Two things I rarely see mentioned: retail logistics and lifespan. It’s not just “plain green” hurting its popularity-those tender leaves bruise, wilt, and look rough after a few days on a rack. Add the edible label/liability headache (can’t spray the usual systemics in production), and big growers just don’t bother. Indoors, it’s also a short-cycle plant aesthetically; after 8-12 months it gets woody and stringy. Treat it like a rotating crop: keep a mother plant, root fresh cuttings every few months, and swap in the youngest, bushiest pot for display.
If you want it to read “intentional” instead of “kitchen herb overflow,” use form. Train it as a flat espalier on a window grid for a summer “green curtain,” or clip it into a dense 6-8 inch mound with ruthless tip-pinching. Hydro/Kratky in a narrow window trough is weirdly effective-clean leaves, fast growth, and no fungus gnats. As a foil, try Okinawa spinach (Gynura bicolor): same care, but the purple-backed leaves give you the contrast procumbens lacks.
One upside no one sells: it’s a good light canary. If internodes stretch past 2-3 cm and leaves shrink, your DLI is too low-bump the LED or move it. And if you’re snacking on it, keep treatments food-safe and wash leaves; pets generally ignore it, but that alone makes it easier to keep on display than a lot of “prettier” options.