Rare house plant prices hit the ceiling
Social media is fuelling a craze for rare and unusual plants that’s seeing them change hands for eye-watering sums, in what some are calling a modern-day ‘tulipomania’ – the 17th Century craze for tulip bulbs.
This year a single snowdrop bulb sold for £1,850, the highest price ever paid. But desirable house plants – usually with unusual markings or variegation – are fetching even higher prices. GW found one Philodendron ‘Golden Dragon’ on marketplace Etsy for £5,384, while a small rooted cutting of Monstera adansonii ‘Half Moon’ had a starting bid of £1,250 on Ebay. Other house plants that can attract sky-high prices include
Philodendron ‘Pink Princess’ (£350) and
Monstera ‘Thai Constellation’ (£450).
“During the pandemic house plants have become more popular than ever,” says Jane Perrone, who hosts house plant podcast On the Ledge. “People flicking through Instagram see a beautiful plant and feel the urge to add it to their collection.” But she says scammers are all too willing to make a quick buck. “Lots of growers have bought a ‘wet stick’ of a rare aroid that has not grown.”
The lucrative trade in rare house plants is also driving poachers to dig up specimens from the
wild. One orchid in Vietnam was harvested to the brink of extinction within six months.
Warning signs for eager buyers include when international sellers don’t mention Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) requirements, and when there is evidence that the plant started life in the wild, such as insect damage or irregular growth patterns. “Do your homework on the species that you are buying,” says David Whitehead, CITES Science Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Buying from reputable nurseries based in the UK is safest,” he says.
During the pandemic house plants have become more popular than ever