, a dial on the side with a series of white dots shows a red dot. Fill it back up with water and the included nutrients, and the dial rolls back to the first white dot.

I wouldn’t grow anything other than herbs in here due to the light bar height (there’s supposedly a setting for tomatoes and peppers, but in my experience, the yields won’t be worth it in a garden of this size), but herbs it indeed does well. (It comes with basil and parsley.)

If you know someone who’s interested in growing culinary herbs but doesn’t want to commit to a full garden setup, this gift set from cutting board maker John Boos & Co. could be the ticket. It includes three Kratky method hydroponic herb-growing kits—rosemary, cilantro, and basil—along with a harvest strip tool that I loved so much I would give it as a gift on its own, a 17 x 12 x 1-inch Boos Block walnut cutting board, and a burlap farmers market bag. I admit I wasn’t sure what to expect from the disconcertingly simple mason-jar herb kits, which are from Modern Sprout, but mine are all growing successfully in a sunny kitchen window. (Albeit slowly—make sure your giftee isn’t in immediate need of a harvest.)

A favorite from our guide to the Best Flower Delivery Services, Via Citrus sends approximately 2-foot-tall fruit trees in black plastic pots, fresh from Florida. Options include Meyer lemon, kumquat, and calamondin orange. We’ve tried them all, most recently the kumquat and Meyer lemon, the former arriving with green fruit, the latter with fragrant blossoms. They can live indoors or outdoors—WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell has had the calamondin orange living on her Southern California patio for the past year. Indoors, you’ll probably need a grow light (see the one we recommend above) to keep them happy.

Also to note, if your giftee lives in a colder area, they may see some leaf drop after a week or so due to the shock and temperature change—citrus trees are notorious for this, but leaf drop doesn’t mean the tree is dying. While the kumquat dropped the bulk of its leaves within days of its arrival at my Pacific Northwest home, it still has plenty of new growth at the top. (The Meyer lemon, which arrived at the same time, did not drop any leaves.)

As seen in our guide to the Best Kitchen Composters, the Reencle Prime doesn’t fully make ready-to-use compost, but it comes the closest out of any of the major brands. It functions a lot like a heated trash can—just throw your kitchen scraps in, and microbes will break them down over time into a sort of loamy mixture. When the volume of the Prime reaches the fill line, the mixture can be scooped out and added at a 1:4 ratio with potting soil, then left to cure for three weeks. After this, it can be used for both outdoor and indoor plants. Not only will it free up space in your giftee’s trash can and cut down on dangerous greenhouse gas production, it will make their plants happy.

This is my favorite indoor hydroponic garden. (Read my full review here.) It’s pricey, and it’s a pain to clean when it’s time to turn over your plants, but the vertical tube design and front-mounted light bar allow the plants to grow as tall or as wide as they need to, resulting in something that looks more like a living art piece than a vegetable garden. (In just 2 square feet!) An optional subscription plan allows for guided growing through “Kelby,” an AI gardening assistant who tells you when to add water and nutrients and trim roots, and can even compile a cool time-lapse video of your current growth cycle. No green thumbs required. Gardyn just released an updated version of its smaller Studio model, the Studio 2, which has all the features of the larger garden but with half the plants, for $350 less.

Many WIRED reviewers swear by their Carter mugs—Boutayna Chokrane and coffee writer Matthew Korfhage, among them—and for good reason. They’re stylish (especially the versions from Fellow’s Artist Series), the lip is perfectly thin to avoid spills, hot drinks stay hot all day, and the wide mouth is made to fit an Aeropress. The only caveat is that this wide version won’t fit in a car’s cupholder, so it’s best as a mug for walking … preferably to a plant store, which is appropriate, as the mug’s designer, artist Charlie Wagers, is himself part-time owner of a plant shop in Pittsburgh. Note that it’s currently out of stock, but you can choose to be notified when it will be available.