A PLANT savvy couple have revealed how they bought a B&Q plant for £12 – but its leaves are worth £170 EACH.
Harry Langstaff and Amy Biffa spotted the leafy plant at their local DIY store, realising it was in fact an extremely rare plant that had been marked down from £24 to £12.
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The couple believe the plant had been discounted as B&Q workers mistakenly thought its yellowed leaves meant the plant was sick – but it was actually the extremely rare monstera Aurea marmorata.
Elaborately dappled versions of the species which they found, with perfect half white and half green leaves, can sell up to £2,000 for a whole plant.
Speaking to the Sun Online, the amateur botanists said they couldn’t believe their eyes when they spotted the plant.
Harry said: “When we first saw the plant sitting there, we kind of just looked at each other and really couldn’t believe what we were seeing.
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“It was reduced to £12 because it had a yellow leaf that B&Q must have assumed meant it was sick.
“For people who collect houseplants, it’s like winning the lottery, so you can imagine what we were feeling at the time.
“We hastily checked the stem for any colour, we then immediately just snatched it up and strapped it in the back seat with a seatbelt like it was our child.”
It was revealed last month that Lidl and B&Q had unknowingly been flogging rare plants worth as much £2,000 for a little as £4 as their rarities were confused for sickness.
And the couple had been searching stores for the rare plants themselves for their small business, The Plant Couple, when they made the find last December.
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Harry now reckons their plant is worth about £600 at the moment – but in the meantime they’ll sell the leaves at £170 each.
He says that in order to check whether the plant is rare or just has one yellow dry leaf, you have to check the stem to see if the white or yellow colour is coming from the stem of the plant.
Even then, you’ll need to wait until it’s grown similarly patterned leaves to confirm that it isn’t just a disease.
Rare species with lighter leaves are also often at a disadvantage to survive because the whiter colour means it’s less able to take in as much light.
“The first thing we tend to do is repot them into more rich well draining soil and really give it enough humidity and light to thrive and hope for the best,” Harry says.
For plant collectors, it’s like winning the lottery
Harry Langstaff
“We didn’t realise it was so rare until it produced a new leaf a few weeks later, it just kept getting better and better and we just couldn’t believe it.
“Our one wasn’t in amazing condition so we were so nervous it would die.”
In order to get a plant that would be worth £2,000, the couple explain that it would need to be a fully developed plant with elaborate multi-coloured leaves.
“The odds on finding this of a plant quite like this are extremely slim though, one in a million.
“But if the stem shows signs of striping, then it’s variegated (showing different colours) which will increase its value significantly.
“Beware though, as people often mistake virus on the foliage for variegation when it’s actually just sick.”
So if you’re browsing B&Q hoping to get lucky, be sure to check the stem for a yellow or white stripe, as Harry says wholesalers often mistake real variegation for dying leaves and flog gems for next to nothing.
A B&Q spokesperson said: “At B&Q we’re pretty proud of the quality of our house plants so we can see why it’s been reported that our plants could be worth up to £4,000.
“Whilst we don’t sell the extremely rare plants in question, we do sell top quality houseplants that our customers are more familiar with and that are more purse-friendly!”
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