Community Guidelines

A short note on how comments and conversation work here. Mostly common sense, lightly enforced.

What we hope for

We hope conversations on Rare Leafy feel like a slow exchange of notes between people who genuinely care about the plants they keep. Disagreement is welcome, there is real nuance in plant care, and we don’t always have the right answer. Curiosity is even more welcome.

The few hard rules

• Be kind. No personal attacks, no demeaning language, no condescension toward beginners.
• Stay on topic. If your comment isn’t about the article or directly related to the plants we cover, it probably doesn’t belong.
• No spam. Self-linking is fine in moderation if it’s relevant. Promotional posts will be removed.
• No medical, veterinary, or legal advice. If someone asks for help with a pet ingestion, we redirect them to a vet.
• No outing or doxxing. Use whatever name and email you’d like; we don’t display the email publicly.

How moderation works

We are a small editorial. Comments are usually approved within a day or two, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. We hold back comments that need a closer read, edit lightly for spelling and clarity (never for opinion), and remove anything that breaks the rules above. We don’t explain every removal individually; if you’ve had something removed twice and aren’t sure why, write to us.

Plant identification requests

We get a lot of “what is this plant?” comments. We love them, but we can only ID a small fraction. If you’d like a better chance at an answer, include a clear photo of the leaf shape, the petiole (the stem attaching the leaf), and the back of the leaf. Mention where you got it.

Sharing your own plants

If you tag us on social or send us a photo through the contact page, we sometimes feature reader plants in the newsletter, always with permission and credit.

Thanks for being here. We are quietly grateful.