These days, I feel the itch to start expanding my collection again, so I reached out to some experts for their tips on finding cheap (or free!) plants: The one thing you should look out for if you’re considering getting a plant that’s on sale (or any plant, for that matter) is bugs. Greene recommends sticking your fingers into the soil to see if you feel any creepy crawlies, warning, “Those are the type of things that will infect the rest of the plants in your home.” Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.