Stop buying rare plants
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- I have some thoughts on rare plants and plant prices in general. After tracking plant prices for over 2 years in Canada I noticed some patterns and now I can predict how long and by how much a plant will have it's price reduced.
We all get sucked into wanting the next best thing but now that the plant boom of 2020-2021 is over maybe its time to reassess how we as consumers are interacting with the plants we want to bring into our home.
Thank you: @LeafyLuster , @PlantsNTings , @KoasPlantCorner
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I'm so glad to be a part of this video. Thanks, Lee!😆💕
@@KoasPlantCorner and I'm happy that you were in the video, now I have a new cool channel to watch 😻
@Amélie Lambert Aw, that makes me so happyy!!🥹💕 Thank youu🥰✨️
As a plant enthusiast myself and an economics teacher, what has been happening to the plant community in the last 2-3 years has been fascinating, to see many economic theories play out in real life. Bubbles like this have happened many times in history, the tulip bubble being the most infamous one. Rare is a matter or perspective, and rare does not have to mean expensive. What makes rare items expensive is our desire to have exclusive control over them. Besides, all plants are rare within millions of miles, they only exist on earth.
Great comment. I am so interested in how tissue culture affects supply and demand compared to typical manufacturing from an economic stand point
@@KillThisPlant It is not unlike the supply and demand of any other product out there. Tissue culture is technology, and technology shifts the supply curve, changing price equilibrium (downward). But consumers' rational choice is subject to biases. Some feel that tc plants are not "original", whatever that means. I personally can't tell the difference. Yes, there are bad tc plants out there, but there are equally bad non-tc ones as well.
Oh god. Can you imagine how expensive plants are gonna get once we make it off of earth?
@@sandy_carpetsthesecond5013 Haha yes, on Mars that will be $50,000 please.
@@sxonly And it's not even a plant, it's just a tissue sample prepared for tissue culture 💀
I have houseplants older than I am that I’ve cared for for 35 years, but only really got “into” houseplants recently. My rule is no more than $50.00, and always, always remember: little plants grow into big plants. (The plants older than me are two ficus plants, my mom's and my aunt’s. They are each 9 feet tall, because that’s how tall my ceilings are, and the bigger one is 10 feet in diameter. You can only fit so many monsters in one house, you know?)
Amen! Im always asking if they have it smaller because i love watching them grow. I ussually look at the back of some nurceries because thats where they hide the "ugly" ones and when i ask they give them to me half price. All of my orquids i get them after flowering so the price is quite low. You dont have to go backrupt for this hobbie.
You said 10 feet in diameter. Being that it is inside, did you mean 10 feet or inches?I've seen people keep monsters inside is why I'm asking.
@@FreeElf023 i would think they mean the diameter of all of the branches and foliage, not the trunk
@@FreeElf023 ten feet in diameter, the branches, not the trunk. It's ridiculous and I should donate it to a zoo or conservatory or something. But, it's a nice conversation starter to have a giant tree in a relatively small living room.
Sounds the situation where you have a plant and you just need to build a house round of it. :D
This is exactly why we have a wishlist. A plant you want, wait for the right time and deal to acquire it, find your comfort zone when it comes to money and stick to it. No need to spend more just to get it asap, patience leads to success.
Absolutely! I think the hard part for many is not treating your wishlist as "as soon as it's in-stock I'm buying it".
Also called maturity.
😂I like that cause it's true things on my wishlist might stay in there for over a year, cause I really just can't justify spending any more than an x amount, besides my add keeps me busy with a bunch of other interests anyway (I planted a taro while waiting for my wish to come go reasonable, so this my elephant ear) 😂
I don’t know if it’s because I was growing plants years before the big “plant craze” started but I don’t go crazy over most hyped up plants. I pretty much appreciate all plants, especially ones that can survive my care conditions. 😅❤
I'm sure that helps a lot. Gives you more perspective.
Same! I'll get hype over a monstera at Walmart for 25.00 before a Thai con.
@@cadavercakes I hear you. I go crazy over those bagged orchids when they come into Lowe’s, orchids are some of the most easy care and most rewarding plants you can have in your collection. 🙏❤️
Same here, I had a diffenbacia and regular monstera for about 10 years and didn’t even know their names I just liked them
Same here, growing plants 40 yrs then imports happened. Lol
During the pandemic I had a lot of fun finding "rare" plants for *cheap* at big box stores and local nurseries. Then I had even more fun selling them all, for reasonable prices, when I realized I couldn't keep up with 150 plants. 😂
Also went plant crazy during the pandemic haha. My dad always had them when I was growing up and I've had some but somehow ended up on a huge spree. But for the most part, all are alive and well! a casualty or two here and there as I've learned along the way
Bro the dedication you put in your videos are truly unmatched. I for some reason have a lot of luck because I’m surrounded by so many plant people through the greenhouse I work at. ALL of my rare plants were given to me and I asked why people would give these really rare plants, the most common answer I would get is “it’s just a plant”
That's sounds like a great community of people!
That was great discussion of consumer culture and scarcity. I'm really impressed by the understanding of many economic principals. This is great advice, not just about plant collecting but in general. Thanks for the video!
Thanks!
I love how you help build community by featuring other creators on your channel! I’ve started following so many creators because of your channel. 🙏🏼
Here in the tropics, they rarely cost more than 20$ 😃
Hastatum - around 4$
Var Adansonii - around 16$
Green Deliciosa - 10$
Pinapartita - 8$
Frydek - 2-4$
Where do you live ?
It's so easy to get caught up in the hype of an uncommon plant, but I've started implementing a "wait time." So when I found a new plant I wanted, I waited a few months to make sure I'm still in love with the actual plant and not the hype of the plant. Plus, the plant price drops a bit, which is always great!😅 This video is so informative‼️
Great strategy. People should do the same thing with getting tattoos 😁
@@KillThisPlant Ha ha! Three times I have chosen a tattoo and waited a year to get it, gone back and said, "Ugh, so glad I didn't do that!" So here I sit tattoo-less. 😂
Same, I make myself really need the plant before pushing the button to buy
I'm a full grown adult and I've been into plants since I was 5 years old and my dad bought me a plant at a hardware store. My friends and neighbors all know me for my plants and think I have the greenest thumb. Kids call me plant lady. Yet the most I ever spend is $30, and usually only $5-10 per plant. I like buying small plants and watching them grow bigger. I don't acquire plants for their prestige, but because I like them. I'm glad I didn't encounter this consumerist expensive rare plant culture when I was a poor college student. It would have been so discouraging! Good discussion and really interesting video.
In Australia we have a category of plants called 'Ugly Discount'. Plants under it are very cheap because they are old mother plants or plants with cosmetic problems. They are awesome for plant lovers who enjoy rehabilitation of plants or beginners who are curious about a plant and if it dies it's not like you spent any more than $20 on a plant.
That's me! I love rescuing. I love nurturing seedling to it's full lush. How it becomes, is your prize from taking care of it. All your effort, money and love is all worth it.
wow, really good analysis of not just plant culture but consumer culture in general! im pretty off the grid with social media honestly, so i havent seen how this applies to plant culture until now but im not surprised to see this trend in the hobby. like being totally out of the loop on that, the plant i have that brings me the most joy is this basic ass spider plant i have. it was only 3 little leaves when i got it, freshly propagated by a friend of a friend who was just giving away the babies hers was producing. it doesnt even have the white stripes on the leaves like prettier spider plants ive seen online, just plain green, but ive gotten so much joy out of seeing it grow soooo much bigger and faster than i expected! in about 4 years its gotten HUGE, and ive just been delighted by seeing it grow big enough to shoot off babies (i propagated some and gave them to friends and family, and theirs are growing huge too), and after maybe 2 years of having it, it started shooting off flowers like crazy! i didnt even know these plants could flower until they popped up in mine, then it started making offshoots that are totally different from the original skinny tendrils the babies were growing on. thicker stems that make flowers or grow new clusters of leaves directly on them, then in the past few months it started shooting the skinny baby tendrils off of those thick ones.
i love living under a rock so this basic boring plant can be like, consistently exciting for me. coming home from a long day of work and seeing my boy doing some cool new stuff, watching weird new tendrils do weird new things, has been giving me so much joy! not to mention how much people appreciate it when i propagate and pot the babies to give away, one of my coworkers has one of them on her desk in the office that's literally the only real plant that i've seen surviving in the office lighting (walking by the rows of cubicles its just. soo. many. dying. succulents.)... its wild to think that all of that could be devalued to some people because the plant itself is only worth a few bucks. i liked that closing line, they really do grow for free.
This is the right attitude. 🌱
I had a small epiphany at the local green house as I was contemplating the plants: if I buy everything I want now or at least in a short timeframe there will be nothing to look forward to. And I seriously want a variegated monstera but am having a lot of fun watching people lose their minds over them. Supply and demand dictate a drop in price as the market gets saturated with them and then I will buy
Adding to this, I want the right one. I don’t want to get one and then find another better looking one. So I wait for the right plant to speak to me.
I'm waiting too❤
Thank you so much for coming to voice and speaking your truth on some of the things I've been struggling with. First I admit I got caught up with the IG hype. I had 27 philodendrons and 54 other plants. But then I realized I was saving less and less and I needed a lot of time to take care for them while balancing a hectic work schedule. Now I only have 25 plants that take my breath away everytime I see them. They are not rare and not wishlist plants but they've helped me regain a sense of balance and well being. My peace lily or my monstera deliciosa etc... has brought me so much joy.
Having a manageable balance of your favourite plants is the way to go.
Great conversation ✨ I did totally get rubbed the wrong way by Bushylady’s comments though, especially about most people in the rare plants being Pineapple partyers”🤨 We’re not all that surface level.
I collect rare plants that speak to me, that I love the appearance of, no one ever sees my plants and I’m sure the general person would have no idea how special they are… but that’s not the point.
The point is the plants bring me joy to have and care for… certainly not so that I can show them off and raise my fake social statue. ✨😂 I mean, like what a crazy way to read plant collectors as some sort of narcissistic aristocracy 🤯 this is what happens when introverted plant parents don’t have friends, we don’t make ourselves know and then others see us as Pineapple snobs!!😂
Loved the video - awesome content, I love that your calling out the consumerism and greed that has entered our plant community.
Thank you for the Super Thanks! You're so generous. Glad you enjoyed the video.
The math is mathing 😂. I enjoyed your analytic way of thinking, the occasional jokes, including other planttubers and the in depth video at the end, well done. Thank you for letting me be a part of the video.
I just wanted to add, it's much easier said than done, not falling pray to wanting exclusive, rare or unobtainable things, living in a very capitalist, status driven, attention seeking society (especially on social media). I personally had to grow into that reasonable thinking, once I've gone through the first passionate phase of collecting plants and progressed into being a "long time collector" it got way easier to really only buy the plants you yourself like and have a real connection to.
Great perspective. I heard someone say "it's possible to dislike capitalism, take part in it, and want to dismantle it all at the same time."
Thanks for being in the video!
That sums up the feeling I have, every time I'm in an argument about capitalism perfectly 😅👌
I'm pretty new to house plants and I was blown away to see some cuttings being sold on market place for $1000. I understand that the rarity of some of these plants increases a value but from a purely aesthetic point of view I refuse to believe that your $1000 plant is cooler than the Adansonii I bought for $10 lmao
I think that there are different types of shoppers. I’m someone raised in an environment where we always brag about how little we’ve paid for something! Bargains are a badge of honor! Rarity’s fine, but there is nothing like finding a great deal for something I truly value!
This is why I only buy plants I love after putting them on my wishlist for 1-1.5 years. Gives me time to think if I like the plant solely due to hype or because I love it.
This video was amazing. Really makes me feel like I got into plants for the right reasons. I spent the first half of the pandemic learning survival skills and working on a farm, and it wasn’t until I was back in an office setting that I realized I needed plants around me all the time to be happy, since I couldn’t be freely out in nature. I tend to gravitate towards plants that I like, even if I see them on Instagram, and not because someone else has it. But it’s really relieving to know that prices are gonna go down, just bc I do really like monstera Thai constellations visually, so seeing them hit $90 instead of $400 is a huge relief. I thought it was cool when I first discovered them that they had so much value, but I wouldn’t ever spend that much on a plant. So it’s nice that they’re dropping down in price so I can actually access a plant that I want, even if the resell value won’t be what it was during the pandemic
this is how I feel too! I really like the way they look but no way can I justify spending $200+ on a plant, I also feel like most of them are bought up to be chopped, propped, and resold so you don't really see them as fully grown or mature plants. I think I've only seen a handful online that have matured enough to have inner fenestrations
Love this so much. As a person who has collected plants as thriftily as possible for the past decade and a half, the pandemic bubble was horrifying and fascinating. And I participated a little- I bought a $60 node and it died! Ugh. But I’m so happy that the selection of Hoyas that’s widely available is now so large. I searched high and low to find interesting Hoyas in Wisconsin and on trips pre-pandemic and rarely found new ones. My plant loving heart is happy with that, yet still grossed out by the excess and consumption and inaccessibility of it all!
Exclusivity, I think, is a good word to express what people are trying to buy when they purchase expensive house plants.
I think you are right about that for many people. The cost of entry to be part of an in-group.
For some sure. However others do the exact opposite and order rare plants, propagate them and sell for the same price as a common 4 inch starter in a box store. I only recently have come across a lady that does just that to sustain her hoya addiction and the plants she was selling from my wishlist i have never seen in my local nurseries in 3 years of actively searching.
@@whiskybrush3219 we like these people.
Wow, I didn’t realise they sold for so much! I bought mine for £5 - $5 last month! I would never pay a lot of money for plants that might die. I’d rather take cuttings and grow new little plants
I love the obliqua Peru but I hear it's really slow growing. For me, a big part of owning a plant is getting to see the new leaves unfurl and if they're fenestrated, have a sport or any of that stuff. I can't imagine spending hundreds or thousands on a plant that mostly just sits there 🤷🏼♀️
My current favourites are honestly my string of turtles (hahaha) because it blooms so weird and the new turtles are the size of a pin head, my global green pothos BC it throws out the occasional white sport, and my monstera deliciosa as I got it as a baby and I just got my first fenestration and now I'm getting another leaf so I'm excited to see if it's fenestrated as well, bigger or smaller and all that stuff! The idea that each leaf of a plant may be different is so fun to me and so is the noticable growth. I would love a variegated monstera but the prices are still high IMO for a plant that really isn't proven to be completely stable long term.
I cant recommend getting an albo unless you really have disposable income and find a really great plant with balanced variegation in the stem. Keep waiting or check local groups.
@@KillThisPlant yeah I don't think I want an albo unless it's next to free 🤣 the Thai and the one with the yellowish would be fun though, if they were a reasonable price! I've had a golden pothos revert, the last thing I want is an albo to turn green or worse -die completely cuz of too much white
I can't keep an obliqua alive in my small greenhouse. It's true they're slow growing. If you don't like spending too much money on plants it's hard to recommend that variety.
I understand the acquisition struggle. I'm also neurodivergent and I sometimes struggle with simply wanting to collect this or that version of orchids. I try to keep that part of my brain satisfied by playing games like Pokémon or borderlands where I can collect everything I see.
I have also worked in manufacturing for years now and if you can make it in a factory, it's not rare. They simply choose to make fewer of them, but they can always make more. I like to use the term "botanically rare" if something is actually unique or hard to find in the wild (bulbophyllum kubahense) vs they just haven't produced much yet.
Great discussion. Your channel is the bidness.
I love this discussion! I refuse to get expensive plants. I've only spent $15 on a plant, but cummulatively, I have spent on pots, growing mediums, accessories, time and effort. I also inherited plants from mom when she died. They mean more to me than they are worth as common houseplants.
I do have some relatively rare plants because I love the unique look of them. But I've stopped purchasing them now because overtime, I realized the favorites in my collection are not necessarily the rare ones. Especially for the variegated ones, they don't grow as fast compared to the non variegated ones under the same condition, so overtime I get less satisfaction out of seeing them grow.
Thank you for sharing this.
A year later and this information is still soo relevant (as well as spot on), and a great reminder to take a breath before spending a lot of hard earned money. I also love how you mentioned that if you are most comfortable with that medium, stick with it. Thank you for that corroboration. 😊
I buy a plant based on two things: do I like it and can I provide the right growing conditions for it.
That's great!
i just found your channel yesterday and you have quickly become one of my favorite plant youtubers. you put so much effort and time into your videos, and they’re so straightforward and easy to follow! thank you for sharing with us
Thank you both for making this video! It was a wonderful conversation to listen to and I really appreciate both of your perspectives. Lovely way to spend a rainy morning. :)
Thanks for listening
Philodendron verrucosum last year was $400+ but I bought one a few weeks ago for $35. Bit smaller but it's growing fast.
What an incredible conversation. Thank you for sharing it.
Great job Lee! its crazy how much the prices drop sometimes..thanks for including me!
Thanks for your help!
Thanks to you, Bushy (NB solidarity!), and collaborators for this constructive video. It makes me feel good about how I've not got into Insta, been very selective about my plant yt channel subscriptions, and focused on low price tag plants which meet my home improvement 'needs'. Even at the lower end of price scale, it's been amazing to see how prices have come down in the past two years, and how wide of a range of plants pass through grocery stores for £5 or £10 has become.
♡♡♡♡♡
I first got into plants cuz I used to have a room mate who was in the plant industry supplying. I knew early on not to fall for this stuff and to only buy plants I truly like and think are Interestjng and worth. We all remeber the raven zz. Even the adasonii. And now look at them. With TC and etc nothing should ever be that expensive. I also don’t like this whole rare plant thing cuz it pushes poaching
The Raven zz where I order from in Canada started at about 50 dollars for a 6 inch pot and now it's much higher. I've noticed a lot of the online shops here are higher priced than before so I'm wondering if it's an inflation thing? Instead of upping shipping prices? I still don't have one BC I refuse to pay a large amount (for my budget) on a plant that is considered slow! I have an adansonii (I don't know the sub sp but it seems more fenestrated than photos) and it was 10 dollars, my monstera deliciosa was 20 dollars, my fiddle was 29 dollars and my fiddle bambini was 15. I do buy plants on the small side because I know they grow and I don't need instant gratification, but it blows my mind to see the prices of some of the medium/large sizes of these plants now! If these rather "generic" plants are going to cost 20+ more this year than they did in the spring people just don't buy with the price of everything they need to survive going up! Which, will be good as then supply will be larger than demand and the prices will go back down. But, 🙄
For sure! Poaching has been particularly bad with succulents too.
I got a very nice medium variegation Pink Princess from my local nursery for $20 on Black Friday. When I got into plants a year ago they were still going for like $200+.
A few months ago I got a massive Philodendron Rio from Gabriella Plants for $60. It was so big that I've been able to make three more full pots from it (one with 6 vines, two with 3 vines), with some babies to spare for my friends. I now have 4 plants for that $60. Last year they were selling small 4" pots for $150+.
Those pink princess prices have always been extra wild to me.
@@KillThisPlant, I'd never had a desire for one, because the plants I saw online usually looked sickly. This one just caught my eye as I was on my way out. I'm a sucker for medium variegation.
They also have a weird growth pattern. It would be cooler if they grew in a rosette, like a Birken. But they end up gangly if you're not careful.
I recently paid $80 for a pink princess with minimal variegation. I thought I was getting a good price because I was seeing unrooted cuttings for high prices on Etsy.
@@Amanda-James, etsy isn't always a great gauge. The prices are really inconsistent and not always up to date with the current market.
Sometimes before i buy my wishlist plant, i recently check the price....if the price still high or gettin low. If the price gettin low that's my AHA moment to buy it ......i love my plants so much, i don't care if the price from the plant itself get decreased, or the status change from RARE into common plants etc, because for me this is living beings, so i must treat like a living person or pets too.....i show some love for my collection plants it's give me some good vibes, good life n gettin better.....Thank you for the video, keep it up :) Cheers!
Great attitude! Thanks for the comment
As a small business that sells plants, it is so difficult to keep up with these “trends”. Whole sale places increase cost so by the time they are acclimated (few weeks to a few months) the trend has already changed and people don’t want to pay a high price. Sometimes at the end of the day I can barely sell for any bit of profit.
I'm sorry, that sounds really difficult. Thanks for adding this perspective
I started when I was little when my grandmother died I didn't touch plants again until the pandemic. Then I felt I needed the comfort of nature while being locked up. I love how many plants have become available since the pandemic. This is a good video thank you and the young lady for sharing some very good points.
I really enjoyed this video. You did a great job with showing the price drop trends over time. Especially with places like costa farms trying to mass produce Thai constellations.
I also have ADHD and find myself caught in that “oo I gotta have it” mindset whenever I see a $250 obliqua. I try to remember the price drop trends and to remove myself from hype information.
I absolutely love the idea of calling them inaccessible plants rather than rare plants. I will be implementing that.
I love the community you foster man
Thanks! I'm trying.
I remember 8 or 9 years ago snake plants were $80+ , and I really wanted house plants but I could only afford plants from Trader Joe’s or the tiniest nursery plants. Now there is such a huge variety of affordable, beautiful plants, I have to stop myself from wanting them all. For myself Instagram and Tik tok have been really helpful with plant care and quick info.
I just bought a two leaf monstera esqueleto for $45 and it's really mature already. This plant used to sell for $500+
You said it. It’s not a hobby… you have a shopping addiction”.
That’s what it is.
These guys selling plants know it. They know we’ll pay the high prices as they become available.
(& people love variegation & fenestration).
Young lady, you’re right. “They grow for free”
(Well, free for us after pots, soil, poles, fertilizer, lights, & oh yeah…. Our time)
I’m a fairly new plant person & haven’t yet bought a “rare plant for thousands”. They are beautiful, tho. 🌹
Good video. Thanks for all these!
As someone with ADHD and serious FOMO, getting into plants now has probably been the best than during the pandemic
The most I spent on a plant was 140 dollars for 4 nodes when it was first offered at 1 node, 180 dollars so I can't do the math but definitely feels like a decrease in pricing. Although if I waited even longer, probably could get it even cheaper
The pandemic really did a number on people with ADHD.
I agree completely. To me it's like new electronics. Rare plant buyers are like early adopters. They're paying a premium to have a subpar version of what will eventually be available to everyone. As if they're paying $1000 to reach through a time portal and grab something from a big box store five years into the future.
I've actually had the unusual experience of seeing a mature Spiritus Sancti without knowing what I was looking at, making the experience unpolluted by hype. I thought it was nice. But I wasn't brought to tears, ya know? I was just like 'oh hey that's really cool looking, that's pretty.'
Overall I think the reward of getting a new plant at least for me is the process of looking at really nice specimens online, learning about the species or cultivar history, seeing how nice it looks fresh from the nursery, imagining how lush or mature the one I bought can become. Then over time I forget and the plant blends in with the wallpaper. I can make it a practice to focus on those things periodically, with plants I already have, to get a similar reward and refresh my appreciation. Make it look nice again, read up on it again, aspire to make it stunning again. Similar to what you're saying about making the plants as big as possible.
Re: 'rare' there are tons of rare plants that are like $10. I think 'rare' in the houseplant world tends to connote 'low supply high demand' and the supply can often be artificially lowered by sellers holding back stock.
Interesting comparison. I like the idea of them being 'early adopters'.
@@KillThisPlant thank you, yeah it's very weird that people treat something you can duplicate by cutting in half and pouring water on it as if it's a Rolex watch or the Mona Lisa
It's all just addictions of "I gotta have it".....plants are used for decorative purposes and not for collecting like you would having a stamp album and collecting rare stamps. Some people (like my own son) collect many things, model cars, coins, plants, paints, pencils etc etc. To me it's like hoarding, they collect because they have to have it, for what reason, I don't know, and they don't know either...Some of the plants my son has bought are just ordinary, and some just plain ugly...but to him it is rare and trendy...to me he is nuts.
Haha, you sound just like MY mom too. 😂
I worked at a garden/floral store during this time and it was the most toxic job. Everyone telling everyone else how to take care of plants in a condescending way, undercutting other employees, bragging about plant collections. The customers expected free labor, stole, thought ladybugs were gross but chemicals were cool, bought plants based on them being luxury items, and based a lot of personal value on it. Honestly I took my few plants I love and ran. This community turned into another “luxury lifestyle” niche on IG and I hate it.
That sounds like a nightmare. What an awful experience.
I just learned about the plant industry and my brain. Reminds me of how centuries ago a tulip bulb could buy you a house, because they were inaccessible. Now just add in the social media playing to our fomo. Wow great video conversation.
What a great conversation! Remember, if a plant is "rare" it's probably being poached in its native habitat. To quote Bushy "chop them up and share them"!
Most of my plants started as a small plant and I don't have a lot. But for some reason now that people know I love plants, they give them to me. Mostly because they thing they are going to kill a plant someone gave them, so it ends up in my office, then eventually home to get divided or propogated. I'm so happy to have found your channel to learn about things like monstera (yes, someone gave me an overgrown one.)
I have only two plant families that I bought. One was a small jade, that is now an unknown number of plants, I wish I would have counted how many babies I have given away... I have soo much jade. But my husband likes living in a jungle.
I love the nerdy analysis of pricing trends. This is my jam!
Thank you for the honesty of this video Lee. I love houseplants but I only buy plants that move me and are in my budget
I found this video fascinating not for the conversation on plants, but in the in depth market analysis and economic philosophy that went on. Unexpected, and definitely awesome.
You're probably the best plant content creator I've seen yet adressing the things I've always thought about... To me the biggest problem about this whole thing is the normalized shopping addiction that comes with it. I personally love people showing off their grown plants but I hate people posting their "10 new rare plants" they have just bought for 500$ from overseas.
To me rarity is purely defined by local availability or even knowledge, not by price or popularity. I personally have a couple of plants that are really rare but not popular at all because almost noone even knows that these plants exist. If I posted them for sale I couldn't even put a price tag for 100$+ on it because noone would buy it since noone even searches for the name 😂.
I get enjoyment from knowing this and I will grow these things as long as possible without selling because I don't want to create the hype, popularity and money grab that other plants created and I think that's completely fine
Thanks!
The 'shopping addiction as joke' content during 2020 was absolutely wild. I think that has mostly stopped and we're all better off for it.
Who tf would pay 4k, 3k, 400, or even 150 for a plant? I think my Swiss cheese was about $25 and it was a whole ass plant not a cutting.
Also thanks for introducing me to Bushy I love them! ✊🏼🌱
me 😭.
We all get sucked in sometimes! Bushy is great. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@KillThisPlant yeah true I guess I just have poor person brain 😅
@@katjp7565 I agree with you! My son bought me some plants online. They had a special buy 2 and get a free Adonsonii. They were charging $39 for that 4" potted single stem Adonsonii. I later found the same thing at Lowe's for $5.98. The $39 plant is only about 8-10" tall while the one for $5.98 is over 4' tall. They are watered & fed the same and receive the same amount of light. The most I've ever paid for a plant is $40 for an Alocasia Stingray that died on me.
Thank you❤
"it grows for free"
Wonderful place to close the video and an important reminder and reality check to people enjoying this hobby to protect themselves from being taken advantage of in this consumerist society!
If a plant is really ‘rare’, it should belong to a professional conservatory or botanical garden…
If it’s a commercial variety, then its purpose is to get more popular in the market, hence, not ‘rare’. So when the reality comes after the hype, the price will of course drop. So, people, don’t fall into the hype.
Plants, something will propagate in a quick speed, can’t sustain the high price eventually. So, if you buy it with a ridiculous price, that means you just own it SOONER than other people. 😅😅
Plus, cheap plants or common plants are usually easier to take care of, because the amount of them proves that they are low maintenance or grow faster. So, think about why you wanna buy a plant. Do you like the appearance? Do you want to use it to show off? Do you buy it because other people want to buy it?
Great points.
One thing Bushy said is “ if they are endangered, people might not want them.” I collect Cycads and specificity grow critically endangered species. I’m looking three seeds right now starting to germinate. I Like the thought of knowing that some day, they could be part of a breeding project to repopulate them.
As a brazillian I think is so crazy the American and Canadian prices. Plants in Brazil are so more accessible and affordable, bc almost everyone like to have plants at home, it's not trendy, it's not a "pricy hobby", it's just plants
And if you have friends that like plants too and have a more rare plant you can always ask for a cutting as a present
I got some of my plants at a really good deal. For instance, the Adansonii Aurea. Bought it for low 2 figure(forgot exact amount). But the seller bought it for about $3k for a super small plant. Burle Marx Flame is still quite a bit on the higher side for almost a baby plant here. Sometimes I think those who bought at the super high price are usually hardcore collectors who want 1st dips on "new" plants.
I would agree with that. The store did have a fair amount of BMFlames and they did sell a few at that 2K price.
most of the “instagram plants” eventually wind up at Home Depot and other plant shops at much more reasonable prices. The only plant I was tempted into buying was a variegated string of hearts, I think it was around $40 for a teeny tiny one. It did good…..then, after 3 years, it started to revert back to regular green.
I dont like monstera thai constellation. At all. But everytime i see a seller, be it a home grower or a retailer, that wants to charge 250 bucks for a 2 leaf cutting i just want to buy it, propagate the hell out of it and sell them all for 5 bucks in the same market. I dont do it, but i wanna.
That would be so generous.
@@KillThisPlant it would definitely be fun for me 🤣
Did homie at 5:30 need a 30 second intro session about their pokemon card colection of disadvantages ?
Yeah, so obnoxious. Navel gazing. Who cares.
thanks for the video! i have a strict 50€ maximum amount for one singular plant, i only have one plant that I've broken the rule for, an alocasia princeps. thanks to my tiny budget I've *had* to wait, and I'm getting better at waiting for plants to get cheaper. like, my friend bought a jose bueno for 250. a year later i bought a 4 leaf rooted cutting from her for 50€. anyway, i definitely agree with the video, waiting is always good ✨
I’m just glad I have some sense. Much like they said, I’ve never considered a lot of these house plants “rare” …you can find a lot of them easily online, It was just hype. I can’t wait to find a Thai Constellation @ Home Depot for $20 🤣.
Haha maybe one day
Let’s get back to the joy of it. As they say it grows for free. Many of us went mad during covid. We were trying to find a foothold in the middle of a tornado. It seems to be settling down more now. More about growing out the plants we have rather than trying to get what is rare in the market. It is all BS really. But people need to feel like they are achieving something in life and maybe for some having rare plants and posting them helped them feel ok for a time. Now the dust has settled my favourite plants are the humble ones. All plants are incredible organisms that can make food out of light! That to me makes me fascinated by them all.
Absolutely! And thanks for all your comments. Glad you're enjoying the videos. 🌱
I just purchased a monstera adasonii and a philodendron micans. Both are in 8 inch pots with long tendrils. I paid $40 per plant. I remember when those were super hard to find and expensive. Im glad I waited.
Hot take: it is just a plant. I love plants just as the next guy, but I will never pay more than maaaaybe 70$ and because it is my favorite type of plant (hasn’t happened yet) but even if I love albo monsteras or syngonium aureas i will still wouldn’t buy them for more than 50. They are just plants. They literally grow and propagate for free. I got a marble pothos for free 2 years ago. I could literally sell them today for 30+ the rooted cutting. And I would have not spent a dollar. It’s crazy! They are just plants.
Agreed! I wanted an alocasia Jacklynn, saw one at a local nursery for $80+. Then found one on Etsy for $40 and twice as big. I still think $40 is alot for a plant ( it’s the most I’ve ever paid😬), but I really liked the unique qualities. People are NUTS for paying so much for plants.
Oh my god!! what are these costs... I recently got 25 plant that includes a 5 feet tall birds of paradise, 2 feet tall zz plant, 5 feet tall monstera, 3 figs, and other smaller plants here in India. It costed less than $70 including the delivery charges from the nursery.
I got into plants through orchids about a decade ago, and it's been really weird to see the differences between orchid people culture and houseplant people culture, especially in the last 3-5 years. I try hard to only pay for plants I really want and know I will be able to care for, and frankly I refuse to pay more than about $35 for an individual plant (minus shipping). My "rare" plants are only rare in terms of not being able to get them at the grocery store. It's not a very big collection, but I'm not bothered by that. I didn't get into this hobby because I wanted to have all the plants; I got into it because I *like* plants.
(Btw, there are definitely issues within the orchid community too. It's just mostly made up of older people, so it's not really as influenced by social media.)
I think you are a pleasure to listen to, I have learned a lot about plants even though I have been raising plants for over 40 years. However this person Bushy is hard to listen to. She just rambles on and on and everything comes back to her. It was like walking in on someone's therapy session. I had to cut this video off. The one thing she said about these rare plants is true. It is just hype and they know who will buy the bs. Otherwise, thank you for all your information.
I collect philodendrons. (Esp variegated..) I had to stop buying them. They consume my days cos my collection has grow soo enormous.. I have 2 that are hybrids that don’t even have a speices name. I also hate the tissue culture plants!!.. they grow at such a slower rate.. I refuse to buy a plant if I know it’s tissue culture.. great video and great reality check.. totally a video I needed to see..
I love having these “rare plants” well even the non rare ones because they are from places in the world I may never visit like the alocasia from under the canopy of a rainforest. A desert plant from Africa “flap jack”. And to have these little pieces of the world in my living room to be able to live with them and experience them is incredible. The rare factor comes in that these plants don’t exist in lowes some of the variations are mostly in collections and propagation from others also passionate and we can all just share in the love and beauty together shipping em with our heat pack’s. But omg I just have to say I loved this video and your perspectives I really think plants mean something to different people like a mental health medication ya can’t quite put your finger on but they help. Being with these plants during the lock down I think helped many people.
I dunno if it's because I'm coming over to botany from the aquarium hobby but this seems fairly obvious to me. I was also brought up in a traditional/british working class household so being savvy with expenses is second nature. Generally as I rule of thumb I find things naturally depreciate after initial hype settles. That said companies are getting wise to that, so manufactured scarcity has become a real issue of late.
If you think about it tho most hobbies involve collecting something. Mine tend to. It's in our nature. Even Carmen collected fancy shells. Having something rare makes it special. It's a great selling point. Disney tries to sell nostalgic memories.
I'm glad more People are noticing this and talking about it.
There are very few hobbies that have the ability to reproduce their 'next new thing' for almost 0 cost. I think coming from an aquarium perspective lets you see the huge spikes and quick declines of trends much faster as you can breed/propagate stock so quickly.
It's an interesting perspective, and even more interesting that there is an incentive to hoard stock to keep prices up.
@@KillThisPlant I see it in the knife collecting scene as well. You should see how bad some GEC collectors get. Some folk will buy a limited/sprint run knife, take a few photos for insta, wak an extra 50% on top then resell. Put me off tbh.
Obviously it's off topic cos like you said with plants you can always make more. The point I'm trying to convey is regardless of the means there's alot of people seeking to take advantage of others. Sometimes it seems you have to be in a certain club or group to get around it. God knows how you join. Makes you feel silly for taking an interest. Apologies if I seem argumentative. Not really my intention. Poor literacy I'm afraid.
@@jjskn93 not argumentative. I agree with your point.
You're my favorite plant CZcamsr, Thanks for posting!
Hey thanks!
If people really cared about "rare" plants, they would donate to conservation organizations trying to prevent plant species from going extinct in the wild. But when people say they like "rare" plants, they care about them as a status symbol that they can possess.
That said, if you want to help, donate money to a local land conservancy, or volunteer for DNR programs that catalog and monitor rare plant populations in the wild.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
It all reminds me of the “designer dogs” and their costs. GO to the POUND! 😂🎉
Good for me, I have just bought plants to my liking for the past 3 months now and everything is on sale. Happy plant Mama here.
Awesome vid, guests, and discussions! It seriously has me contemplating my habits as a consumer in this landscape in general
Great take away from the vid. Glad you enjoyed it.
The monstera Thai at a local plant shop is NOT selling at 240$, it's on sale and still not selling.... 🤩🤩Also, you can search for a plant in a market place and sort it by oldest post, you can see older post that weren't deleted with the price they were probably at back then. And you can see the price dropping over time :)
If people crave exclusivity, they have to work towards that. People should carve their own niches within the plant comunity, as you said, they don't want plant exclusivity, but they want to be exclusive. In that case, they should make themselves know, they should hybridise and breed their own plants, Mae a greenhouse, propagate. That is exclusivity. Propagating monopodial orchids and hybridising wild species in your very own greenhouse is really exclusive and fun and rewarding. Making a name for yourself, by having a voice on conservation efforts, and mastering the art and science of houseplant and garden care take lots of effort and give more happiness than buying expensive plants. this video is excellently made and illustrates this topic fantastically, great job!
I got into plants for the peace bring to me. There are certain plants that I desire, purely because of their beauty, but I won’t buy plants that I have keep in tents or a mandatory greenhouse. I want to live with my plants and have only what I can care for. I’m into the plants beauty not dollar value.
Consumerism is rampant even in the plant world. You get that one thing, and once you have it, you are thinking about the next thing. I love my plants, I enjoy taking care of them, it is a nice hobby….but my life isn’t better because of them. I’m glad I am not really tempted to give in to all these crazy prices. I’d rather give plants away, or start new ones from cuttings for people who share my love for them.
I never understood this. For me, I always looks for a plant that I, myself like and I know it would work for my space, not because it's popular or desired. People need to stop looking for plants that are rare and start looking for plants that they like , not for other people's perspective of it but because of the plant itself. And if you are collector, how about collect endangered or extinct in the wild plants that are being artificially propagated so we can keep these species alive and maybe contribute in species restoration in the wild. For example some of the rhipsalis genus is critically endangered in the wild and it is easy to propogate plant, so propagating it and sharing it with other people keeps some of these species in existence.
I honestly never got the appeal of the monstera obliqua/variegation craze. An adansonii is just as lovely as an obliqua. It's crazy to me to pay hundreds of dollars for a bigger hole in your leaf. I've noticed that it's mostly people who view having expensive plants as status symbols who buy into these crazes, but if you're someone who just loves plants, you can find so many variegated and colorful plants that for some reason aren't ridiculous prices but still cover the things you love about the over-hyped plant. Variegation and splashes? Get a caladium or begonia, there's so many varieties and they're inexpensive. Want colorful leaves? Get a strawberry syngonium, waffle plant, silver inch plants, purple passion plants, oxalis triangularis, etc...$20 a plant and they're gorgeous. Want colorful veins on a leaf? There's a ton of alocasias and some anthuriums for reasonable prices that will fill that niche. I do wonder what a lot of these people do with these plants when they lose their hyped-up appeal tbh
I never really wanted any of these trending plants I think, but I still buy every plant I want by writing them down in a list first.
And then wait until I stumble upon a good offer for them.
Of course this way I don't get any plant I want *NOW* but I am even happier when I stumble upon a good bargain!
I am sure someone will make fun of me for it, but I only got my first black ZZ raven last month, super cheap, even though I wanted one for forever!! 😆 finding her for this little money was like an early Christmas for me!
You have such a wise head on your shoulders. I got into houseplant keeping this past year so missed a lot of the hype. Plus I had to learn the basics so I'm happy with my monstera deliciosa and other basic plants, learning as much as I can and seeing local prices for the rarer varieties drop over this past year. Even a pothos was hard to come across here in rural ireland just a year ago.
I had been into gardening for a few years and then dabbled in indoor plants for a few reasons - mostly due to negatives to gardening in my local climate (frosty), pests (slugs) and an injury preventing me being able to use a spade. I quickly became hooked on learning the total different way of looking after indoor plants in comparison to outdoor plants, and it is amazing to be able to have the plants easily accessible all the time. It makes the cost of the plants so much more worth it if I see the plant year round unlike an expensive perennial that only flowers for one month a year and I have to hope it doesn't get a bad frost, eaten by slugs or damaged in so many other ways in my changeable climate. I'm going to stop rambling now haha!😅
Haha that's ok to ramble. Thanks for leaving a comment.
It boggles my mind to see how crazy the plant industry went the past few years. I am a new fan, young man. Your videos are great. I saw Jeff's post today about your video! Great job. I can't believe I haven't seen you before. I will be directing my friends in your direction, too. Keep up the good work 👏 🙌
Thanks and welcome!
I've been diving head first into the rabbit hole that is planty CZcams, and the more I learn about rare plants, the less I'm interested in them. Most of them have unstable variagation, they tend to be more labour intensive to keep happy, and I find most of them are a bit sickly looking. Just give me a strong common plant that looks healthy, is widely available, and doesn't require 24 / 7 of nannying to keep alive.
Except tradescantia. I'm angry with them at the moment.
My favorite plant shop will slash prices on items that don't move. I've gotten rare plants that were originally listed at $80 for $30. My best deal ever was getting a gorgeous Queem Anthurium for $60 when it was originally priced at over $200. Sometimes shops will have plants in less than ideal spots due to prime real estate space for sunlight being limited, which then makes the plants look 'meh', so you can get them for cheap, and then when you give them the right conditions they become gorgeous and valuable. I have a Moonshine Rubber Plant that had no variegation because it was placed in the back of the store where it barely got any light. The new growth leaves showed a lot of promise though, so I managed to get it for $40 (which is insanely cheap for how large and established this plant was), and a few months later it had the most gorgeous color variation in most of its leaves.
I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $50 on a plant (and I did that 2-3 times). I will say I have an adansonii and do want an esqueleto because they do have slight differences in shape and fenestration that I personally find more appealing. I’ll wait until they come down further in price though. Some of my favorite plant varieties are very common plants. Cebu blue, micans, marble queen pothos, red emerald philo, etc. I’ve bought hyped up plants only to be disappointed when they arrive. If it’s dramatic I don’t want it. I’m very picky about what I buy now and haven’t bought anything in quite a while with the exception of $5 Manjula cuttings locally (because that foliage is just stunning!). Now I’m finding that plants I bought 2-3 years ago have come down significantly. I still have a wishlist but it’s only a couple plants. I will say I’m falling back into the trap of wanting popular expensive plants but I have been resisting as I’d really prefer to reduce my collection instead of getting more.
I hope you find that balance of having the collection you want. Thanks for this perspective!
As an aquatic plant keeper...
Damn, y'all rich as hell.
This is so so true. I love this person and they said about poneapples. How insightful. This is why i dont spend so much and I wait a long time to acquire a plant. Most people wouldnt spend 2000 dollars on a plant unless they think they can profit from it or they can profit from the flexing it. The only other reason why someone would spend that much is lack of impulse control. I never spend a lot unless it's a huge plant and I can chop it up and make more plants. This method is called undercutting. You sell for higher price, and then lowerthe price, to compete with the new sellers. Eventually the price drops to less than 50 dollars after mass production via tissue culture. Unless you've managed to cut it and sell those plants, you'd be making a huge loss. Cuz these plants can be grown infinitely, and the accessibility will drop the price drastically. And the retailers will have to find a new plant to make up for the loss.
LOOOOVE This conversation! FANTASTIC!
Great info! Definitely will check out your guest channel, she’s very informative and helpful
Plant prices are really crazy….
About 30 years ago, I purchased a plant for about 9.99, which looked an awful lot like a philodendron tortum.
Since I was new at plants, it died, and I could kick myself…..
Because, have you seen what these plants are going for now!?!
It’s crazy that they’re that expensive,
And it’s crazy that I killed a philodendron!
Anyway, prices are set for various reasons….
Thanks for your channel! Love it!