Frequently asked questions

The Soto collections and edits have been designed for busy people, so they all contain low maintenance plants. We also provide planting plans and guidance to help you look after your plants and make
the most of your outside space.

Each plant arrives with guides on how best to settle your plants into their new home. Plant care instructions can be found on its Soto page, which gives you instructions for watering, light requirements, feeding your plant and more. We also provide a series of videos and blogs as part of our Soto Masterclass. The journal contains a jargon-buster and further reading for those wanting to add to their plant knowledge.

Most plants will be fine for about a week if you give them a big drink before you leave and if they are in pots, move them to a shady spot before you go. The weather, how long you’ll be away, and your garden’s aspect, all have an impact. If you are going away for longer or it is expected to be very hot, we suggest asking a friend or neighbour to check on your plants and you might want to look into fitting an irrigation system.

All plants need some degree of sunlight to survive and thrive, so the amount of light your outside space gets is crucial when it comes to choosing your plants or collection. The Soto collections take into consideration your garden's aspect and we’ve designed a version for each group labelled sunny, shady or partial. You can browse individual plants by these categories too. Each Soto plant has its own page that lists its light requirement alongside other care information.  

How much light your garden gets depends on the direction it faces. The easiest way to work out which way yours faces is to use a compass (most phones have one). Stand looking out into your space and see which way the
compass is pointing.

South-facing spaces will get the light most of the day and are described as sunny. North-facing spaces are shady. If you have an East- or West-facing garden then this will be described as partial. Also, remember other factors have an impact, for example if the outside space is covered by a large tree, it will probably be considered shady.  

Our collections and individual plants have been selected to provide year round interest to outside space. We considered the Great British weather when we put our collections together and we’ve provided guides on keeping your plants healthy throughout the year.

Please refer to the plant profiles.

Soto delivers the ingredients for a stylish outside space, but we don’t do the planting. We provide the inspiration, plants and guidance, but we leave the final step to you. Think of us as a meal box delivery service or an interior look book. We show you what you could achieve with your outside space and, most significantly, how to put it together.

Our plants come in their nursery pot, which is made from recycled plastic and can be recycled. We recommend re-potting the plant into a container of your choice (known as ‘potting on’) or in the ground. For further information, explore the Soto Masterclass where you will find videos and blogs on how to pot a plant, how to prepare a border for planting and how to plant in a border.

If you don’t already have compost, you can order some via Soto. If you are ordering a border, we have calculated the amount you will need and you can add it to your cart. To see how to use the compost, check out our Soto Masterclass.

Will Williams is our Creative Director and he designs and curates all our plant collections. He was awarded RHS Young
Designer of the Year 2018, RHS Hampton Court 2019 Gold Medal Winner, RHS Tatton Park 2018 Gold Medal Winner, RHS Hampton Court 2021 Silver Gilt Medal Winner, RHS Hampton Court 2017 Silver Gilt Medal
Winner, RHS Hampton Court 2016 Silver Medal Winner.

The planting plans are free, you just pay for the plants.

All of our plants have their own individual plant page which lists the size of pot it arrives in and the estimated height it will eventually grow to. 

Of course! In the cart, tick the box ‘add a note to delivery’ and we will include a gift note with your order. Just let us know what you’d like to say.

Yes, you can order individual plants. Soto is also an online Garden Centre. 

Due to the rules our delivery partners need to follow, the delivery can only be made to your front door, or kerb side in the case of deliveries made on pallets.