Leafmend exists to give houseplant owners practical answers they can trust. This page explains, plainly, how every guide is produced — and what we do not do.
What we don’t do (the honest part)
We do not personally grow, photograph, or lab-test the plants and products we write about, and we never pretend to. We also don’t quote studies, surveys or percentages unless we link to the exact source, so you can check it yourself.
How guides are made
- Written with AI assistance. Drafts are produced with AI writing tools working under strict editorial rules: no invented testing, no invented sources, no invented statistics.
- Widely accepted horticultural practice. Care advice follows well-established guidance on light, watering, drainage, soil and feeding, and says so when the honest answer is “it depends” or “you don’t need this”.
- Our original species guides cite their sources. The species care guides (monstera, pothos, snake plant and others) quote and link NC State Extension’s plant pages and the ASPCA database.
- Pet safety is treated as a safety matter. Pet-safety and toxicity statements are checked against the ASPCA’s toxic and non-toxic plant lists. Automated drafts are blocked from making toxicity claims at all unless a person has verified them there; if we can’t confirm a claim, we leave it out.
- Automated checks before and after publishing. Every new guide must pass gates for pet-safety claims, broken internal links and unsupported citations before it goes live, and the live site is re-checked every week.
- Product advice focuses on what actually matters. We explain which features change results (drainage, materials, nutrient ratios) and which are mostly marketing. We don’t publish scores, star ratings or made-up rankings.
Our editorial standards
- No fabricated reviews, ratings, sources or statistics, and no implied hands-on testing.
- Affiliate links are disclosed before they appear and never change our advice.
- When guidance is mixed or uncertain, we say so.
- When we find a mistake, we fix the guide. In September 2026 we removed statistics and source attributions from our guides that we could not verify.
Affiliate disclosure
Some links on Leafmend are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences which products we recommend.
Who runs Leafmend
Leafmend is run by Huy Tong, who built it to turn scattered, often contradictory houseplant advice into plain, practical guidance — without fake testing claims.
Corrections
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Tell us at huy281082@gmail.com and we’ll review and correct it.
Last updated: September 15, 2026.