Stem cell niches are specialized microenvironments where pluripotent cells are maintained to provide undifferentiated cells for the formation of new tissues and organs. The balance between stem cell maintenance within the niche and differentiation of cells that exit it is regulated by local cell-cell communication, together with external cues. Recent findings have shown connections between key developmental pathways and added significant insights into the central principles of stem cell maintenance in plant meristems. These insights include the convergence of important stem cell transcriptional regulators with cytokinin signaling in the shoot meristem, the biochemical dissection of peptide signaling in the shoot niche and the identification of conserved regulators in shoot and root niches.