8 Most Expensive House Plants You Can Buy (with Pictures)
-
Kristin Hitchcock
- Last updated:
Usually, most of us consider houseplants to be pretty inexpensive. You can purchase most plants for under $30 when they have a decent amount of growth to them. If you purchase seeds or sprouts, you can often spend even less. However, there are some house plants out there that are quite expensive.
Often, these plants are rare, which is why they are so expensive. Some aren’t easy to grow, which adds to the price as well. Either way, you likely won’t find any of these plants at your average nursery or home improvement store.
The 8 Most Expensive House Plants
1. Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree
| Price: | $80 to $400 |
While Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees aren’t very expensive if purchased young, they can absolutely be expensive if you purchase the mature plant. For the most part, these trees are so expensive because of their high maintenance cost. They are not very hardy plants, so they need a lot of care.
Therefore, the cost of raising these plants is high. This cost gets roped into the overall cost of the mature tree. You’ll likely need to place a humidifier near the tree, as they don’t like dry air. These trees live in the rainforest, and it shows.
Overall, these trees are extremely sensitive to any changes. Therefore, you should only purchase one if you know how to care for them.
2. Variegated Monstera
| Price: | $700 to $5,000 |
In some cases, this plant can sell for more than $5,000. It isn’t odd to see them being sold at auctions for thousands of dollars. This plant is absolutely one of the more popular expensive plants out there. However, because it takes so long to grow, it is rare and expensive.
You usually cannot purchase this plant for a small amount of money. Therefore, you should be well prepared to shell out thousands for a plant.
3. Hoya Carnosa Compacta
| Price: | $40 to $6,500 |
This plant can be extremely expensive, or you can purchase it for just over the average price. Only some varieties of this plant are expensive, and it does depend on the exact look of the plant. Because each plant is unique, you never know what one might sell for.
The more interesting the plant is, the more expensive it will probably be. You can purchase other varieties of the Hoya for less, which we generally recommend unless you have a significant green thumb.
4. Philodendron Minima
| Price: | $50 to $8,150 |
Likely because of its long name, this plant is called a variety of things. Often, you’ll see it listed as a “Mini Mostera” or a “Piccolo.” These plants are extremely rare, which is why they are so expensive. They have sold for very high prices for a full-grown, healthy specimen.
However, you can also find these plants relatively cheap. It all depends on the quality of the plant and how old it is.
Surprisingly, this plant is pretty underwhelming when you look at it. It only has four leaves. However, the variegation on the leaves matters a lot when it comes to the price.
5. Shenzhen Nongke Orchid
| Price: | $200,000 |
When it comes to expensive plants, you can’t get more expensive than this orchid. Of course, this isn’t just any orchid. Technically, this plant is not a natural plant. Instead, it was cultivated in a lab and is completely man-made. For the most part, this is why it is so expensive.
However, its lifespan is very long and it takes a long time to mature. It took 8 years for it to develop in a lab, and each plant takes up to 5 years to bloom. Therefore, you have to be very patient when growing this plant.
This plant is said to smell extremely good. However, not many people have gotten to smell it.
6. Pine Bonsaii
| Price: | $50 to $1.3M |
Bonsai trees are some of the most expensive plants around. They can cost a lot of money—up to millions of dollars in some cases. Certain trees do cost more. It depends on the type of tree as well as what it looks like. An average-look bonsai usually won’t cost more than $50. However, very old trees with unique shapes will cost much more.
They have whole exhibits centered around Bonsai trees. Therefore, you can find just about any Bonsai tree at any price point if you look hard enough. You can even purchase many online. However, the rarest specimens are usually auctioned off.
7. Queen of Night
| Price: | Can’t Really Be Purchased |
Out of all the plants on this list, the Queen of Night is probably the most expensive. However, we really wouldn’t know, as it doesn’t come up for sale all that much. It is much rarer than other plants on this list and is very priced by anyone who owns it.
This plant has a short lifespan but very beautiful flowers. It is often described as some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. However, it only blooms at night and is nearly impossible to find outside of Sri Lanka.
8. Juliet Rose
| Price: | $5M |
Not that long ago, the Juliet Rose became one of the most expensive flowers on the planet. An individual rose will probably cost you about $50. However, there is a lot of work that goes into this plant.
It was designed by a florist who took 15 years to make it. Therefore, they are extremely rare and nearly impossible to find. This makes the price go up substantially. If you can find one, you can expect to pay at least $5M. However, we’ve seen price listings for $15M, as well!
Conclusion
There are many inexpensive houseplants out there, as well as many expensive ones. Typically, these plants fall into three categories. They are either very difficult to grow, which makes them difficult for florists to take care of. Other plants may simply be rare, which can happen because they are newer or take forever to grow.
Yet other plants tend to vary a lot. These plants are sometimes worth a lot if they grow in a particularly strange way.
Either way, the average person is not going to be purchasing these plants. Even if you could find one, most people don’t have millions to spend on a houseplant!
Featured Image Credit: Bogdan Sonjachnyj, Shutterstock
Contents
