Every plant you grow in Garden Horizons has a variant — a modifier that changes how much Shillings it's worth when you sell it. Variants are the single most important mechanic to understand if you want to make serious money. This guide covers everything: from getting your first Lush to understanding what to do when a rare Gold appears.
What Are Variants in Garden Horizons?
There are two categories of variants:
🌱 Ripening Variants
Every plant goes through ripening stages. You control these by staying online after your plant matures.
- 🌱Unripe — 1× base value (default)
- 🌿Ripened — 2× value (2.4× grow time online)
- 🌳Lush — 3× value (7.2× grow time online)
🎨 Color Variants
Rare random bonuses that appear on plants. You cannot force them — they're pure luck. They add on top of your ripening multiplier.
- 🩶Silver — +2× bonus (rare)
- 🟡Gold — +5× bonus (very rare)
- 🌈Rainbow — TBA (legendary)
ℹ️ The Formula — Variants Explained Simply
Final Value = Base Price × Mutation Sum × Variant Sum
The Variant Sum is your ripening multiplier plus any color bonus. Example: Gold (5) + Lush (3) = 8× total. A Cabbage worth 33,333 base with 11× mutations and Gold Lush = over 2.9 million Shillings.
Ripening stages comparison — Unripe, Ripened and Lush plant side by side
Show the same plant type at all three ripening stages, ideally with the sell value visible for each. The visual difference in plant size/colour is key.
📸 Gameplay screenshot neededHow to Get Lush — Step-by-Step Guide
Lush is the most valuable ripening stage and the goal of almost every serious farming session. Here's exactly how to reach it:
Buy and plant your seed
Wait for the plant to fully grow — offline is fine
Return online and stay connected — Lush REQUIRES you to be online
Use the Favoriting Tool to protect your plant
Harvest when you reach Lush and sell to Steve
⚠️ Critical: Lush Does NOT Progress Offline
How Long Does Lush Take? (Estimated Times by Plant)
| Plant | Base Grow Time | Ripened (online) | Lush (online) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrot 🥕 | ~3 min | ~7 min | ~22 min |
| Wheat 🌾 | ~10 min | ~24 min | ~72 min |
| Beetroot 🍠 | ~15 min | ~36 min | ~108 min |
| Cabbage 🥬 | ~20 min | ~48 min | ~144 min |
| Plum 🍑 | ~34.5 min | ~83 min | ~249 min (~4h) |
| Dawn Blossom 🌸 | Very slow | Long | Very long |
* Ripened = 2.4× base grow time online · Lush = 7.2× base grow time online. Exact base grow times may vary — these are estimates based on known data.
Lush plant with full glow effect in Garden Horizons
Close-up shot of a fully Lush plant — ideally with visible glow/particle effects, showing the sell value popup or stage indicator.
📸 Gameplay screenshot needed💡 Beginner Tip: Start with Carrots
Protecting Your Plants with the Favoriting Tool
The Favoriting Tool is arguably the most important purchase in Garden Horizons. Without it, any plant — including your rare Gold Lush — can be accidentally harvested with a single click. Here's everything you need to know:
Where to Buy
Molly — Town Square
Price
80,000 Shillings (2-pack = 40k each)
Effect
Protects plant from accidental harvest
How to Use It:
- 1Equip the Favoriting Tool from your inventory or hotbar.
- 2Click on any plant you want to protect — a golden star (⭐) appears above it.
- 3The protection is now active. You cannot harvest that plant while it is favourited.
- 4The golden star is only visible while holding the Favoriting Tool — but the protection works even when you switch to another item.
- 5To un-favourite, equip the tool again and click the plant a second time.
💡 When to Buy the Favoriting Tool
Color Variants: Silver, Gold and Rainbow — Full Guide
Color variants are random bonuses that cannot be farmed or forced. They appear on any plant entirely by luck. When one appears, the color of the plant changes — that's how you know. Here's each one explained: Silver, Gold, and Rainbow.
Bonus: +2× additive to your Variant Sum
With Lush: Silver (2) + Lush (3) = 5× total variant multiplier
What to do: The moment you see a Silver plant, open your inventory and use the Favoriting Tool. Then plan to stay online for a Lush session. A Silver Lush is 67% more valuable than a regular Lush on the variant alone.
Example: Beetroot Silver Lush + 11× mutations = 3,750 × 11 × 5 = 206,250 Shillings
Bonus: +5× additive to your Variant Sum
With Lush: Gold (5) + Lush (3) = 8× total variant multiplier
What to do: Stop everything. Equip the Favoriting Tool and mark the plant immediately. Do not log off until you have reached Lush. Gold Lush with elite mutations is end-game money — we're talking millions of Shillings from a single plant.
Example: Cabbage Gold Lush + 11× mutations = 33,333 × 11 × 8 = ~2,933,000 Shillings
Bonus: Not yet officially confirmed by Dawn Digital
Expected: Significantly higher than Gold's +5×, based on the rarity hierarchy (Silver → Gold → Rainbow).
What to do: Same as Gold — protect immediately, wait for Lush, never harvest early. A Rainbow plant is a once-in-a-server-lifetime event.
Gold color variant plant — unmistakable golden shimmer
Show a Gold variant plant in the garden, ideally next to a regular plant of the same type for comparison. The colour difference should be very obvious.
📸 Gameplay screenshot neededStacking Variants with Mutations for Maximum Value
Variants and mutations are multiplied together, not added. This means that improving either one multiplies the benefit of the other. The goal is always: maximum mutation sum × maximum variant sum.
Plant During Peak Mutation Weather
Starfall 🌠
Triggers: Starstruck (6.5×)
Special — rarest
Thunderstorm ⚡
Triggers: Shocked (4.5×)
Rare
Snow 🌨️
Triggers: Snowy (2×)
Uncommon
Rain 🌧️
Triggers: Soaked (1.5×)
Common
💡 The Dream Combo: Starfall + Thunderstorm + Gold Lush
If Starfall and Thunderstorm ever overlap, every plant gets both Starstruck (6.5×) and Shocked (4.5×) — that's an 11× mutation sum. Combined with a Gold Lush plant (8× variant), you get an 88× multiplier on any plant's base price.
Cabbage: 33,333 × 11 × 8 = ~2.9 million Shillings. This is the current theoretical maximum in Garden Horizons.
How Mutations Are Applied
- ▸Mutations on a single plant are additive — they're summed first.
- ▸The mutation sum then multiplies the base price, alongside the variant sum.
- ▸More plants = more independent mutation rolls. Always plant to your Plant Cap.
- ▸Mutations are random per plant — not shared across your whole garden.
5 Costly Mistakes Beginners Make with Variants
Avoid these and you'll progress significantly faster:
❌ Harvesting plants before they reach Lush
The difference between Unripe (1×) and Lush (3×) is enormous — especially for high-value plants. A Cabbage sold Unripe loses over 2 million Shillings compared to a Cabbage Gold Lush with elite mutations.
✅ Fix: Always wait for Lush on expensive plants. For cheap plants, at least Ripened (2×) is almost always worth the extra online time.
❌ Going offline during your Lush session
This is the most common mistake. Lush progress freezes the moment you log off. Coming back three hours later? Your plant is exactly where you left it. All that time wasted.
✅ Fix: Set a real-world timer. For a Cabbage Lush (~144 min online), plan your session in advance. Don't start a Lush session you can't finish.
❌ Not using the Favoriting Tool on valuable plants
One accidental click and your Gold Lush plant worth millions is gone. The Favoriting Tool is not optional — it's mandatory for any serious farming.
✅ Fix: Buy the Favoriting Tool from Molly (80k / 2-pack) and mark every plant worth more than 10× the tool cost. At Lush values, the protection pays for itself instantly.
❌ Harvesting a Gold or Silver plant before Lush
A Gold Unripe has a lower variant sum than Gold Lush (8×). You're leaving 37.5% of the plant's potential on the table by selling Gold early.
✅ Fix: When you see a Gold or Silver plant: stop. Favorite it immediately. Never harvest a color variant plant before it reaches Lush.
❌ Planting seeds during low-value weather
Seeds planted during Sunny weather miss out on mutation chances for their entire growth period. Simply waiting a few minutes before planting can mean the difference between no mutations and a Shocked or Starstruck plant.
✅ Fix: Watch the weather cycle (5 minutes per change). Plant right before or during Starfall and Thunderstorm for the best mutation chances.
Real Value Examples — What Your Plants Are Worth
Use these examples to understand the scale of variant stacking. Every value below is calculated with the formula: Base × Mutation Sum × Variant Sum.
| Plant + Conditions | Formula | Value |
|---|---|---|
 Carrot· Lush only | 30 × 1 × 3 | 90 💰 |
| Carrot· Shocked (4.5×) · Lush (3×) | 30 × 4.5 × 3 | 405 💰 |
| Carrot· 11× mutations · Gold Lush (8×) | 30 × 11 × 8 | 2,640 💰 |
 Beetroot· Lush only | 3,750 × 1 × 3 | 11,250 💰 |
| Beetroot· 11× mutations · Lush (3×) | 3,750 × 11 × 3 | 123,750 💰 |
| Beetroot· 11× mutations · Gold Lush (8×) | 3,750 × 11 × 8 | 330,000 💰 |
 Cabbage· Lush only | ~33,333 × 1 × 3 | ~100,000 💰 |
| Cabbage· 11× mutations · Lush (3×) | ~33,333 × 11 × 3 | ~1,100,000 💰 |
| Cabbage· 11× mutations · Gold Lush (8×) | ~33,333 × 11 × 8 | ~2,933,000 💰 |
* 11× mutation sum = Shocked (4.5×) + Starstruck (6.5×). Cabbage base ≈ 33,333 Shillings.
🧮 Calculate Your Own Plant Value
Use our interactive value calculator to enter your plant's base price, mutations, and variant — and see the exact Shilling value instantly.