The assent of rare plants
Hi Everyone!
In this blog, let's find out why we fell for rare plants instead of sticking with our good old traditional plants!
Why rare plants?
At the start of the pandemic who didn't feel suffocated by this situation? Confined inside our homes, we needed a way to escape, to live and to be happy! Have you ever walked into a place full of lush, green plants and thought, “Wow, this place feels amazing!” There’s a reason for this. Plants are alive, and they make you feel alive! This is when the love of plants came to our rescue! The pandemic has had multiple impacts on the indoor plants market. For a large number of workers, working from home has quickly moved from an occasional corporate pleasure to the normality. The solution for many was to replace their human friends with green ones!! After all, they have always been there for us. The pandemic was just a wake-up call for many to be us. Houseplants have a direct link to positive emotional well-being experienced during the Covid pandemic. Numerous studies have reported a number of psychological benefits for people who are exposed to nature. And negative emotions were more common among those who lived in homes with minimal natural light and no plants. So how it start?
Social networks encourage us to consume and feed the fashions of certain varieties of plants. Like our precious rare plants, which had a huge moment of glory! But why rare plants? Because, after going around the plants that are more common and easy to access, a challenge of research and exploration to discover the plants that we see less or not in the garden center was felt! This is when the majestic entry of rare plants begins! Day after day the collections of rare plants were growing among the homes of thousands of new collectors! In this upward movement several other factors have come into play to continue to stimulate our growing interest such as: Auction sites and (purges) which also fuel our continual frenzy!
In this difficult time that we have been experiencing lately with this pandemic, an extraordinary phenomenon has greatly developed. Several communities of the plant world have emerged. On social networks, dozens of Facebook, Instagram and
TikTok share on a daily basis several tips, finds, plants care information, scam alerts, jokes from the world of plants, etc.... Real little gold mines!
Also on these groups we can also find several possibilities of exchanges and purchases of plants. Friendships have been formed there and we call them: Plant friends! With them, we can feel supported and understood with this new growing addiction! The "Green World of Mother Nature" has done an incredible job during this pandemic. It may be our turn to return the favor by protecting and respecting her more than ever…
Did you know that the growing popularity and high demand has led to a global problem of plants poaching? By destroying ecosystems, endangering certain plant species, and creating a black market. The ecological role that plants play is significant, and their extinction from nature could have catastrophic consequences. It is very important to be aware of this big problem. And if you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask your seller if he knows the origin of his rares plants. As a plant importer myself, this is the very first question I ask to my sellers. And if I judge that the answer is doubtful, I go to another seller even if the previous one was offered me more interesting prices. Buying rare plants is something we have to be careful about. A few species are mass-produced now, such as the famous Monstera Thai constellations, several Scindapsus and Pothos species, some Alocasia such as the "Silver Dragon", etc. This helps reduce questionable supplies from some sellers. But on the other hand, some species that were considered rare, change categories and are classified as less common plants now. This phenomenon probably fluctuates from year to year. I will give you a report on this study next year!
Iv'e found many articles about this plants poaching problem, here is an example of one of them:
Officials in the Philippines say the coronavirus pandemic is fuelling a new problem: a surge in plant poaching.
The country’s lockdown earlier this year, one of the strictest in the world, helped drive demand for greenery among Filipinos who were longing for nature. Though restrictions have eased, the craze for gardening has continued, and officials say sellers are digging up endangered species in the mountains and forests.
Illegal traders were “having a fiesta because the market is bigger and prices are more attractive”, Rogelio Demallete, an ecosystem specialist at the country’s Biodiversity Management Bureau, told Bloomberg.
If we all show awareness, our earth will be better off as well as we are!
A big question remains to be elucidated! Was this passion / madness of hunting rare plants was only temporary or did it remain a way of life for many of us? I believe this love of rare plants will remain for most of us. For my part, as a collector for decades, I can guarantee you that my passion is far from extinguished! Beautiful collections have been created and continue to grow in many of our homes. People are more experienced than before and can even try to get even rarer plants! We all have a little corner of paradise that brings together our most precious, rare and hard to find plants. They are our pride, our joy, ours Botanical Treasures!
Happy growing dear plants lovers!
With Love ,
Mélanie
