Cryptic crossword clue
Plant in vessel buried in fertile soil is beginning to thrive 4-2-1-4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 14 letter word LOVE-IN-A-MIST

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
L
O
V
E
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A
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M
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Plant" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case plant = love-in-a-mist.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does LOVE-IN-A-MIST mean?

LOVE-IN-A-MIST noun
  1. Nigella damascena, an annual flowering plant of the genus Nigella, the blooms of which are generally blue in colour, though also found in shades of pink, white or pale purple.

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