This Plant Costs $14,000 — And People Are Stealing It | The Deep End

I am studying for my bachelor's degree in horticulture. Let me say something about "rare" houseplants. Almost all of the time, these plants are "rare" and hard to get just because they're not widely produced. For example, Monstera 'Thai Constellation' was very popular some time ago and I remember seeing unrooted, single node cuttings go for $1000. A large greenhouse producer recently planted some and flooded the market for cheap. Now you can find them for sub $100. While the Philodendrons mentioned in this episode might not have a similar situation, someone will eventually propagate a fuckton of them and their price will go down significantly. I love plants and houseplants. I'm going to school to grow plants. But the hype around "rare" plants in nonsense. It will all crash eventually. Just another weird, bullshit consumerist culture that people use to show their wealth.

Bruh, I can barely keep myself alive + healthy. Trying to keep a $7k plant alive seems like it'd be wayy too stressful lol.

This was a very well done documentary, but super depressing. I've collected plants for over 15 years because I love them and have shared hundreds of cuttings with other people. I'm not active on Instagram or TikTok, and I don't do it for status. I loved the plant community because it was a place for sharing, and of genuine love and respect for nature. It makes me sad to see this behavior and how consumerist and superficial it's becoming.

Funny thing is that philodendron spiritus-sancti is currently being mass produced via tissue culture; prices on that plant are going to come way down in not a very long time. Let's get a part two on this video that tracks the market crash

I understand having plants in your home but having it as a status symbol feels so weird. I'm happy with my little landscape plants and pothos even if they're just cheap clearance. They're worth enough as they are to me because I'm caring for them, not their pedigree

That guy seemed so guilty when asked about the suspect Spiritus Sancti….

Whenever I worked at a coffee shop, we had lots of plants that the owner herself maintained very meticulously. People would constantly come and take leaves, cuttings, and entire pieces of the plants without asking, or do it even after we told them no. I don't understand why people touch others things. If someone walked into your house and cut a piece off of one of your plants without asking, you'd probably be mad.

As a plant collector myself (hoya) there is something special about plants than other collectables. Plants are alive, and when they respond to your care, you keep that memory and seeing them grow and reproduce, it's fulfilling.

I no longer watch plant videos because many people get fixated on "rare" "popular" plants and as the plant gets trendy the price goes up with the demand. I find plants by frequenting big box stores and local nurseries. If a price is too high I wait a bit because eventually the price drops. The extremely rare and hard to find plants just aren't worth the stress to me.

It would be great if the people profiting from selling this plant would put some of that money back to reforesting its native habitat in Brazil. Wouldnt it be more beautiful seeing it thrive there?

The plant lady seemed to genuinely love plants. Others... I really can't tell if they are truly enthusiastic about these green miracles or they are just in it for the clout and money.

Jerry exhibited untruthful behavior when pressed on the theft... his entire body language changes when she asks where he got the third plant

I’m a landscaping contractor and we’ve had instances of plant theft recently. We planted some succulents in a front yard and about 3 days later the customer called us saying that someone had plucked them right out of the ground…

I had an entire greenhouse worth of plants stolen. Broke in, ransacked the whole place. Very expensive and rare anthuriums and bromeliads totally ripped off. All of my rare cactus, gone. The people knew what they were doing. It took me years to recover from that and my business died as a result.

I grow a ton of aquatic plants, so I get the interest, but I just don't understand the weird obsession that's developed in the house plant community with rarity and the exotic as if some fragile, limited supply species shipped in from South America is inherently more valuable than like, a local fern or whatever. The world needs us to love the boring ass nature outside of our own doors, not just the stuff that has novelty.

That was a great watch. My mom ran a greenhouse in the 70's, she always told me stories of each plant she acquired. I'm glad I share her love of botanicals:)

Why does Jerry's stories sound more and more suspect? "I got it from my friend Eric and he cut it from the plant. So I sold it" Dude in the greenhouse is conviently carrying a gun? Hahaha that does NOT look staged at all.

Might be worse for cacti. Cactus collectors world-wide are driving many species towards extinction.

The last several years I've been getting into houseplants, it's been such a great hobby - I am kind of addicted to it. It really irks me how rife with drama and crime it gets once there's more expensive plants involved. I'm all for sharing the plant world and exploring all kinds of cool new things, but to hack up plants in the wild, or in botanical gardens? Stealing from other greenhouses? My plants are all common and cheap, but I'd be crushed if suddenly they were all gone because of all the time I've spent taking care of them.

This is insane. Just think with the type of money they are spending they could afford multiple trips a year to visit the rainforests these plants came from. The experience is a thousand times better.