How to Grow a Houseplant Collection on a Budget
Houseplants are a great addition to your living space, but beauty doesn’t come cheap. Obtaining and maintaining plants takes time, space, and perhaps most importantly, money . While plant prices vary widely, the average cost per plant is $25 up front and $23 a year to care for.
But all is not lost for aspiring parents on a budget. While you can spend some money on supplies over time, you don’t have to shell out a lot to get started.
Where to Buy Cheap (or Free) Houseplants
You don’t have to pay a lot of money to your local garden nursery to start your houseplant collection. Here are a few other places where you can find cheaper or free plants:
- Facebook Marketplace, “Buy Nothing” and Online Classifieds . Check your local buying and selling sites to find plants for little or nothing from people who are moving or whose space isn’t ideal for plants to thrive. In addition to the Marketplace, you can search Buy Nothing hyperlocal/neighborhood groups on Facebook where you can request plants or cuttings for free.
- Local garden clubs . Local garden groups often hold workshops and giveaways of plants and other supplies for free or at a discount.
- Plant exchange . Check out Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor and other local plant sharing pages where people bring plants and cuttings to trade. These events are sometimes hosted by community organizations and self-help groups, or you can organize them yourself.
- Real estate, rummage, and yard sales . You can find inexpensive houseplants along with furniture, homewares, and other items at garage sales.
- Parties and events . The next time you go to a wedding or fundraiser, ask if you can take the potted plants home at the end of the evening.
- Barter or exchange with friends, family, colleagues and social networks . Do you have a special skill or item to trade? Ask other plant parents if they are willing to give you plants or cuttings in exchange.
- Garden centers . While your local nursery or large garden center is not the first place to find free or cheap houseplants, you can sometimes find discount or sale items (which may require a little extra effort) or even convince the staff to let you take fallen leaves for propagation. at home.
- Abandoned plants . Sometimes buyers return neglected plants to garden centers and you can negotiate a lower purchase price. Or, if you see a plant in poor condition at a store you frequent or a friend’s house, simply offer to take it home.
How to make a collection of indoor plants with your own hands
In addition to collecting plants and cuttings from other people and places, you can also grow your collection yourself for less cost than an adult houseplant:
- Propagate existing plants . Get more out of the plants you already have using one of several propagation methods .
- Collect leaves . The ethics of this approach is up to you , but another way to get cuttings is to simply take them from gardens, parks, your neighbor’s yard, etc.
- Start with seeds . This applies not only to garden vegetables. You can also grow houseplants like monstera and cacti straight from seed for a much lower cost than buying a full grown plant.
- Bring outdoor (and wild) plants inside . You can try bringing wild plants home, like roadside succulents and aloe, or moving outdoor plants indoors for the winter. Before bringing anything wild into your home, be sure to check for pests.
Finally, you can save money by getting creative with containers. Not every houseplant needs a fancy pot and stand. Reuse (clean) plastic baby pots, jars and tins (with holes drilled in the bottom), and discarded plates and bowls instead of buying pots and trays.