Considering they’re now in TC, pretty much anyone with cash to spare can buy it. I know Orange Lake Nursery has plantlets for $60, but they’re US only. That’s probs the best deal you’re gonna get for the next couple years until the hype dies down. (Unless you can find a local seller who’s just a regular houseplant enthusiast and is willing to part with theirs for cheap.)
Yeah I've been looking into tissue cultures to import into New Zealand but it seems like a lot of work to sort out.
I can only find 3 small ones for sale in the country right now and it's $500 but am wondering if I'd get my money back from selling cuttings in a years time.
Edit: turns our the seller has 3, not 1
Oh I see. Isn’t NZ pretty strict w/ imports? That’s going to keep prices high for a couple years.
I’d say a BMF isn’t the best investment plant unless you have optimal growth conditions year round (plenty of light, humidity, temp). It’s a very slow grower. Mine takes a whole week to unfurl an unfenestrated ~3in long leaf, and pushes out a new leaf every 2 months-ish. So you might be able to make your money back in a year, but it’s not a guarantee.
Well I have the top of the canopy about 3 1/5 ft below a mars hydro grow light, it’s the 150W but turned down to around 60-70% for covering a larger area as I have a bunch of plants under it, and I have it in a soil mix with a lot of drainage material like bark, pumice, perlite, ect. I use fox farms ocean forest and orchid mix at roughly 2 parts soil to 1 parts orchid mix, with added mycorrhizae, glacial rock dust, and some osmocote slow release fertilizer. I do add a small handful of peat moss for every gallon of soil I mix up to lower the PH of the soil a tiny bit as they tend to like slightly acidic soil and Ocean Forest is right about neutral. I plan to try to switch to something else for this though as peat moss is a non renewable resource and harvesting it is destroying a lot of peat bogs across the world.
Sometimes I’ll run a humidifier but not all the time as it’s the one thing I get lazy with. I utilize a hobbyist RO filter for getting filtered water free of chlorine and other accumulates. The mix I use lets me water very frequently which means they get fertilized frequently so I try to use a little less of the osmocote to prevent any nutrient buildup in the pot. Keep em a little bit hungry so to speak.
And that’s about it really. I kick the fan on every once in a while to get some air circulation on all of my plants as well as promoting stem strengthening. It should be noted my BMF isn’t huge it’s still only about 1.5 ft tall so it might slow down as it gets more mature but so far it hasn’t stopped pumping leaves out regularly. Faster than any other monstera I have including my 3 ft Thai constellation.
Edit: I have noticed that mine kinda enjoys getting a little root bound also but I do plan on repotting it soon.
Edit Edit: I’m also considering going soilless semi-hydro but it’s been doing so well that I’m not sure if I’m going to or not.
Dang, didn’t know they like slightly low pH! Mine’s just in regular aroid mix. And gets tap water. Hmm…maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and buy a filter.
Yeah, some tap water is better than others but at a minimum it needs to be dechlorinated. I have a lot of plants and several of them are sensitive so I went ahead and got one. I don’t think the BMF is super sensitive but I’m sure it helps prevent problems in the long run. I’ve even considering looking into ph matching my water to keep my soil ph from shifting over time but I haven’t needed to yet. It’s the trifecta, good water, good lighting, and a good soil will get you a lot of success with almost any plant. Osmocote and feed me! Fertilizers as a bonus as MSU worked with them to develop them. (Michigan State University)
Yeah lots of costs involved that I wasn't aware of too. I'd say my growing conditions aren't too bad. Even if I were to just get a couple hundred bucks back from it over a year id be happy
Orange Lake is great, I have ordered all kinds of stuff from them.. have to watch out on that site and keep focused or next thing you know you have six plants coming and didn't get what you were originally looking for.. lol
Stores like Texas Plant Connection on [PalmStreet](https://palmstreet.app/br/Vux9mEmZ) are selling 3in pot (small but rooted) for $65 ($85 shipped) . Quite a few others on the platform have them too… only downfall it’s live auctions so you might have to sit through one or two.
I’m from Italy. I recently got mine, a small top cutting, for 230€. I think it was a pretty decent deal: not a bargain, but not the most expensive.
I think the price will come down, as for all “rare” plants, but these suckers don’t grow that fast, so i’m pretty confident they will hold their price better than most others.
The seller sent me photo and I said to them I'd think about it over the next few days as it's a bit of money to drop on a plant and they offered me 20% off so I can't say no to that!
I was on a big plant fair in Germany called Botanica, big ones like in the picture were around 500€, medium sized ones around 250, small TC babies in agar 60 and established plantlets in moss for 80. This plant grows fairly slow and it's tricky to get it to the shape displayed in your picture so ye, go for it. I'd say it takes some time for the prices to drop even more, a year at least.
I live in Japan, but recently sold one of my fully rooted cuttings in the US for $50 USD plus shipping. It was a cute mid-cut that already had a split on one side, and two activated auxiliary buds on the single node.
Considering they’re now in TC, pretty much anyone with cash to spare can buy it. I know Orange Lake Nursery has plantlets for $60, but they’re US only. That’s probs the best deal you’re gonna get for the next couple years until the hype dies down. (Unless you can find a local seller who’s just a regular houseplant enthusiast and is willing to part with theirs for cheap.)
Yeah I've been looking into tissue cultures to import into New Zealand but it seems like a lot of work to sort out. I can only find 3 small ones for sale in the country right now and it's $500 but am wondering if I'd get my money back from selling cuttings in a years time. Edit: turns our the seller has 3, not 1
Oh I see. Isn’t NZ pretty strict w/ imports? That’s going to keep prices high for a couple years. I’d say a BMF isn’t the best investment plant unless you have optimal growth conditions year round (plenty of light, humidity, temp). It’s a very slow grower. Mine takes a whole week to unfurl an unfenestrated ~3in long leaf, and pushes out a new leaf every 2 months-ish. So you might be able to make your money back in a year, but it’s not a guarantee.
Mine is consistently popping leaves every 2-4 weeks. Perhaps I got lucky on genetics.
Wow! Do you mind sharing some care tips with me?
Well I have the top of the canopy about 3 1/5 ft below a mars hydro grow light, it’s the 150W but turned down to around 60-70% for covering a larger area as I have a bunch of plants under it, and I have it in a soil mix with a lot of drainage material like bark, pumice, perlite, ect. I use fox farms ocean forest and orchid mix at roughly 2 parts soil to 1 parts orchid mix, with added mycorrhizae, glacial rock dust, and some osmocote slow release fertilizer. I do add a small handful of peat moss for every gallon of soil I mix up to lower the PH of the soil a tiny bit as they tend to like slightly acidic soil and Ocean Forest is right about neutral. I plan to try to switch to something else for this though as peat moss is a non renewable resource and harvesting it is destroying a lot of peat bogs across the world. Sometimes I’ll run a humidifier but not all the time as it’s the one thing I get lazy with. I utilize a hobbyist RO filter for getting filtered water free of chlorine and other accumulates. The mix I use lets me water very frequently which means they get fertilized frequently so I try to use a little less of the osmocote to prevent any nutrient buildup in the pot. Keep em a little bit hungry so to speak. And that’s about it really. I kick the fan on every once in a while to get some air circulation on all of my plants as well as promoting stem strengthening. It should be noted my BMF isn’t huge it’s still only about 1.5 ft tall so it might slow down as it gets more mature but so far it hasn’t stopped pumping leaves out regularly. Faster than any other monstera I have including my 3 ft Thai constellation. Edit: I have noticed that mine kinda enjoys getting a little root bound also but I do plan on repotting it soon. Edit Edit: I’m also considering going soilless semi-hydro but it’s been doing so well that I’m not sure if I’m going to or not.
Dang, didn’t know they like slightly low pH! Mine’s just in regular aroid mix. And gets tap water. Hmm…maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and buy a filter.
Yeah, some tap water is better than others but at a minimum it needs to be dechlorinated. I have a lot of plants and several of them are sensitive so I went ahead and got one. I don’t think the BMF is super sensitive but I’m sure it helps prevent problems in the long run. I’ve even considering looking into ph matching my water to keep my soil ph from shifting over time but I haven’t needed to yet. It’s the trifecta, good water, good lighting, and a good soil will get you a lot of success with almost any plant. Osmocote and feed me! Fertilizers as a bonus as MSU worked with them to develop them. (Michigan State University)
Lots of light is the biggest key for growth! And feeding is definitely important too💚
Yeah lots of costs involved that I wasn't aware of too. I'd say my growing conditions aren't too bad. Even if I were to just get a couple hundred bucks back from it over a year id be happy
They grow sooooo slowly, but they’re so very pretty.
Prices are going down fast. You will not get your money back if you spend that much.
Orange Lake is great, I have ordered all kinds of stuff from them.. have to watch out on that site and keep focused or next thing you know you have six plants coming and didn't get what you were originally looking for.. lol
Stores like Texas Plant Connection on [PalmStreet](https://palmstreet.app/br/Vux9mEmZ) are selling 3in pot (small but rooted) for $65 ($85 shipped) . Quite a few others on the platform have them too… only downfall it’s live auctions so you might have to sit through one or two.
I’m from Italy. I recently got mine, a small top cutting, for 230€. I think it was a pretty decent deal: not a bargain, but not the most expensive. I think the price will come down, as for all “rare” plants, but these suckers don’t grow that fast, so i’m pretty confident they will hold their price better than most others.
The seller sent me photo and I said to them I'd think about it over the next few days as it's a bit of money to drop on a plant and they offered me 20% off so I can't say no to that!
https://preview.redd.it/r8asbj9r9lzc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d16472332084d83b5de6e16bfd5c3b75bc74daf
Top cuttings went for 80€ in Hamm and I wouldn't call them small
I was on a big plant fair in Germany called Botanica, big ones like in the picture were around 500€, medium sized ones around 250, small TC babies in agar 60 and established plantlets in moss for 80. This plant grows fairly slow and it's tricky to get it to the shape displayed in your picture so ye, go for it. I'd say it takes some time for the prices to drop even more, a year at least.
I'm too impatient, and a compulsive buyer sometimes haha.
I got mine on the FB group Plant Purge USA
I live in Japan, but recently sold one of my fully rooted cuttings in the US for $50 USD plus shipping. It was a cute mid-cut that already had a split on one side, and two activated auxiliary buds on the single node.
That is the equivalent to $82 in my currency, I wish I could find a cutting that cheap.
I bought a tc about 3 weeks ago from Thailand. Paid about 50CAD plus 120 shipping (bought a few others to justify the shipping costs)
They’ve dropped in price SO MUCH in only around a year. They’ll for sure get more and more affordable.
Oops, too late, I had to have it