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I tested Modern Sprout's handsome Growframe for a pop of green during fall and winter.
My pursuit of good houseplant tools means I’m always looking for shops and resources. That led me to Modern Sprout, a Chicago-based online store that sells plants and plant-care accessories. When they reached out offering a chance to test some of its high-design indoor garden tech, I decided to see what, if anything, is worth considering for your houseplant needs or as a place to get gifts for the plant parents in your life. I found a few pleasant surprises.
Whether I’m tending to houseplants in winter or gardening in summer, I’m always looking for tools to improve plant care. For houseplants in particular, this means watering, trimming, fertilizing, occasionally repotting and providing as much real estate in sunny windows as possible. When that’s not enough, I harness the power of full-spectrum LED grow lights, so I can have greenery in practically every room of my apartment.
A quick look at Modern Sprout’s website shows it sells most of what you’d expect from a boutique plant nursery: live plants, potting soil, gardening accessories, grow lights, grow kits, candles, bird feeders and gift sets. While Modern Sprout carries plenty of its own products, it also curates items from other small businesses instead of relying on large mainstream gardening brands. This is a nice bonus for folks who prefer to support smart business owners. Modern Sprout also offers wholesale accounts, so you might even see it at a nursery near you.
For my tests, I stuck to the Modern Sprout brand, which is also available on Amazon. Since I review a lot of smart home gear, I wanted to try out the Smart Landscape Growframe ($229) and compare it with other plant light options I use. I also wanted to see if Modern Sprout’s tools are any good, so I rounded out my experience with three essentials behind effective houseplant care: Pruning Shears ($20), a Glass Watering Can ($48) and Dissolving Plant Food Sheets ($20).
I don’t think anything could’ve prepared me for the size of the Smart Landscape Growframe: 32.1 inches long, 11.5 inches tall and 5.3 inches deep. For some context, that’s wider than my kitchen table and large enough to require a careful survey of my home to find a suitable location. I found a nice spot above my stairs next to the front door.
Additionally, its durable powder-coated steel frame weighs an incredible 8 pounds. That’s roughly the weight of a gallon of milk, which makes wall mounting tricky. I agree with Modern Sprout’s recommendation to place the mounting screws in studs, so you’ll need a stud finder, a level, and a power drill if you want it on the wall. You can use drywall anchors, but they aren’t included.
Make sure you visually line up the Growframe’s mounting holes with your marks before driving screws into the wall. This is easier with a second person, but I managed it alone. However, I relied purely on my measurements and had to redo the screws after one was slightly off. I suggest marking one stud first, then holding the planter and using a level to see where the other should go. Similarly, keep in mind that the 9-foot power cord needs to reach an outlet.
The app isn’t complex and is really easy to use. I really like that there are preset schedules for shade, partial sun and full sun light levels — these options always start at 8 a.m., providing 8, 12 and 16 hours of lighting at different intensities, respectively. The presets aren’t customizable, so you must use one of the app’s two other scheduling options to adjust the timing and other settings. I noticed that toggling a preset works as intended, but closing and reopening the menu shows an inactive toggle — a minor visual bug that doesn’t seem to affect the feature. (It might even get patched by the time you read this review.)
You can also set a schedule using specific times of day in the Growframe device menu. While this particular scheduling menu lacks an option to tie the lighting controls to sunrise and sunset, you can find that on the Scenario tab. (Sunrise/sunset automation isn’t necessary for most tropical plants and herbs people put in the planter, but it’s nice to have a temperate lighting option that changes throughout the year.)
The Scenario tab offers a few automation options based on device status, scheduling and weather changes, plus a way to set up manual Tap-to-Run automations. Beyond that, there isn’t much else to the app, which makes sense and aligns with the company’s goal of keeping things simple. However, folks wanting smart home integrations with a platform like Home Assistant or Samsung SmartThings might be better off using a smart plug with a different grow light brand.
Speaking of grow lights, the full-spectrum unit inside the top of the Smart Landscape Growframe can reach up to 1,480 lumens, which is very bright considering most plants in the planter will be within 6 inches or less. Given the size limit on the plants you can put in the planter, I doubt you’ll have any issues with giving your plants enough light. I want to note that the adhesive holding one of the grow light strips in my sample unit came loose during shipping, but it was easy enough to reattach.
Planting in the Smart Landscape Growframe is fairly easy. It comfortably holds up to seven potted plants (2- to 3-inch pots), though I ended up putting five 4-inch potted herbs in my setup. One pot in particular is a little taller than the planter box lip, but it doesn’t bother me.
Be mindful of pot size in the planter, as rims that press up against the side can cause water to overflow onto the floor, as it did with mine. The best solution is to remove a little soil from overfilled pots and to add a small notch or hole in a side of the pot that drains into the basin.
The potted herbs I got from my local garden center needed a little trimming before I could put them in the Smart Landscape Growframe, so it was a good opportunity to try out the Pruning Shears. I’m a huge fan of the all-metal design, which is easily one of the most comfortable pairs of gardening shears I’ve used. The nifty locking latch at the end of the handle isn’t metal — it doesn’t need to be — but it’s easy to use and doesn’t require any fiddling.
I also love the needle-nose blades, which are easy to maneuver into tight spaces when trimming dead growth off plants — they are great for trimming all of my herbs. Although I’ll admit that the densely packed chives tested my patience, that’s hardly the shears’ fault.
Of the items I tested, the glass watering can was my least favorite. For instance, the borosilicate glass may be more durable than other types of glass, but it’s still glass and still fragile. I’m not sure if I trust my clumsy self with it when I water my plants. Similarly, the 1-quart size is great for folks caring for a handful of plants, but it can’t keep up with the gallon-size watering can that I sometimes empty completely just to water my dwarf lemon tree in a large container.
Another issue I had with the glass watering can was the upper rim. While I like that the flared rim makes it easy to fill from my bathroom sink, it can get in the way when watering the Growframe. This is especially tedious when you need to tilt the watering can nearly vertical to get the last drops out. Fortunately, you can see when the water is almost gone, but that’s the only real advantage it has over my normal watering can.
I often put off fertilizing houseplants because it feels like a hassle. My main reason is that most of the carnivorous plants I grow don’t like fertilizer, so I skip it on other houseplants. (I get around this with plant food spikes, but I’m hardly consistent at that either.) A secondary reason is that keeping the fertilizer out where I’ll use it isn’t the best use of space in my apartment. While Modern Sprout’s Dissolving Plant Food Sheets don’t really solve the former problem, they’re very convenient for the latter.
Just like when I tested dishwasher detergent sheets, I really like how easy it is to toss Modern Sprout’s fertilizer into the watering can. A full sheet treats a gallon and has perforations so you can tear it into segments to fit your watering can. Since the glass watering can holds one quart, I needed only one-quarter of a sheet. The sheets dissolved a little slowly, and I had to stir them for a minute or two before no fragments were left.
I’m a fan of the seaweed sheets, which are a great option for plant food that isn’t entirely a collection of processed chemicals. Despite the seaweed ingredient, the sheets don’t explicitly state they’re certified organic, so keep that in mind if you use them for herbs or microgreens.
All of the Modern Sprout products I tested have a premium design and build quality that makes them easy to recommend for people who value form as much as function. I consider the Pruning Shears the best value in the bunch. They feel incredibly sturdy and capable for $20 and are a huge step up from my $10 Vivosun Gardening Scissors in every way. I haven’t tested Modern Sprout Bypass Hand Pruners, but I suspect they’ll easily rival the Fiskars Shears I use for thicker growth.
While $229 is a lot to ask for the Smart Landscape Growframe, keep in mind that premium heavy-duty steel planters without smart lighting already cost more than those made from other materials. Likewise, more affordable — and more powerful — grow lights are on the market, but Modern Sprout’s intuitive app includes every scheduling and customization feature I consider essential. Even people who don’t use other smart home gear should find it easy to navigate.
I think the Dissolving Plant Food Sheets are a fairly nice option for seaweed-based fertilizers, but the 20-pack will treat only 20 gallons of water at the normal dilution. This makes the sheets generally more expensive per feeding than liquid kelp fertilizers from brands like TPS Nutrients and Grow Queen. That said, Modern Sprout is more convenient to measure, and it won’t cause a liquid or powdery mess if you knock the package over. It’s a great gift, but not necessarily for an enthusiast with a large collection of houseplants.
I wouldn’t buy the Glass Watering Can, but I don’t think it’s a bad product. It’s undeniably attractive, but $48 is more than most. I’ll stick with my cheaper, larger plastic watering can. Overall, Modern Sprout suits folks with higher budgets or as an attractive gift option for your favorite plant nerd.