Those were the exact words that came out of my mouth when I was scrolling through a Facebook Plant group (which I may or may not be in) last night. Okay, so I’m only slowly stepping foot into the house plant game and looking wide-eyed at your usual Snow Queens and VCOH’s.
But nothing made my eyes wider (not in the good way) when I saw the bids go up and up and up for a TradeMe post for a weird curly-looking plant titled: Hoya Compacta Hindu Rope – Reverse Variegated!!!!
The four exclamation points were absolutely VITAL and actually expresses the emotion behind every bidder on this, quite well.
So with a title like that and some iPhone photos – this TradeMe user didn’t know what was about to hit them.
Image via Trade Me post
So, what makes this plant worth so much?
Honestly, it’s a simple answer. The fact that it is variegated which is incredibly sought-after for the plant community, it being a Hoya which is also a popular plant at the moment, and it’s the only listing of its kind on TradeMe. Add the crazy plant craze we are all on at the moment in New Zealand (guilty), it just makes sense. Right?
The last crazy plant auction over on TradeMe, which seems to be a regular occurrence now, was an almost $5k for a “monster monstera“. But now, this Hoya Compacta takes the crown for the most expensive plant to be sold on TradeMe.
And like a TradeMe user said, “Thank you to these bidders for the afternoon entertainment for all NZ plant enthusiasts.”
