The pace of updates in Grow a Garden has always been fast, but this week felt like a whole new level. The Zebra Zingl seed, which many of us had only just gotten comfortable with, has already been dethroned. Its replacement, the Octoloom, dropped into the shop with almost no warning. If you’re someone who likes keeping your garden optimized and your income flowing, this new addition is definitely worth your attention.
After spending some time testing the Octoloom myself and digging through what players have discovered so far, I’ve put together everything you need to know—from pricing and performance to growth methods and a few important warnings.
What Makes the Octoloom Special
Let’s start with the basics. The Octoloom completely outclasses the Zebra Zingl in terms of base value. Even the smallest Octolooms I tested were sitting around the 260,000 shekel mark, while larger ones pushed well past 500,000. For reference, Zebra Zingl bottoms out at around 230,000. That might not seem like a massive jump at first, but when you’re selling plants regularly, the difference adds up fast.
This new seed is expensive and currently only obtainable through the shop, which puts it out of reach for some players. If you're someone who prefers to slowly expand your garden rather than swipe the credit card, you’re definitely going to feel the price tag. That’s actually the main reason some players choose to buy grow a garden pets early on—having stronger pets makes leveling up and earning shekels smoother, which can help offset big purchases like this new seed.
The Texture Glitch and Model Changes
One of the first things many players noticed is that the seed launched with a texture glitch. Some servers showed the Octoloom as a plain model with no color or details, which made it a bit confusing to identify. Fortunately, this seems to be tied to performance mode settings. If you’ve been seeing a blank model, try toggling off performance mode and double-check that your VFX settings are on. Once fixed, the Octoloom looks exactly like the creator leaks showed—bright, energetic, and noticeably different from transcendent seeds that came before it.
Another change worth mentioning is its size. The earlier test builds made this plant huge, to the point where it filled half a garden plot. Now the model has been scaled down to something more manageable. It’s still large enough to stand out, but it won’t overcrowd your layout.
Testing Growth: The Good, the Bad, and the Broken
Naturally, the first thing I wanted to test was how well existing growth methods work on the new seed. If you’ve played Grow a Garden long enough, you already know that pets are the real secret behind growing massive high-value plants.
The issue? The Octoloom does not get along with every pet method.
When using black cats—a staple in many advanced strategies—the Octoloom simply refused to grow properly. No matter how many times the method was attempted, the plant produced zero fruits. Whether this is an intentional balancing tweak or just a bug is still unclear, but the results were consistent enough that I can confidently say: avoid black cats with the Octoloom for now.
This is where pets become even more important, especially when players are looking for the best site to buy grow a garden pets to support new update content. While I personally recommend checking multiple sources before spending, U4GM tends to come up often in player discussions because many users like having reliable pet access without waiting on shop rotations or RNG.
What Actually Works on the Octoloom
After black cats failed, I switched over to the regular sprinkler setup and paired it with safer pet options like the Triceratops. This setup isn’t as explosive as the mooncat or black cat method, but at least it’s consistent. The plant finally grew, and the results, while not massive, were stable enough to measure.
Using just sprinklers and timing-based growth, the Octoloom still reached values in the millions. My best test plant hit roughly 16 million shekels, which is a respectable amount considering the method was limited. For comparison, that’s better than many mid-tier transcendent seeds even when those are boosted with pets.
The takeaway:
If you want predictable growth and don’t want to risk glitches or wasted time, stick with sprinklers and safe pets for now. Once the developers patch the issues, more advanced methods might return to the meta.
Should You Buy the Octoloom Right Now?
If you enjoy experimenting with growth methods and don’t mind troubleshooting a few bugs, the Octoloom is absolutely worth grabbing early. Even in its current semi-broken state, it offers higher value returns than anything else in Grow a Garden right now.
But if you’re a player who prefers stable gameplay and hates losing progress due to unpredictable glitches, you might want to wait until the next patch. The developers tend to be quick with fixes, so the issues with black cats and early growth should be resolved soon.
That said, the Octoloom is powerful enough that having stronger pets will make a noticeable difference. Before jumping into high-level growth attempts, make sure your garden team is upgraded and reliable. Communities and marketplaces like U4GM are often used by players who want faster access to rare pets, but no matter where you get your pets from, having a strong lineup will matter more with seeds like this one.
The Octoloom’s arrival shakes up the planting meta in a big way. It’s stronger than the Zebra Zingl, it sells for higher base values, and even limited growth methods produce impressive results. At the same time, it’s still plagued by early-release issues that make some strategies unreliable.
If you’re someone who enjoys staying ahead of updates and experimenting with high-value seeds, this new plant is a must-have. If you prefer a smoother, less glitchy experience, give it a little time. Either way, the Octoloom is almost guaranteed to become a long-term essential once the bugs get patched.
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