£15k: Study reveals the most expensive houseplants sold

Thai Constellation Monstera Firn/Shutterstock

LONDON, UK: Sales of houseplants have skyrocketed over the last year as it seems people wanted to bring a touch of nature to their homes and boost their mental health. But some people struggle to stop at just one or two plants, which inspired Homedit.com to find out more about our plant spending habits and addictions.

Curious to find out which houseplants sell for most, Homedit analysed data from plant webshops such as Plnts.com, therareplantshop.co.uk and plantsforallseasons.co.uk, eBay and other auction sites. Moreover, they also spoke to Shane Tan, a London-based buyer and seller of rare and exotic plants, to find out why buying houseplants is so addictive and why sales have risen so drastically in the past year.

Homedit.com trawled through online data to reveal some of the costliest houseplants sold. They found that earlier this year a ‘mint variegated Monstera Deliciosa’ sold in the UK for £28,200 on eBay. After winning the bid, however, the buyer realised they weren’t happy with the price and refused to pay. The plant was resold a few weeks later for £8,000.

Houseplant                                               Selling Price                                                    Sold

Large Monstera obliqua                        £16,523 ($23,000 USD)                                Private auction

Musa Ae Ae                                              £15,088                                                               Etsy

Philodendron Spiritus Sancti              £7,600                                                                 eBay

Monstera sierrana                                 £6,701                                                                  eBay

Variegated Monstera Minima             £4,210 ($8,150 NZD)                                       Trade Me (NZ)

Variegated Hoya Carn Compac          £3,405 ($6,500 NZD)                                       Trade Me (NZ)

Philodendron Lynamii                        £2,600                                                                   Therareplantshop.co.uk

Monstera aurea var adansonii           £2,000                                                                eBay

XL Variegated Monstera                    £1,199                                                                    Plantsforallseasons.co.uk

Homedit.com also surveyed 3,673 Brits who own at least one houseplant to find out more about their spending habits:

• 9% of those surveyed said they own over 200 houseplants
• Over 13% of people admitted they spent over £2,500 on plants alone so far
• 48% have spent between £101 and £500 on a single houseplant
• Nearly 11% have spent over £1,000 on the upkeep of their plant collection
• More than 31% said they had killed a houseplant they spent over £50 on

Dirty little secrets

• Nearly 22% of Brits surveyed said they had argued with a family member, partner, or roommate about the number of plants they own
• Despite this, a whopping 98% of those people said they didn’t get rid of any plants because of the argument
• A staggering 88% said they frequently sneak plants into their home
• 76% of participants admitted they were addicted to buying more houseplants

A perspective on houseplants

Interested in getting a real perspective on why houseplant sales have exploded over lockdown, and why some are so expensive, Homedit spoke to Shane Tan, an avid plant owner on Instagram.

“I started collecting houseplants when I moved to the UK several years ago and decided the best way to spruce up my flat was to fill it with greenery. I caught the rare houseplant bug a couple of years ago, luckily before the pandemic hit and prices skyrocketed.

“I definitely have seen the plant addiction explode [during the pandemic]. Demand is at an all-time high now, stocks are low worldwide and as people discover more interesting plants to expand their collection, naturally it’s going to be competitive, and prices will increase and add to that vicious cycle.”