houseplant
If you are like many houseplant collectors , you ’ve fall in dearest with the beautiful garden pink variegated leaves of the Pink Princess Philodendron . But why is this works so expensive ? In this article , gardening expert Madison Moulton examines why this popular houseplant is so expensive compare to other salmagundi .
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Anyone who spend lots of clip on the cyberspace ( shamefaced ) will have come across the popularPink Princess Philodendron . These houseplant have a craze - like following online thanks to theirstunning foliageaptly labeled ‘ millennial Pink ’ . The variegation is unlike any other houseplant . The splashes of pinkish , green , and grey are an instant smasher among houseplant enthusiasts .
But , if you ’ve ever tried explore for one in your local nursery , you may have noticed two things . First , they areincredibly unmanageable to find . And second , they are crazy expensive .
There are a identification number of reasons why these plants can cost as much as $ 100 for a simple cuttingup to almost $ 2,000for an establish flora . While that ’s outside the price range of mountains of many gardeners , there are some people unforced to compensate the price . Let ’s take a deeper look at what reach them so expensive .
About Pink Princess Philodendrons
Pink Princess Philodendrons are the outcome of hybridization between a identification number of Philodendron specie , includingPhilodendron tateiandPhilodendron wendlandii . This cultivar is part of thePhilodendron erubescensspecies , tight related to to many pop houseplants .
All philodendron are part of the Arum household – Araceae . This chemical group is characterized by their interesting prime , known as a spadix , often surrounded by a modified leaf . While your Pink Princess may never flower , you could see this telling in other houseplant like Anthuriums orPeace Lilies .
This flora has become the ‘ it ’ flora of the yr , accord to houseplant enthusiasts across the world . They are appreciated for theirstunning diversification , with splashes of pink , green , and gray that stay on unmatchable in the houseplant world .
In fact , they are so democratic that some agriculturist have attempt to artificially alter related to mintage to produce the pinkish colour , create imitation flora that sell for the same gamy cost . However , these limiting do n’t last long . The flora reverts back to its light-green semblance within a few months of bringing it home .
Pink Princess Philodendrons are the result of aspontaneous mutationwithin the genus . When and how this sport happened is not verified , but houseplant detectives havecome up with a few theories .
investigator believe this plant likelyoriginated in the USfrom a grower in Florida . A few Philodendron mintage crossed withPhilodendron erubescensto produce M of new cross . One of these hybrids was the Pink Princess .
Once sold to retailers in Florida , the plant was propagated via cuttings to retain the arresting variegation convention . From there , it disperse across the US , social media , and the world .
SoWhy Are Pink Princess Philodendrons So Expensive?
When it comes to cost of anything that ’s considered a “ collector ” point , infrequency usually tops the list of reasonsthat force up costs . This highly sought after plant is no different . Many gardeners are looking for ways to put themselves apart , and this flora is just add together one more way to set your indoor garden aside from the rest . permit ’s take a look a small deeper as to what really drive up the costs of these extremely sought after plants .
Rarity
The line of descent story of this plant explicate part of why they are so expensive – oddment .
To keep the mutant that result from variegation , you require to circularise via cutting off or tissue cultivation . This is atime - consume process , peculiarly when all cutting come from one works let out late .
Growers can only create so many of these plant in a given class , based on how many they have to set out with and how much they can remove from the original plants without harm maturation . These plants are also snap up speedily by collectors andoften sell out .
combine these factors , it ’s not hard to see why there are so few of these plants in circulation . And , the rarer the industrial plant , the higher the price it fetches , head to exorbitant prices .
Popularity
Pink Princess Philodendrons are a social media star . They are beloved by collectors and rare plant partisan everywhere . As there are so few houseplant with pinkish variegation , they instantly became aviral sensation .
unluckily , thispopularity also lend to its expense . As with any good , the more masses are concerned in it , the more raiser can charge .
This element is also combined with oddment , as we be intimate there are manypopular houseplants without high monetary value tag . But , since so many people want them andthey sell out frequently , growers and retail merchant know they can charge almost any price and collector will quick snatch them up .
fortuitously , this is also the reason whyprices are likely to eventually drop . As these plant become more far-flung and more people are able-bodied to propagate them , they lose their overzealous allure , top to a diminution in price .
Within a few years , Pink Princesses will in all probability bemore low-priced and commonplace , supplant by the next magnanimous thing in houseplants that year .
Difficulty To Propagate
As note before , this plant can only be reproduced viacuttings or tissue polish . Cuttings take long to grow into plants large enough to sell , and tissue culture is a comparatively expensive operation .
No matter which method acting is chosen , grower demand resources and sentence to regurgitate these plants . This leads tohigher costsas grower seek to recoup the money put into their investment . After all , they do need to make some profit at the end of the daylight , or they would n’t be in business .
Some of the money invested in generation ultimately operate to waste too due to the flora ’s variegation . When spread variegated plant life , there isno guarantee that the carving will produce a plant with the same levels of variegation .
Color is what most people are after when buy these industrial plant . This means growers can only sell Pink Princesses withhigh enough levels of diversification . Several plants in the propagating process , therefore , go to ‘ waste ’ , in theory . Many of them can not fetch the same price as a highly variegated plant .
The more exit there are in a mickle , the high-pitched the price will probably be . There are ways to determine variegation loss , such as starting with a extremely variegated parent plant , but it is mostly leave to opportunity and out of the propagator ’s hands .
Difficulty To Care For
Variegation levels also impactcare difficulty . While they are not unmanageable plants to give care for in comparison with some fussier houseplants , certain condition need to be assemble to maintain the variegation degree . This is important in parliamentary procedure to keep the industrial plant looking its best before the sale .
keep this lush look alsouses up plenty of resourcesthat end up tot to the cost of reproducing the plant . Growers keep a close eye on light levels , humidity , and moisture . This helps to secure no diversification is recede or no harm is done to the parting .
look at how much care you put into a single plant life . Then , multiply that by thousands , if not hundreds of thou , per twelvemonth . As the Pink Princessremains in a grower ’s care for a whilebefore they wait well enough to betray , it ’s graspable that they charge more for this extra endeavour .
Caring For This Expensive Plant
These factor all contribute to the expense of a Pink Princess Philodendron . So , if you do manage to find one , it can bedevastating to drop off out on that moneyif your plant life begins to struggle .
Correct aid is vitalto assert variegation and appearance . That ’s why it ’s vital to stick to these steps to provide exactly what these works need to thrive .
Light is one of the factor responsible for thelevels of diversification in the leaves . Give your Pink Princess promising collateral light for at least 8 hours per day to keep them happy . Move them aside from intense verbatim Dominicus , which can burn the leaves , or scummy light , which can cause the color to revert .
Your Pink Princess prefers soil that ismoist but not waterlogged . Wait for the top few inch of soil to dry out before watering again .
Plant in a potting mix that is impractical andwell - draining to prevent root rot . It should also hold just enough moisture to keep the roots saturated without overdoing it .
select a bay window that islarge enough to reconcile the ascendant systemand give up for rapid growth – these works can grow quite declamatory under the proper conditions . The pot should also have enough drain holes to stop water from pool at the bottom .
Final Thoughts
After looking at what goes into reproducing these plants and how look for - after they are , it ’s promiscuous to see why they are so expensive . But that does n’t mean they are n’t deserving the cost if you want to coiffe your indoor gardening blank space apart from others . In fact , for many works aggregator and rare houseplant lover , these beauties arewell worth the expense .
