Proplifting (sometimes written prop-lifting) is the practice of taking discarded plant material and propagating new plants from them. Some proplifters engage with the hobby as a form of self-administered

horticultural therapy Horticultural therapy (also known as garden therapy or social and therapeutic horticulture or STH) is defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) as the engagement of a person in gardening and plant-based activities, facilita ...

Etymology and origin

The word is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsshoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

'. However, this derivation is misleading as ethical proplifters are advised to seek permission first to take such floor sweepings. Though much of the material would be thrown out, it is technically the property of the store or business where found. Also, ethical proplifting excludes the practice of removing leaves from living plants as such unauthorized removal is theft. The term was coined by Sarina Daniels, the founder of the r/proplifting

subreddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

, as a joke, while she was participating in r/Succulents in 2017. Though what started as a joke quickly became an on-line community of dedicated practitioners that has surprised its founder. Even so, proplifting practitioners have been accused of being common thieves by people who have misunderstood the practice.

Practice

Practitioners often gather fallen leaves of

succulents In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

and other plants from the floors of

big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...

s. Proponents state the practice rescues something that would otherwise go to waste, and gives the plants a new chance at life. It is also touted as much more economical than purchasing full-grown plants. Some chains have even publicly approved of the practice. Proplifting from smaller stores is discouraged as often these stores will propagate the material themselves.

Cutting from live plants

Clipping off pieces of living plants for sale is a discouraged practice even among proponents of proplifting. This practice is becoming more common, and not just at large corporate chains. Smaller stores also have lost revenue when they cannot sell plants that have been damaged by cutting, and even the

San Diego Botanic Garden The San Diego Botanic Garden, formerly Quail Botanical Gardens, is a botanical garden in Encinitas, California, United States. At , the garden includes rare bamboo groves (said to be the largest bamboo collection in the United States), desert garde ...

was targeted by plant thieves cutting living plants. Enthusiasts are strongly encouraged by the community not to clip live plants and to trade or buy rarer cuttings within the community instead. Despite communities of proplifters encouraging asking permission and discouraging cutting and outright theft, others see it as a

slippery slope A slippery slope argument (SSA), in logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, is an argument in which a party asserts that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usuall ...

from one to the other.

Legality

Some plants cannot be propagated legally at all, even if purchased. In the United States such actions may violate the

Plant Patent Act of 1930 The Plant Patent Act of 1930 (enacted on 1930-06-17 as Title III of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff, ch. 497, , codified as 35 U.S.C.br>Ch. 15 is a United States federal law spurred by the work of Luther Burbank and the nursery industry. This piece of ...

or the

Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 The Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 (PVPA), 7 U.S.C. §§ 2321-2582, is an intellectual property statute in the United States. The PVPA gives breeders up to 25 years of exclusive control over new, distinct, uniform, and stable sexually repro ...

. In the United States, there is no

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

expectation of privacy Expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is related to, but is not the same as, a ''right to privacy ...

for discarded materials, making the collection of plant material from garbage legal.

References

External links

Proplifting subreddit
at

Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...