The World's Most Expensive Houseplant Just Sold for $20,000 in New Zealand

[Michie]

Between pots, plant food, and fancy gardening devices, nurturing a houseplant can get expensive fast. Recently, a bidder in New Zealand spent nearly $20,000 on a plant before taking it home. As CNN reports, the white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetraspermasold for roughly $19,300, making it the most expensive houseplant of all time.

The “mini monstera” plant sparked a bidding war when it was listed on the New Zealand auction site Trade Me in June of 2021. In the final minutes of the auction, users foliage_patch and meridianlamb went head-to-head over the rare plant, raising the price to record-breaking levels. The battle ended with meridianlamb claiming the item for $27,100 NZD, or $19,297 USD. By the end of the auction, more than 102,000 people had viewed the listing and 1600 had saved it to their watch lists.

Continued below.
The World's Most Expensive Houseplant Just Sold for $20,000 in New Zealand

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Wow, I have one named "carl" and my wife gives cuttings away for free.

 

[Michie]

Wow, I have one named "carl" and my wife gives cuttings away for free.

Wow! Wish I could get a cutting!

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Well, so much for my dream of a plant based retirement, my wife has informed me that it is a regular monstera and not a mini.

 

[Michie]

Well, so much for my dream of a plant based retirement, my wife has informed me that it is a regular monstera and not a mini.

Awwww!

 

[Aryeh Jay]

They are still really cool plants and easy to care for.

 

[Michie]

They are still really cool plants and easy to care for.

Do you have pic of it?

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Do you have pic of it?

This is a cutting my wife gave to her mother in Oregon a few months ago. The leaves haven't split into the different styles yet.

 

[Michie]

This is a cutting my wife gave to her mother in Oregon a few months ago. The leaves haven't split into the different styles yet.

View attachment 301964

It almost looks like a philodendron there.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

It almost looks like a philodendron there.

I think you are correct. They are in the same general family but different. I suspected something was afoot when it didn't climb, but the green house insisted it was a M. Deliciosa. Michigan green houses indeed.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

On the flip side, both are invasive plants in Hawaii and I see them all the time.

 

[GOD Shines Forth!]

Do you have pic of it?

Here’s a screen grab of one I found on Etsy…

This ones a bargain at only $10k!

 

[Dick McCissel]

Between pots, plant food, and fancy gardening devices, nurturing a houseplant can get expensive fast. Recently, a bidder in New Zealand spent nearly $20,000 on a plant before taking it home. As CNN reports, the white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetraspermasold for roughly $19,300, making it the most expensive houseplant of all time.

The “mini monstera” plant sparked a bidding war when it was listed on the New Zealand auction site Trade Me in June of 2021. In the final minutes of the auction, users foliage_patch and meridianlamb went head-to-head over the rare plant, raising the price to record-breaking levels. The battle ended with meridianlamb claiming the item for $27,100 NZD, or $19,297 USD. By the end of the auction, more than 102,000 people had viewed the listing and 1600 had saved it to their watch lists.

Continued below.
The World's Most Expensive Houseplant Just Sold for $20,000 in New Zealand

Hopefully that money will go to the poor.