So, you like your home alive with leafy beauties – exotic and refreshing houseplants? So do I, but it costs me to keep my living room looking like a lush rainforest! And I think it may be your case too… Some varieties are expensive when you buy them, then there are fertilizers, “medicines” and even the pots can be hard to afford some time… But you don’t need to give up your passion (and your green companions) for want of money…
Let’s find some ways to save money on our houseplant addiction, so we can cut costs and still live in an indoor Garden of Eden!
1: Buy Varieties That Are Easy to Propagate
If you want to get more from your money, a good way of saving is to buy varieties that you can propagate easily. And the safest and simplest way is by cuttings.
You can simply snip off a stem (sometimes even a leaf) and get many “babies” from the houseplant you have bought. It’s like a “buy one get as many as you want free” all year round offer from Mother Nature.
Another easy way to propagate is by tubers, bulbs, rhizomes and corms.
Do you want some examples?
- Pothos (Epipremnumaureum)
- Snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
- Aloe (Aloe vera and all Aloe spp. You can grow indoors)
- Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
- ZZ plant (Zamioculcaszamiifolia)
- Begonia (Begonia spp.)
- Jade plant (Crasssula ovata)
- Tradescantia (Tradescantia spp.)
- Hoya (Hoya spp.)
- Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans)
- Money tree (Pachira aquatica)
The list goes on, but I want to give you a final tip; most succulents propagate very easily, sometimes by leaf cutting as well!
2: Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!
You go to a garden center, or even a general store, and you see a wonderful plant you love, in an equally wonderful container – and you must have it! Stop there! Think before you act: how much of the price is the actual plant, and how much is the pot? I know, it looks stunning, but are you sure you can’t find an equally beautiful solution in your garage, in a shed, or in a second-hand shop?
When you find a plant in an exceedingly beautiful container, retailers bloat the price of both! If you found them and bought them separately, they would cost you a good 30% less!
Now, take a look around your home with a creative mind. Look at all you could upcycle, and use as a pot for your plants. Go to recycling points, local markets etc… You may even nag your friend into giving you that old jar she doesn’t like anymore…
Or you can camouflage average containers… Wrap a nice drape around them, and tie a broad ribbon on, or paint them yourself. You don’t have the artistic hand? There are stencils!
There’s no end of alternative solutions to buying the overpriced “plat + pot package”!
3: Avoid Short-Lived Monocarpic Varieties and Those in Bloom (or Close to It)
Am I getting technical? Don’t worry, quickly solved, “monocarpic” means that this plant will flower once and then die. Bromeliads are wonderful, aren’t they? A real temptation! But then you know they die – and it’s not your fault! They sell them to you at the end of their lives…
They are, indeed, monocarpic.
There are some exceptions though… Many succulents are monocarpic, and if you buy them when they are about to blossom, take a leaf off and propagate them before they die. Others will grow “pups” (offsets) at the base when their time has come, and you can cut them at the base and transplant them.
4: Don’t Buy When Others Buy!
As Christmas approaches, stores fill with wonderful plants to present to your beloved – at twice the price you would find them any other time of the year! I know, they are all there in full display, winking at you, often at the entrance, and so “beautifully dressed”…
Leave them there, and maybe come back after the festivity; you may find them at a cut price. And anyway, you will find them in good garden centers from January 1 to December 31!
The same applies to all festivities, Valentine, Easter, Thanksgiving, All Saints, even Halloween nowadays…
5: Go as Close as Possible to the Source…
I don’t mean that you have to get your explorer’s kit out and travel to the Amazon to find native species… But avoid small retailers that buy your houseplants from a nearby nursery or garden center. I know, they are very handy, and it’s good to support local stores, but if you are trying to save money…
If you go to a large sale store, especially a nursery, houseplants may not be as beautifully displayed, but they usually come at a much lower price. What’s more, you can get a much wider range, and, who knows, you may find that cheap little leafy beauty with puppy eyes that’s been waiting for you…
6: Share Costs and Houseplants with Friends!
If you have a network of houseplant lovers, with friends and neighbors, you can share costs, but you can also share plants, if you can propagate them. You can swap containers, you can bulk buy…
And if there is no network where you live, then don’t waste time and organize one; with today’s means, it just takes a social media chat to build a network, even if you are in an isolated area.
So, maybe there’s a houseplant that’s taken your fancy? Before you spend money, ask the other members if they have it… To be honest, with a good network, you will get swapping all the time, and share many varieties.
It’s good for the “biodiversity” of your indoor garden, and for your pockets too!
Houseplant Addiction Doesn’t Need to Be Expensive!
With 6 easy tips, or changes of habits, you can easily cut down the costs of your passion for houseplants quite significantly, even to almost nothing. Ok, you may still want to buy that once in a lifetime plant… But you’ll actually have more cash for it now… And, to be honest, saving money has made me a better houseplant grower, more conscientious, careful, creative and collaborative _ and it has even grown my collection!
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.