The Story behind the Obsession

Meet the grower behind My Green Obsession

Hi, I’m Larry, the grower behind My Green Obsession. My plant-growing journey began when I began working at Walker’s Greenhouse at age 14 in Gambier, Ohio. It was a small family -owned business and I learned how to propagate houseplants while I worked there.  What started with African violets grew into a passion for unique and unusual plants. 

Experience grown one plant at a time

I’ve been growing plants for nearly 50 years with a particular interest in vivarium/terrarium plants and carnivorous plants. I have enjoyed keeping poison dartfrogs over the years and have done my best to replicate their natural environments. For several years, I raised and sold some of my favorite frogs, but at one point I had a few too many "irons in the fire" and we had to slow things down a bit.

I also have a long history with aquariums and fish. I worked at a pet store called Pet Palace in Mt. Vernon, Ohio in the late 1970's and another pet shop, called Corner Pet Haven in the early 1990's. I owe much of my knowledge of running a small business to the owners of those shops that closed many years ago.  Around that same time, early 1990's, we also operated a small business out of our home, called Kokosing Water Gardens, in Howard, Ohio.  We sold annuals, mulch and everything related to water gardens.  

 Carnivorous plants are my favorite family of plants and at one time, not too long ago, I had a very large collection of Drosera pygmy sundews that took me many years to acquire. I have a small number of those plants still in my care, along with several other types of CPs that I keep; Heliamphora, Utricularia, Sarracenia and Venus Flytraps.  I find them all to be very fascinating in their look and design!  The International Carnivorous Plant Society is my "go-to" for reliable, time-tested information.  

The love of plants and animals seems to go hand-in-hand for many people I have met.  

Along the way, I’ve learned how to propagate a variety of different plant types.  My goal is to share my growing and collecting experiences and help you choose plants that best suit your space and your time limitations.  Ultimately, I want our plant friends and customers to be successful and enjoy their plant purchase. 

From Etsy to our own little corner of the internet

My Green Obsession began selling on Etsy in 2011. Since then, we have maintained a 4.9 star review status with nearly 7000 reviews on Etsy. Prior to selling on Etsy, we began selling plants online on eBay in 2003. We continue to have a presence there as well, but the fees are high and we aren't too active there. 

Building our own website gives us a place to offer a wider variety of the plants we grow. We love finding interesting plants on our traveling adventures that we can propagate and then offer.  We appreciate Etsy and the platform it provided for other plant lovers to find us, however, rising fees and unfair policies have caused us to rethink our relationship with Etsy.  We would rather offer lower prices to our customers and have the freedom to operate our business in a manner that reflects our values.  

How our plants are sourced and grown

Our plants come from some of our favorite greenhouses we have discovered in our travels.  Most come from growers in Florida and private plant collections. We love finding little "out of the way" greenhouses or private collectors that have unusual plants. Most plants we purchase with the plan to propagate, while others we resell to our customer base if they are rather common, but customer favorites that are always in demand.  When choosing specimens, we are always on the lookout for the unusual.  Once plants are in our greenhouse, we never use any pesticides. We do use beneficial insects in our growing.

Our care philosophy

I believe in recreating conditions that plants would thrive in within their natural environment. In my own grow space, that means quality grow mix with excellent drainage, extra humidity and moderate to bright, indirect light for most of my plant collection. For some plants, it also means providing rainwater or Reverse Osmosis (RO) water.  For customers, it means providing the best customer support and care that we can. We want you to be successful with your plant purchase. 

A look inside the grow space

[We have thousands of positive reviews about our careful shipping methods. Takes a little extra time, but well worth it! 

Hands-on learning is the best teacher!

[Sharing the love of plants with the next generation!

Thank you for getting to know the person behind the plants. [Add a link to your plant collection and a link to Contact Us once the page is ready.]