Plants are a 'thing'

Someone mentioned the other day that buying (and selling) houseplants was a thing in DC.

“What sort of thing?” I asked.

“A big thing,” my interlocutor replied.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, people buy plants at insane prices,” came the reply.

As proof of Washington, D.C.’s propensity to buy houseplants at high prices, I received a picture on my phone. It was a snapshot of a Facebook group dedicated to buying and selling plants. At extraordinary prices. An Albo Monstera Borsigiana for $380. A “fully rooted” Philodendron Rio for $45. A “M.Adansonii Albo Var — 6 leaves” for $1215.

It seemed bizarre. Why would America’s capital be so desperate to buy plants? What was this mania for greenery about?

Turns out it’s a thing that goes beyond D.C. Turns out that other people have noticed and written about it.

In February, ‘Fast Company’ did a big piece on the hottest new business opportunity: “the delight of growing things, delivered to your door”. The piece was headlined “ The hottest new wellness startup…