What would you plant, scatter or choose? Add your voice
Short, anonymous questions about tree urns, water releases and greener cremation. Your answer helps other readers see they're not alone in weighing the same choices.
- Anonymous, one vote per question
- Results update live as people vote
- Takes seconds, no sign-up
Why we ask
Why we run polls about living memorials
Living memorials are still a small, fairly new corner of pet aftercare, and there's not much published research on how people actually use them. Surveys tell us a lot about cremation and burial, but very little about who plants a tree, who releases ashes on a lake, or who keeps a pot on the balcony instead. If a lake or the sea is on your mind, note that US federal burial-at-sea rules are written for human remains; the EPA's burial-at-sea page explains them.
So we ask. Each poll is one simple question with answers written the way people really talk. Choose the one closest to you, and you'll see how everyone else has answered so far. Browse them all below, or jump straight to the live results.
Browse every poll
How people choose tree urns, water-soluble urns, garden memorials and greener aftercare for a pet.
Which living memorial feels most like your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Before today, did you know pure pet ashes are too alkaline for most young plants?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you rent or might move, how would you handle a memorial planting?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What kind of tree or plant would you choose?
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Would you consider releasing your pet's ashes in water?
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If water cremation (aquamation) were offered near you, would you choose it?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What matters most to you in a greener goodbye?
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Who would you want with you at a planting or release?
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Reading the results
How to read our poll results sensibly
Our polls are open to anyone reading the site, so the people answering are already interested in bio urns and green aftercare. That makes them a useful mirror of our readers, but not of pet owners in general. One vote per person per question, no names, no emails.
For the wider picture, it helps to compare with national research. In one US survey of dog and cat owners asked how they'd like future aftercare handled, the split was 40.4% cremation; 34.9% home burial; 1.9% aquamation[1]. In a summary of NFDA's 2025 consumer research, looking at human remains, 37%[2] would keep ashes at home in an urn, and about a third would scatter them. Our readers may lean greener than that, and the polls help show by how much.
The questions behind the questions
What these questions help people think through
Each poll is built around a real decision point. Voting is a quick way to notice where you stand before you spend money or dig a hole.
- Tree or no tree. Many people picture a tree first, then realise they rent, have a small yard or might move. The renting poll asks what they'd do instead.
- What people know about soil. We ask whether readers knew ashes are strongly alkaline, at a pH of about 11.7[3], because it changes how you plant.
- A place to visit or a release. Water urns suit people who move often, but leave no spot to return to. It's a genuine trade-off.
- Water cremation. Most people haven't heard much about it. We ask whether they would choose it, and why.
Before today, did you know pure pet ashes are too alkaline for most young plants?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If a poll made you pause, our guide to planting with ashes without a universal ratio explains the soil side in more depth.
Why green choices come up
Why environmental questions keep coming up
People come to bio urns for different reasons. For some, it's the image of a tree growing where their dog used to nap. For others, it's the footprint of the whole goodbye. One market report found 40%[4] of consumers raise environmental concerns about pet aftercare, and in the US, 61.4%[5] of consumers say they're interested in exploring green funeral options. If pet owners share the 68% interest in green funerals that the NFDA's own consumer survey found, our estimate is that ~59 million households[6] in the US may be open to a greener goodbye for a pet. Interest isn't the same as choosing, which is exactly the gap our polls try to see into.
Our poll on what matters most in a greener goodbye tries to separate those motives: no plastic in the ground, lower carbon, local plants, low cost, or simply meaning. If the environmental side is what matters most to you, our piece on planning a green farewell with real evidence is worth a read.
What matters most to you in a greener goodbye?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you're deciding this week
Three polls worth answering if you're deciding right now
If the ashes are home and you're weighing options, a few of these questions are quietly useful. They force a choice between two things you might want at once, which is often where the real decision sits.
- The renting question. If you might move within five years, would you plant in a pot, at a relative's home, or keep some ashes back? Your gut answer usually tells you what to buy.
- The tree type question. Native, flowering, fruit or evergreen. Choosing one narrows a long catalogue to a handful of species that suit your climate.
- Who would be with you. Knowing whether it's you alone or the whole family changes where and when you plant, and how much you plan.
What kind of tree or plant would you choose?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Once you've answered, the living memorial timeline sets out what to do in which season, from ashes at home to a tree in the ground.
What next
Turning a poll answer into a plan
A vote is a start. If you chose a tree, the memorial tree finder narrows the species. If you'd rent-proof the memorial, look at container planting on our services page. If a water release appealed, check local rules first. Local climate and permission notes are on our location pages.
Have a question you think we should ask other readers? Send it to us. We add new polls when a question comes up often enough to be useful.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Which living memorial feels most like your pet?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you rent or might move, how would you handle a memorial planting?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If water cremation (aquamation) were offered near you, would you choose it?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Questions people ask
Are the polls anonymous?
Yes. We don't ask for your name or email to vote, and results are shown only as totals. One vote per person per question is counted, so you can't accidentally tip a result by clicking twice.
Can I change my vote?
Your first vote on each question is the one that counts. If your plans change, that's completely normal, and the live results are meant as a rough picture rather than a record of any one person's choice.
Are these polls a scientific survey?
No. Anyone reading the site can vote, and people who read a bio urn site are more interested in living memorials than average. Use the results to see how others are thinking, and national research for how pet owners as a whole behave.
Why don't you show results before I vote?
Seeing the numbers first nudges people toward the popular answer. Asking first gives a more honest picture, and you'll see the full results the moment you've answered.
Who can see my answers?
Nobody sees individual answers, including us in any way that identifies you. Only running totals are displayed. Your browser remembers which option you picked so it can show your answer highlighted when you come back to the page.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] Asked their preferred future after-death care, 40.4% of US owners chose traditional flame cremation and 34.9% home burial; 10.7% chose cemetery burial and 1.9% alkaline hydrolysis (aquamation). Cooney, Kogan, Brooks, Ellis - Pet Owners' Expectations for Pet End-of-Life Support and After-Death Body Care, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine (2020), 2020.
- [2] In NFDA's 2025 consumer research, 37% said they would keep cremated remains at home in an urn, and 33.5% would scatter them. Cremation.Green summary of NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report, 2025.
- [3] Cremated remains have a very high pH of approximately 11.7, which is toxic to plants without amendment. Larkspur Conservation — Giving Cremated Remains a New Life Through Science, 2024.
- [4] Astute Analytica reports that 40% of consumers raise environmental concerns about pet aftercare choices. Astute Analytica via GlobeNewswire — Global Pet Preservation Services Market to Hit USD 112.7 Million by 2032 (Apr 2, 2024), 2024.
- [5] 61.4% of US consumers say they are interested in exploring green funeral options. NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report (press release), 2025.
- [6] About 59 million U.S. pet-owning households may be open to eco-friendly aftercare options. Our estimate: 86.9M pet households x 68% interested in green funeral options. How we calculate.
Planning a living memorial? Ask us directly
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