Urban Jungle — Attraction in Philadelphia

Update: after visiting many, many times I'm starting to feel disappointed. They don't have prices on most of their outdoor plants, so it's a gamble. One of the mints I bought from them had an outrageous amount of aphids and it was my first time dealing with bugs so I didn't check before buying. The indoor plant prices are x2 the amount I see at other places, if not more. I wish I could join the hype for this small business, but it's just way too expensive. I also tried to buy a plant one day and no one was at the cash register, and the employees just ignored me and continued watering plants even though I stood there for five minutes. They also don't put prices on a lot of their plants - inside or out, so I've gotten to the cash register and have been really surprised.

Go upstairs!!! The first time I was here I completely missed out on the upstairs green house - I saw the sign on the stairs and for some reason thought it was closed. Anyways, the greenhouse houses most of their plants (although there are plenty downstairs especially on the weekends). They have a great amount of rare plants, and there is something for everyone. I ended up just getting a mint plant my second visit, but I will be stopping by this store for fun a bunch in the future. They have every time of seed you could want, rare plants, and tons and TONS of pots. Their pot selection is the best I've seen, and this is a great gift shop for plant friends. My second visit was on the weekend, and I did have to wait in line to get to the greenhouse/in the store - they are following COVID regulations and that's a good thing. The very nice lady who was running the line had a great personality and made me want to buy all of the plants. The store owner was also extremely nice, and humored my chatting during check out even though the check out was very busy. It is a decently expensive shop with hidden gems that are not so expensive, and if anything, it's worth it to support a local business owned and run by...

I’m a horticulture student and came by for a look recently while in the area, as I’d seen the positive reviews while looking around for shops in the past.

I have to be honest and say that it did not live up to the hype…in fact, my expectations were crushed so expertly that I was actually a little horrified by the whole experience. It’s unfortunately very easy to tell just by taking a cursory look around that management does not know what they are doing. The plants were all very dehydrated, stressed, and dusty, and most were either infested with pests or littered with damage to the point of being unsellable. Everything was also massively overpriced, and not in the usual “small shop” way—even the common plants were completely unaffordable, I noticed, and therefore even more hilariously priced for the condition they were in. Im sorry for this, truly, but I can’t say that I left the store feeling anything but disgust and regret after having to pay for parking and walk several blocks just to be left so utterly disappointed. To add insult to injury, the entire store reeked of cigarette smoke and…pee? I’m really not sure. But it was really unpleasant.

Got some excellent ice cream down the street, though, so not all was lost. I really hope that the owner takes these negative reviews as real criticism, and actually takes a step back, because I think this shop could go back to being a real hoot if they just did things a little differently. I’d really love to visit again at some point and have a more positive experience, but that’s not what it was this...

Urban Jungle is a gorgeous spot in the city for urban growers. The selection of plants is understandably smaller than what you might find at Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart, but the selection--from what I've seen--is advantageously limited to plants that actually have a chance of surviving in city dwellings that may not get the most abundant light.

Sometimes the prices seem a little high, but--on the other hand--my most recent trip awarded me with a 3ft tall Monstera and a 3ft tall Fiddle Leaf, both at $40, which is a steal if, like me, you've only been able to find these plants for $60+ elsewhere. (And they're healthy too! Just a week or so now, and new leaves are starting to grow!)

What Urban Jungle is doing great right now is wearing masks and limiting the number of people that can enter the store at one time. They've also diverted purchase areas into two, separate locations so that buyers don't have to stand close to each other when they're ready to get their goodies home.

Even if you're not looking to buy, it's a great place to browse and soak up some good energy. Check out the greenhouse upstairs for...