Hole lot of nostalgia! Sales of 70s Swiss cheese plants soar
THE houseplant most associated with the 1970s is making a comeback – with suppliers selling out of the Swiss cheese plant.
Originally native to Mexico and Panama, the plant was as much part of a fashionable 1970s flat as lava lamps and shaggy rugs.
Now it is being embraced by the Instagram generation, with pictures tagged #monstera.
The plant – Latin name Monstera deliciosa – has green, holey leaves resembling Emmental cheese. Suppliers say nostalgia for the 1970s is making it popular. The tallest plants, measuring 5ft or more, have sold out completely and prices have risen 20 per cent due to demand.
Madeleine Evans, chairman of Plants@Work, told Horticulture Week: ‘There is definitely a return to retro plants again, for instance Monstera. It’s in short supply at the moment and prices are up.’