What's the most you ever paid for a plant?

I paid $100.00 for a full size weeping pussy willow 3 years ago. It's beautiful and was worth every cent. It's just finishing up it's spring bloom.

Do Rocks count?I paid a 100 for a rock with a Sumac growing in it.

$125.00 for a Dawn Redwood about 15 foot tall. It is doing very well at about 30 feet in NY on the backslope of the large pond.

Thanks for the information, Adam.


sbarr, hmmm, sounds like a plan... they are protected now though, in Brazil, so it would be quite an adventure... when do you want to go?

There should be a distinction made between trees and plants or bulbs, if we are to actually consider "most paid". $100 for a tree of any appreciable size isn't a lot in my area. That usually comes with a guarantee, and sometimes even includes delivery. By comparison, $50 for a single iris rhizome is hefty, at least in my budget. Several years ago, I did bite the bullet and buy such a gem. Since I am "Queen of Cheap" in a family of card-carrying misers, this is astonishing. In my own defense, I submit that it must be divided every three years, and by now it is actually in the black. Unfortunately, I moved away and left the original, and now must beg for a replacement. Or pay the $7.49 for a replacement from the company, since they did drop dramatically after the first year. Never, ever, buy a first-year hybrid! A little patience is sure to be rewarded.

I paid 125.00 for a ficus benjamina (many years ago). It was a large healthy specimen and a house plant for about 5 years. It then out grew the house and after hardening it off I planted it in the yard. When we visit the area now I see it is still thriving and the new owners rebuilt the house and relandscaped everything but left my tree :~)

Now you can find comparable plants for about 20.00 at costco! So not everything in life has gotten more expensive.

I paid $25 for a bat plant that died. No more big ticket items for me unless I just have to have them.

Oh, Zany, it seems wrong for sunny California, where you can grow a Ficus benjamina outside, to have been so expensive a place for that little tree. I have been buying those for at least 20 years for around $5-$15. Someone should have told me, I could have bought a truck load, then paid for a nice trip with money left over, selling them there. Here, small ones can often be found in garden centers with the perennials, meaning the cost is less than $2. You can use it as a table plant for several years, repot it a couple of times and then it's 8' tall and good for a floor plant. But it's a relief to know you planted it out and it still grows. It would be toast in central Texas, before the watermelons were ripe the first year.

grin at Pardancanda - you'll laugh, I was already pricing costs of flights to Brazil out of idle (or is that idealistic) curiosity. Actually, it would be fun to do a plant tour of some part of the world. Medicinal plants of the Amazon Jungle or something like that.

I'll be in Ireland the end of this month - who knows, might find something interesting there. Wonder if Mark would look unfavorably on my sneaking up to his house and stealing his galanthus collection.

Aside from the Worsleya *but a dream*, I don't think I've ever spent much for plants - I do have my eye on some interesting hostas up to the 35 dollar range, but am enjoying my under $10 ones and will probably wait until my yard plans stabilize before spending too much money.

About 23 years ago, we paid $89.00 for a Green Japanese Lace Leaf Acer (palmatum) Maple. The trunk was about as big as my little finger, and it was about 3' tall. Today that tree is stilll only about 5' tall, but the canopy has spread as is their habit to a width of about 6'. The trunk is about 4" thick. I saw a tree a couple of years ago about the size of ours for $4,500.00 in a nursery!! It is our favorite ornamental. I need to take a picture of it - it has just leafed out this week.

For a plant, I paid $26.00 for a Blue Umbrella Hosta - My first fancy hosta.



This message was edited Thursday, Apr 3rd 7:49 AM

I paid $200.00 a couple of times for a Daylily that I really wanted for my hybridizing program. Of course now those same daylilies are less costly. But i did and do use them in crossing. Last year i really wanted a large tree for the back -west- patio for shade and paid $75.00 for a London Plane tree. This year it should creat quite a bit of shade. Donna

Oh, I like those London Plane trees - they look like sycamores. I need to learn more about them.

$200 for a single fan of daylily Tet. Lavender Blue Baby.

Yeah, I wondered if I was nuts when I did it, but daylilies and hybridizing them is something I enjoy and life is short. :-)

I almost hypervenitlated when I paid $25, I think $200 would have done me in!!!

In a way, it feels good to just let go and get something you really feel impassioned about owning and growing. I agree, life is short, and you really can't take it with you. If you leave behind filthy lucre, people might fight about it, but to leave behind a tree is to leave a living reminder that you passed this way, and you weren't just a taker.

Growing is the key word here. i don't mind paying if it will grow!

I really liked this one the other day,they had it in with the 40%off plants,it was not on sale,$199.

Japanese Maple Trees go to the top of my $$$$$ list! I even purchase these trees on SALE at the end of the season and they were $100 a piece for 5 year old trees!

My DH had a fit when he saw the charge on our VISA card, but that was years ago. He's forgotten about it NOW! :~)

I believe I posted some pictures in our plant database of its spectacular fall foliage. YEPH, it was definitely worth every penny!!!!!!

If I lived up north, I would have lots of those! They are beautiful.

Rootdoctor, what is that plant? I see what I think is a majesty palm in the background? I recently bought one of those for $8, so I'm assuming the REALLY expensive one is the little one in the foreground. Appears to be a palm too?

Edited because I can't spell so good sometimes.

This message was edited Wednesday, Apr 2nd 11:13 PM

sbarr, you know... grants are available for persons traveling with plant collecting in mind. I know that SIGNA offers some if one is collecting rare Iris. It must take quite a presentation though to be awarded the money! Let's hold off on Brazil until Carnevale (just about a year away).

They had all the palms together,so it is probably a majesty,the little one is the one that was 200,I could not believe it,they told me it was not a misprint,I'll try to find out what it is,I should be back there soon.

Maybe I could find you one in Florida a little cheaper?

I have been pricing various plants locally and the differences are amazing. At one local store an Itallian cyprus in a one gallon pot was 38.00 dollars. At K-mart the same plant in the exact size and from the same nursery was 14.00. Our season is just starting and if you watch the sales you can get some bargains but most prices are way high right now as they are trying to bilk us while we are desperate to get started in the spring. So now I check prices on line first and then if it is within reason I buy local. If not I wait til we go down to the bay area to buy or order on line.

When we moved I had to leave thousands of plants behind only to drive by and see they had dug up and mowed down almost everything! Why would you buy a place and rototill everything before you had a chance to see what was planted as things surface in the spring?

Oh well, I have a very small area to plant now and will be putting almost everything in pots! Allthough I am finding out that decorative pots are expensive too and large ones, even in molded plastic, get expensive. So now I am having to search for the best deals on cheap looking pots ;~( boy could I go nuts shopping if I just had the cash!