A Comprehensive Guide for Plant Lovers in Berlin

photo: Liz Ketcham. 

I think for the longest time of my adult life I assumed I would not have a thing for plants because I had a hard time keeping them alive. It wasn’t until I started living with my former flatmate Sandra who brought a whole bunch of plants into our house that I started to take an interest. And this is really what made the difference: Once I took an actual interest in them, the plants started to thrive. A plant dad was born!

By now I’ve developed a bit into a plant nerd, even started my own plant-themed Instagram account @frankyfolia to indulge in my green obsession. The plant community online is pretty big already and the enthusiasm for plants is quite infectious. Be warned 😉

I thought it was about time to bring my new passion here to iHeartBerlin in the form of a new guide showing you the best places for plant enthusiasts. If you’re not into plants yet, you might just be after reading this…

Plant Boutiques

Being a plant nerds means that you’re not just into any old basic plant but into rare, exotic plants, and these, you will have to look for a little more thoroughly. Plant specialists or plant boutiques how I like to call them are the best sources for rare plants. You might have to reach a little deeper into your pocket in some cases, but will be rewarded with great selections, good advice, and unique plant accessories. I’ve chosen the most important specialty plant shops to give you a bit of an overview:

Plant Circle

When it comes to rare tropical plants this place is always my number one source. It usually offers all the trendy plants from Instagram plus extra special ones that the store owner gets from private growers so you might not get these anywhere else. In addition to the store Plant Circle also does a lot for community building as they host regular workshops for terrarium making, macrame, plant care, pottery, plant swaps, and more. A good way to meet like-minded plant enthusiasts.

Plant Circle, Torstr. 62, 10119 Berlin-Mitte

Open: Tue-Sat 11-19h

 

  

photos: Plant Circle  

 

The Botanical Room

The Botanical Room in Kreuzberg is an equally well-stocked plant specialist that will let your plant dreams come true. Their selection includes the aforementioned array of trending plants plus some new and rare discoveries. Their selection of planters and accessories is also quite amazing, especially when it comes to pottery goods from local brands which I will mention later in the guide. You can also rely on the girls in the store to give you good plant advice.

The Botanical Room, Manteuffelstraße 73, 10999 Berlin-Kreuzberg

Open: Tue & Thu-Sat 13-19h

 

  

 

Artdoor

This plant and flower store in Kreuzberg probably has the longest history of all the ones in my list. Artdoor used to be two stores on Oranienstraße and Dresdener Straße that got united into one last year at Pückler corner of Wrangelstraße. They carry a lot of popular plants that plant enthusiasts are lusting after, but since the store owner doesn’t solely rely on plant trends you will also find some unexpected ones. I’m still in awe of their huge Anthurium Clarinervium.

Artdoor, Pücklerstraße 33, 10997 Berlin-Kreuzberg

Open: Mon-Sat 10-18h

 

 

Die Palme

When it comes to large plants like palm trees, strelitzias and ficus trees Die Palme really is the right place for you. They have their own grow house near Berlin in Kladow (which I think you can also visit on request). Their store at Stilwerk is full of these large beauties, but also small plants of course. They also do a lot of work for locations and offices.

Die Palme, Stilwerk, Kantstraße 17, 10623 Berlin-Charlottenburg

Open: Mon-Sat 10-19h

 

 

Boomki

Especially if you are into the terrarium trend this specialist for Bonsai trees is your go-to store. They have a variety of types and sizes and of course a lot of knowledge on how to maintain these tiny trees. It’s also a welcome change from all the large-leaved tropical plants. They also offer workshops for Bonsai care, as well as how to make terrariums and pottery.

Boomki, Kantstraße 141, 10623 Berlin-Charlottenburg

Open: Mon & Wed-Sat 12-19h

 

 

Marsano

Of all the plant stores on my list, Marsano really has a style of its own. I think it’s a bit glamorous which reflects in a totally different style of interior design and plant accessories than the other stores. You might recognize their work for flower and plant arrangements from some local boutique hotels such as Soho House. They have an incredible stock of planters and vases in various styles. Their plant selection is also quite exquisite.

Marsano, Charlottenstraße 75, 10117 Berlin-Mitte

Open: Mon-Sat 10-19h

 

  

 

Hallesches Haus

This one is an iHeart favorite, but not exactly a plant store. They do have a few plants and terrariums, but what they are great for plant accessories like hangers, planters, glass domes, gardening tools, misters, etc. It’s also just a very inspiring place for plant and interior fans.

Hallesches Haus, Tempelhofer Ufer 1, 10961 Berlin-Kreuzberg

Open: Mon-Fri 10-19h, Sat 10-18h, Sun (only Cafe) 10-17h

 

  

 

Honorary mentions also go out to a string of three shops in Mitte on Rosenthaler Straße. Spreeheidi has cool plants and plant accessories, Schee has a surprisingly big selection of air plants (that are kinda rare these days elsewhere) and Granit is also nice for plant and gardening accessories.

Other Plant Shops

Of course beside the plant boutiques, there are lots of other sources for plants. I want to use this chapter to elaborate on my experience with those.

Home Improvement Stores

These places, such as OBI, Bauhaus, Hellweg, toom, Hornbach, etc. often have quite large selections of plants. Most of them have mostly standard fare, so this only makes sense if you’re looking for a large Monstera, Philodendron or ZZ plant for a good price. Often the quality also lacks a bit because these plants experience a lot of neglect as they are treated like any other product in these large stores. There are exceptions though: I like the Hellweg next to Berghain, they have some plant nerds working there and they also shop at the local wholesale flower markets which makes their selection (sometimes, not always) surprisingly diverse and full of surprises. I also like the spacey silver Bauhaus at Halensee station. They have excellent succulents and cacti.

 

  

 

Plant Nurseries

There is a bunch of large plant nursery in the outskirts of Berlin that offer a huge variety of plants, also for outdoor purposes including fruit trees. Their selection of indoor plants is often big, but unfortunately often not especially inspiring when it comes to rare tropical and trendy plants. There are exceptions though: Der Holländer at Treptower Park is a true highlight and often has really cool plants such as different Philodendrons and Alocasias, and also in quite large sizes. These are hard to get elsewhere in these sizes.

 

 

Plant Pop-ups

With the rise of the plant trend, there also came plant pop-up sales, the most notable (but not only one) being the one of online plant shop Bergamotte. It happens every couple of months and is usually a big hit. They might not have the rarest plants, but the most popular ones for sure. The next one is a really big one and is coming on September 4-7 at Arena’s Glashaus. But there are also other plant pop-ups. Check out event listing to stay updated on any upcoming plant events.

 

photo: Andreas Bohlender

 

Plant Community

One of the nicest things about my new plant passion is sharing it with like-minded plant nerds. There are many ways to connect with other plant people, for instance, the Instagram plant community, or local events.

Instagram

As with all niche topics, there is a community for everything in the social media networks, and the one that is most thriving for plants is certainly to be found on Instagram. I started to grow my plant network by using hashtags and following lots of accounts specialized on plants. The community is very engaged and enthusiastic, so it has been very easy to connect. I want to give a shout-out to some of my favorite plant Instagrammers from Berlin and other German cities:

 

  

photos: berlinhomelove, Timlabenda

 

berlinhomelove – Camille is usually a DJ, used to contribute to iHeartBerlin and is now the plant queen of Berlin on Instagram. She has a lovely home full of plants that you can drool over on her feed.

Timlabenda – If the name sounds familiar to you, you are not mistaken. The fashion designer has a second life on Instagram with a special focus on plant-heavy interiors. His home in Berlin is a great inspiration.

 

  

photo: _____theo, Floraamelie

 

______theo – This is another awesome Instagram stream from Berlin showing wonderful plant-filled interiors in warm, earthy tones that make you think this is not Berlin but some lovely retreat in the South of Italy.

Floraamalie – this lady has a beautiful bohemian home in Berlin filled with luscious foliage and a cute little doggie. Especially her balcony seems like a paradise for plant lovers.

 

  

photos: Igorjosif, Curlyfloplant

Igorjosif – He is the founder of the urbanjungleblogger community, co-author of one of the first cool plant books “Urban Jungle” and has also a wonderful personal account on the intersection of interior and plants.

Curlyfloplant – Probably the most charming plant dad on Instagram Florian from Hamburg has built a little empire revolving around Caladiums – a tropical plant with very colorful and expressive leaves – which he sells as bulbs (that later grow into plants) through his project Caladiscope.

Plant Events

A great way to connect with local plant enthusiasts is participating in the various plant events happening here. Places like Plantcircle offer regular workshops and you will also occasionally see some at places like Hallesches Haus in Kreuzberg.

The platform PlantNight – a sister to the popular ArtNight and ShakeNight – is a new project offering regular plant-themed events here in Berlin and their schedule includes terrarium and macrame workshops which can also be booked as private or company events.

photo: PlantNight

Inspiring Plant Places

Of course, besides all the places to shop plants and meet other plant lovers there are also a few places good for inspiration and relaxing outside of your own little urban jungle. We picked out a few of those…

The Greens Cafe

If you’re totally exhausted from all the plant shopping but still don’t have enough of them at the same time then you should take a rest and have a coffee at The Greens a small plant cafe in the Alte Münze complex. The place is absolutely adorable and serves both coffee and plants.

 

photo: The Greens

Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Garden is one of my favorite places in Berlin. It’s a great source of inspiration and relaxation. Just wondering around in the tropical grow houses always feels like a visit to a spa. And it’s great to see all the tropical plants in huge sizes that we have in small pots in our homes. There is also a Botanical Garden in Potsdam and the Botanical Park in Pankow. Also, the Gärten der Welt in Mahzahn has a tropical grow house.

 

 

Last but not least:

Which plants should you get?

I’m glad you’re asking. Because judging from the length of this guide you can tell I have no plans of ever to stop talking about plants… But of course, I especially like to give out recommendations about which plants to buy. So this is what you can consider the iHeartBerlin plant starter set…

Raven ZZ Plant – or how I like to call it: the Techno ZZ – is a thick-leaved black plant that is perfect for beginners bc it doesn’t need a lot of light or water. Basically, this plant (as well as the regular green version) thrives on neglect.

Begonia Maculata – This plant has exceptionally beautiful long narrow leaves with white dots on one side and a red backside. It also grows quite fast and is not very fuzzy.

 

  

 

Anthurium Clarinervium – This Mexican plant is such a stunner with its large dark leaves with very pronounced white veins. It is one of my favorites.

Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma – The name sounds a bit intimidating which is why it’s often also called a Mini Monstera even though it isn’t one. But it’s intricate leaf shape pretty much resembles that of her adoptive sibling, maybe even a little prettier.

 

  

 

I hope this guide has given you a bit of inspiration for your plant passion or even convinced you to become a plant parent yourself! Make sure to follow me on frankyfolia for more inspiration and the occasional plant wisdom.

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Frank

Author

Frank is the founder and editor-in-chief of iHeartBerlin. He takes photos, makes videos, and writes texts mostly about what's going on in Berlin. His vision and interests have shaped iHeartBerlin since its conception back in 2007 - and he hopes to continue bringing you the best of Berlin for many years to come.