How to Spot AI Generated Plants
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
We're living through a constantly changing and somewhat disturbing time on the internet in 2026. As the use of AI evolves and rapidly expands, we're seeing an influx of customers coming in with photos and recommendations that, to our trained and educated eye, are clearly AI generated. But with the advancement in technology, it is becoming harder to discern between what is real and what is fake. This week, we're taking a look at some of these common AI plant requests and giving you tips for how to spot AI generated plants. We don't want any customers or plant lovers to feel shame or embarrassment in believing these images, but we do want to educated our customers to help them shop smarter and be successful on their plant journey. There are plenty of real wonderful and weird plants for you to enjoy!
The Classic Butterfly Begonia
The most common plant we see people asking for is a "butterfly begonia." We've seen lots of different versions of this fake plant with various colored insect shaped wings. And it makes sense why people are so drawn to this AI generated plant! The colors are bold and vibrant and the foliage is striking. Begonias are one of the most colorful and interesting genuses and already contain very real, unique species. Many real begonias, like the angel wing begonia, have lovely triangle shaped wings and sport patterns and bright blooms. It's not hard for someone to jump from spotted angle wings to bright pink butterfly wings!
Mermaid Plants and Monkey Orchids and Cat Flowers... oh my!
Other times, people have come into the shop asking for a real plant but have a very different expectation of the product! The mermaid plant, in the horticulture world, most often refers to the Euphorbia lactea cristata and is a unique grafted succulent with an textured top that somewhat resembles a mermaid tail. However, images of very fake mermaid tail plants are currently circulating online. These AI mermaid plants have very distinct tail shaped tops and smooth, unnatural textures. Other plants like the Dracula simia aka monkey orchid and Cattleya orchid or cat orchid are getting the same online treatment. Why are so many AI plants animal related? People are obsessed with generating animal faces onto flowers, most often, orchids! Again, it's easy to see why people fall for cute orchid traps. Orchids come in many shapes and often include characteristics resembling a face. The real monkey orchid has two small dots in the center of it's flower resembling eyes. The cat orchid features ruffled petals that, if you squint one eye and tilt your head to the side, could look like cat fur! Maybe. The AI generated versions, with ultra realistic features, are making it harder to find the real versions of these wonderful plants. We never want customers to be disappointed, so it's important to come to a plant store with realistic expectations of what you're going to find!
Plants That Shouldn't be that Size or Color
If you've spent any time on Etsy looking for garden goods and rare plants, chances are you've come across one of the many sellers peddling seeds for fake, AI generated plants. You can get lost scrolling through pages of rainbow foliage, zebra print flowers, and larger than life tropicals. The most pervasive plants seem to be hostas, roses, irises, elephant ears, and dahlias. These plants will be bright blue, covered in stars, glow in the dark, tower over houses, and are always sold as seeds. The Seed Haven on Etsy has 129 sales as of writing this post and 18 reviews of various satisfaction levels. One shopper, Eric, ordered a "rare blue and green venus fly trap" and received an Amazon package with regular venus fly trap seeds. Little Wish Lane only opened three months ago and has already lied and stolen from 107 people. However, Kathy left a 5 star review for Little Wish Lane reading "I'm excited to have these seeds. I hope the plants turn our as beautiful as its picture!!" and the seller responded, wishing Kathy a wonderful growing journey for her 800 rainbow hosta seeds. Kathy is lucky if the seeds even germinate, but it'll take real magic for her seeds to turn into shiny rainbow hostas. Etsy prompts shoppers to leave reviews immediately upon receiving the product, so gardeners are leaving positive reviews for plants they haven't seen yet, effectively convincing people it's safe to order from the seller.
In addition to shady Etsy pages, we've also started noticing more and more AI generated videos on Facebook and Instagram. The profile, "foundbynaoh," posts videos about any topic and product you can think of and is notably not a gardening content creator. However, they posted a video of a "butterfly hosta" with the caption (typos and all), "butterfly hosta 🌱 grow stunning shade-loving plants with these butterfly hosta seeds. known for their lush foliage and delicate blooms, they add elegance to any garden space. perfect for borders, containers, or landscaping accents. easy to plant and maintain, even for beginners. hosta if you want this 👇" This entire video is generated by AI and was posted to the profile's 22.4K followers as fact, with no AI disclosure statement and 100+ comments requesting a link to purchase seeds.
Misleading Etsy sellers and social media content creators only hurt plant lovers and gardeners in the long run. All gardeners have to accept a certain level of failure in their plant journey to grow and learn. But, spending your hard earned money while being misinformed is disheartening and dissuades people from entering the plant world. We want you to be equipped with a keen eye and the knowledge to spot AI generated plants when you're scrolling online.
Tips to help you spot AI generated plants
The plant appears plastic and the entire image has a smooth, glossy finish
The shape of the plant shares a strong resemblance with an animal
The color and pattern of the plant does not typically occur in nature
The company is only selling seeds, not starts or full grown plants
The plant is larger than life and pictured towering over a person or structure
The blooms and leaves blend together and you can't tell where one ends and the next begins
A garden center publishing a blog post to debunk AI plants truly is a sign of the times. Before you fall prey to AI plant fraud, ask yourself... is this is a reputable company or grower? Or is this a Facebook post linking to an Etsy business that only sells seeds? When in doubt, shop at your local plant store and talk with real people about the plant you're looking for! Instead of sharing AI generated plant images and buying seeds online, embrace the wonder and whimsy of real plants that have unique growth habits, funky foliage, and fun colors.
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