Plant Daddy Influencer Kossi Tchenawou Launches OnlyPlants

Kossi Tchenawou (@K_Wossie) has amassed an impressive social media following as a self-proclaimed plant daddy and lifestyle creator. His playful charm and tailored swagger shine through the screen as he pontificates on plant care, self-care, fashion, fitness and interior decor.

Now, the influencer – who has nearly 200K followers on Instagram – is bringing his online persona to real life with a brick-and-mortar plant shop in Dairy Block’s Free Market. Cheekily named OnlyPlants, the store debuted on December 13 and is currently functioning as a pop-up at Dairy Block’s Free Market.

“I expedited everything to be ready for Dairy Block’s holiday pop-up, even though I originally thought I had about two and a half months,” Tchenawou says. “I planned to pick up the keys on January 1, spend January setting everything up, and open in February. I’ll still do a proper grand opening in February once I’m able to source everything exactly the way I want it.”

That said, the store is permanently open and ready to convert patrons into plant parents.

“Plant Care Is Self-Care”

OnlyPlants focuses primarily on houseplants like lush monsteras, ficus trees, elephant ears, a variety of pothos, succulents, money trees and approachable starter plants. Pricing is intentionally lower than many boutique plant stores, with small plants starting at around $15, and larger statement pieces topping out at around $250.

“When I first got into plants, local shops felt inaccessible,” Tchenawou expresses. “I didn’t want people walking in here and feeling priced out.”

Thanks to his longstanding relationship with Costa Farms, one of the country’s largest growers, Tchenawou is able to cut out middlemen and keep prices approachable. Profit, he says, isn’t the primary goal; community is.

“I’m not doing this for massive margins,” he shares. “I’m doing it to give back to the community that helped build me.”

Beyond shopping, OnlyPlants is envisioned as a community space. Expect events like plant bingo, Pilates with plants, terrarium workshops, candle making, flower-wrapping classes, and other gatherings designed to bring Denverites together outside of the typical party scene.

“Eventually I want to teach classes like terrarium and DIY classes, while we’re also having real conversations,” he says. “Whether it’s about divorce, parenting, or life transitions, while still relating it back to plant care.”

“I want to offer alternatives to just going out to bars,” he adds. “Who’s going to say no to plant bingo?”

The shop also features limited-run merch – items Tchenawou says have been “living rent-free” in his head for years – like sweaters that read, “Water. Your. F*cking. Plants.” Apparel, planters and home goods will continue to expand as the space is fully redesigned in the new year.

“Plant care is self-care,” he says. “If you can take care of something outside yourself, it teaches you how to show up for yourself, too.”

On Becoming a Plant Daddy

Originally from Togo in West Africa, Tchenawou immigrated to Colorado Springs when he was nine before moving to Denver in middle school. He tells Westword those early experiences shaped his sense of self.

“I wasn’t cool in middle school or high school, being an African kid or having a darker skin tone,” he recalls. “I used to have a lot of insecurities growing up. But I became a lot more secure just walking in my own shoes comfortably.”

Some time after college, Tchenawou landed a job in franchise development at RE/MAX World Headquarters, coaching business owners across multiple states on how to grow market share and refine their brand strategies. As a proving ground for the social media playbooks he was developing for corporate clients, he began experimenting on his own and using houseplants as his unlikely muse.

“I always posted using the three E’s of social media: education, engagement, and entertainment,” he shares.

His approach stood out because it rejected technical jargon about soil pH and moisture meters, instead framing plant care as a lifestyle, leaning into humor, and sharing analogies about growth, rest, and resilience.

Today, Tchenawou personally has more than 300 plants in his own home, but his journey to becoming a plant dad began unexpectedly.

“I was dating somebody, and we lived together for a long time. She used to come home with an orchid all the time, and they would die,” he recalls.

Determined to stop replacing orchids (since, as Tchenawou put it, “spending money on orchids multiple times was not feasible”), he taught himself how to care for them. Eventually, they rebloomed.

“It was probably one of the most gratifying, self-satisfying, fruitful moments, still to this day,” he says.

If there’s one takeaway he hopes customers leave with, it’s simple: don’t overwater, give your plants plenty of light, and, of course, remember that plant care is self-care.

“Walking into my house after having a bad day and seeing a new leaf, that’s exciting,” he concludes. 

For plant updates, upcoming events and details about the store’s grand opening, follow @only.plants.co and @k_wossie on Instagram.

OnlyPlants is located in the Free Market in Dairy Block at 1801 Blake Street, Denver. It is currently open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m., and closed Mondays.