We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erika Grob a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erika thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me bring this aspect of my life back.” – Rosie D.

I had a client, Rosie, who reached out because she was in a pretty desperate place. Despite her best efforts, she’d had multiple plants bite the dust since she moved into her new apartment. She was convinced it was all her fault and that she simply couldn’t live with plants anymore because she couldn’t keep them alive.

We made an appointment so that I could assess her remaining, struggling plants and see/feel the growing conditions for myself. Right away I could tell where the disconnect was happening–and it was a mistake anyone could have made! She thought she had been over-watering her plants, but in fact, she had been severely under-watering them. Her apartment stayed very hot because it received direct sunlight throughout the day, which caused her plants to be chronically dry. After a heavy soak, her plants improved dramatically.

In our second appointment we repotted her plants together so she understood that process, and I instructed her on other species of plants she may want to buy in the future. She now has an apartment full of thriving plants that bring her so much joy.

I loved working with Rosie because it was so fun teaching her about her plants. There is no one size fits all in indoor gardening because we all have different light conditions, air conditions, and plant parent tendencies. It was so rewarding to help Rosie realize she was not a terrible plant parent–she just needed a little guidance.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Erika, and I’m a plant consultant. My main goal is to inspire confidence in your plant care abilities. We’ll work together to understand the elements that go into keeping your houseplants healthy & thriving based on your individual living conditions and tendencies. Indoor plant care is not one size fits all, and caring for houseplants can sometimes be really tricky! If you’ve been discouraged in the past, we can change that.

I offer plant consultations that are tailored to your individual needs, which may include things like discussing your plant parent style & your plant conditions; reviewing the fundamentals of indoor plant care; assessing your plants & creating a plan of action; or pest management. I love teaching people about plants, so my clients tend to be folks who want to be engaged in the process of plant care. My goal is to give you practical tools you can continue to use in your indoor gardening endeavors. It can be extremely rewarding to watch something grow and to know you’re responsible for fostering that growth!

Additionally I offer small-scale garden design services in New York City. I’m a huge supporter of using native plant species in my designs and creating a sustainable garden that is going to contribute positively to the biodiversity of our great city. I’m currently pursuing a Horticulture Certificate at New York Botanical Gardens and building upon my existing knowledge of plants and our environment.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

My best source of clients is word of mouth and conversations with people in my community. I care for the plants at my climbing gym and I receive tons of compliments, which, in turn, leads to many conversations about my plant business. I host plant cutting give-aways on the gym’s community nights and have been pleasantly surprised by the engagement I receive.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I constantly try to unlearn has to do with imposter syndrome. I originally has this idea that I had to know everything before I started offering my services to people, but when it comes to plants and gardening, so much of that knowledge comes from trial and error. And that’s not something that can come entirely from a book or a classroom, it has to come from experience. So part of my constant learning/unlearning is that I know a lot, AND there will always be more to learn. And if I reframe that for myself, that’s a very exciting place to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erikagrob.com/the-plant-medic
• Instagram: @The_Plant_Medic

Image Credits

All photos taken by me.