These once-rare plants popular during the pandemic are now popping up at retailers across Canada

Plant influencer Genna Weber explains how rare plants have become more affordable today.

Plants that have colourful patterns that resemble paintings and even a starry sky were sold for hundreds of dollars during the pandemic houseplant boom. But amateur gardeners are finding that the Philodendron Pink Princess, Philodendron Ring of Fire and Monstera Thai Constellation are no longer hard to find in Canada.

In fact, trips to local big-box retailers, grocery stores and nurseries are like treasure hunts for plant enthusiasts as they discover these non-traditional plants are sold for much lower prices today. This is a trend retailers and growers attribute to the continuing demand for unusual varieties.

Because of the demand, these businesses found a way to mass produce them, which helped lower the prices.

“The plants that were rare and trendy during the pandemic are more mainstream now,” Justin Hancock, director of research and development for wholesale horticultural grower Costa Farms, said in a recent video interview with CTVNews.ca from Miami.

Demand was a big factor in bringing in the non-traditional plants into Longo’s stores, said Deb Craven, president at the Ontario grocery chain.

“I think what we noticed, especially during COVID, was that there was a demand for other types of plants and maybe plants that our guests wouldn’t have been looking for in the past that they were starting to look for,” Craven said in a video interview from Ancaster, Ont.

Pricey plant splurges

Before the coveted plants started popping up at grocery stores, Pol Apiwong was among those who splurged on rare plants during the pandemic. Apiwong said he paid a grower in Thailand in 2021 around $400, excluding shipping, for a small Philodendron Spiritus Sancti, which was viewed as a “holy grail” plant then. Before and during the pandemic, he said plant enthusiasts had to import rare plants or buy them from personal collectors or smaller plant shops.

Four years after his big purchase, the Spiritus Sancti’s price has plunged. The plant is currently sold out at the JOMO Studio plant shop in Toronto where Apiwong works as a manager. It has the price tag of $45 for the same size he paid the Thai grower.

“We continue to see excitement around new and unusual releases,” he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. “People still want to buy something special.”

Genna Weber, a plant influencer with the handle Genna’s Plants on Instagram and YouTube, recalled buying a small Philodendron Pink Princess for about $25 in 2019.

Then during the pandemic, the houseplant market took off as lockdowns kept Canadians at home. At that time, these plants were tougher to find as demand was high, she said. Prices were often at least $100 for a small Pink Princess, which has splashes of bright pink foliage, and even a few hundred dollars for a large specimen during the pandemic.

“And now, you can basically pick them up in any garden centre or Canadian Tire for next to nothing, like under $20 for a plant,” Weber said in a recent video interview with CTVNews.ca from her plant-filled living room in Norwich, Ont. Weber significantly grew her collection during the pandemic to more than 200 plants today. “And then the supply kind of caught up with the demand.”

Mark Beaty, senior merchant of the garden department at The Home Depot, said interest has continued to grow. He noted “an immediate positive” response, anecdotally, when the big-box chain started to sell a plant that has creamy white variegation that some say is reminiscent of a starry sky, called Thai Constellation, in March 2023 in Canada.

“Our customers see them trending on social platforms like Pinterest and are inspired to bring them into their homes,” he wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca. “Our associates see rare plants at trade shows and will send me photos, asking ‘have you seen these?’ which leads to me ensuring we eventually carry them in-store.”

Why are prices down?

The spike in demand for the trendy plants has led to producing and selling greater quantities of them, thereby reducing the price, said Julie Codere, lawn and garden category director at Rona.

Despite plant sales cooling since the COVID-19 peak, she said the Canadian big-box retailer has seen “steady purchases” of these unusual plants.

“Our ‘trendier’ plants usually sell quite fast as we have repeat customers that shop often and also employees that share on social media as well,” Codere wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca from Boucherville, Que., noting popular ones include a plant with golden-yellow leaves called Chameleon ZZ plant, another with splashes of cream, white and yellow on its narrow foliage called Pothos Variegated Amplissium, Monstera Thai Constellation and a plant with varying white variegation called Philodendron White Knight.

She said Rona discovers “trending” plants by visiting trade shows as well as following blogs and plant groups on social media.

“Large producers have specialized teams of researchers and passionate growers that bring that new discovery to the market and we’re able to sell it at a competitive price,” she wrote.

Perhaps one of the best examples of a once-rare plant that has become widely available in Canada, the Monstera Thai Constellation is another plant whose price has plunged. It was harder to find several years ago, selling for three digits or more, depending on the seller and size. But the plant recently became more accessible. Costa Farms began to send shipments of the Thai Constellation to its partners including retailers in Canada just last year, Hancock said.

He said it’s difficult to propagate some plants like Thai Constellation by the tens of thousands through traditional cuttings, which are stems with nodes from which roots will grow.

But his company found a partner that could more efficiently and affordably propagate the Thai Constellation through tissue culture, allowing Costa Farms to sell larger numbers of the plant at lower prices, Hancock said.

These are some of the formerly rare plants that are now accessible to the masses:

Monstera Burle Marx Flame

The Burle Marx Flame has lance-shaped leaves in its young form that become heart-shaped with slits resembling a flame when it matures, according to Costa Farms.

Epipremnum pinnatum Albo-Variegata

Epipremnum pinnatum Albo-Variegata, or Albo Pothos, has cream and white patterns, with leaves fenestrating as it matures.

Alocasia Frydek Variegated

Alocasia Frydek Variegated is prized for its green velvet leaves with white and cream patterns.

Alocasia Jacklyn

Alocasia Jacklyn, or Alocasia tandurusa, has distinctive dark-veined, bright green, arrowhead-shaped and hairy leaves with striped stems.

 

Philodendron Gloriosum

Philodendron Gloriosum is a crawling plant — which means it grows horizontally — with heart-shaped velvety leaves.

Anthurium Crystallinum

Velvety anthuriums such as Anthurium Crystallinum were on many pandemic plant parents’ wish lists. The Crystallinum has dark green, heart-shaped leaves with contrasting white veins.