We kept killing plants. So we built the thing we needed.
TapRoots didn't start as a business plan. It started as a dead Ficus lyrata named Figaro, a balcony full of guilt, and a very Dutch idea about sharing.
It began with a fiddle-leaf fig we couldn't save.
Like a lot of people, we bought plants faster than we could learn them. The apps we tried didn't help — they just kept score. Open the app, see forty-seven overdue tasks glowing red, feel awful, close the app. Repeat until something dies.
Figaro, a beautiful fiddle-leaf fig, was the one that broke us. He didn't die from neglect. He died from overwhelm — ours.
That night we sketched a different idea on the back of an Albert Heijn receipt: an app that does the triage for you.
Then we noticed what Amsterdam was already doing.
Once our plants stopped dying, they started multiplying. Pothos cuttings on every windowsill. Pilea pups we didn't know what to do with.
So they did what Dutch people do: they shared. Cuttings swapped in WhatsApp groups, stekjes left on stoops with a note, plants traded over the fence.
Nobody had given it a home. Care keeps your plants alive. Sharing connects your whole street.
Every cutting shared is one less plant bought, shipped, and wrapped in plastic.
The Netherlands grows and ships more plants than anywhere on earth. We love that — but the greenest plant is the one already on your neighbour's windowsill. Keep every plant alive. Share the surplus. Buy less, grow more, know your neighbours.
Four principles we won't compromise on
Nothing dies from overwhelm
We will never greet you with a wall of red. TapRoots carries the mental load so you only face what genuinely matters today.
Nothing green goes to waste
A surplus cutting shouldn't end up in the bin. Every plant you grow is a gift waiting for the right neighbour.
Nobody gardens alone
Plant care is quietly lonely. We're building the warm, low-key community your street already half-is.
Local beats shipped
The most sustainable plant has already grown a few streets away. We make the local swap easier than the online buy.
Join us in chapter three.
We're opening neighbourhood by neighbourhood across the Netherlands.