John Porter didn’t know he had a gold mine hanging in the corner of his home office until he posted a picture of his thriving Monstera albo plant on Facebook.
“People were asking for a cutting and wanting to pay me money,” he said. “I thought maybe I should explore this.”
Porter, urban agriculture program coordinator for the Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties, ended up selling five leaf cuttings for a total of $675.

Porter
Sydney Sehi bought two of them for $260 − this variety with its white variegations is one she has lusted after for a long time. She had sold doubles of several plants and hosted an art class, so she’d be ready to buy if one became available.
“It was actually a really good going rate for this plant,” she said. “I just saw a mint or mohito Monstera that went for $35,000. That’s insane.”
People are also reading…
Maybe pre-coronavirus pandemic. But buying houseplants − especially the uncommon varieties − has exploded in the past year. It’s the same with the accessories that go with them.

A Monstera deliciosa albo, one of Sehi’s specialty plants.
Sales had already been trending upward but retail gardening as a whole grew almost 9% in the past year.
“Houseplants are kind of the hot thing in the pandemic,” said Shannon Beck, co-owner with Abby Fleek of a new downtown plant store called Nodest.
Sehi, whose plant collection has grown to between 75 and 100 since she and husband Sam recently purchased a house in Benson, said there’s a couple of reasons why.
First, she said, is that everyone is stuck at home and can’t travel and is missing the novel experiences they once enjoyed. They’re seeing nature in a new way through houseplants. Secondly, younger people living in apartments don’t have gardens, so they’re buying fun inside plants instead.

Sydney Sehi's cutting of the Monstera deliciosa albo is seen at her home in Omaha on Wednesday.
It’s insidious, she said. Once you buy one, you start to fuss with it, making sure it’s in the perfect spot to thrive and maybe look good on your social media posts. Then you buy a humidifier to combat the dry air in your home, which the newcomer doesn’t like.
“Suddenly, you are into the houseplant craze,” Sehi said.
The level of interest this winter has been unprecedented at Mulhall’s Garden + Home.
January is its annual houseplant month, and the store has been trying to meet the demand with multiple shipments of plants every weekend.
“Between an already growing trend, and the fact that people are spending a lot more time at home during the pandemic, we’re seeing tons of people coming in to buy their very first plant,” buyer Jasmine Osten said. “Then pretty soon, it turns into half a dozen or more.”
Mulhall’s is also getting a growing number of requests from collectors looking for specific and hard-to-find specimens. A few that are worth hundreds of dollars, such as the albo and Thai constellation monsteras, will be available Saturday at one of the garden center’s rare plant sales. It starts at noon at the main greenhouse but beware: People line up early.
“These are plants that we may only be able to get a hold of once or twice a year, so it takes a lot of coordination with our growers to get them here, and it’s a big day when they arrive,” Osten said.
A houseplant swap at Mulhall’s is set for Jan. 30.
The plant craze has allowed smaller independent businesses to thrive, too. Places like Drips Botanical Elements and Sheelytown Market have joined The Green House locally. But big box stores like Lowe’s and area supermarkets also are selling plants and everything needed to grow them.
Members of online plant groups gleefully announce their finds. Others on Facebook are devoted to buying, selling and trading, which is how Porter and Sehi made their connection.

Owners Shannon Beck, left, and Abby Fleek next to the soil bar at the Nodest plant store downtown.
The two met at Nodest, located within Bad Seed Coffee & Supply at 24th and Harney Streets. Not only does Nodest sell plants but it has a soil bar in which you can purchase the perfect mix for that new baby.
It’s great for apartment dwellers who don’t have room for big bags of potting mixtures, Beck said. Each mix, at $3 a pound, comes with a fun name, such as Desert Daddy for cactus and succulents. All contain local compost churned out by Hillside Solutions.
“Oh my gosh, we’ve had a lot of success,” Beck said. “You can’t beat coffee and plants.”
Our best Omaha staff photos of January 2021
Our best Omaha staff photos of January 2021

An empty seating area is seen through a window at Mr. Toad's Pub in the Old Market.

Snow blankets a neighborhood near Standing Bear Lake in Omaha on Friday, January 29, 2021.

'GBR', for 'Go Big Red', is written with footprints in the snow near Standing Bear Lake in Omaha on Friday, January 29, 2021.

Snow covers cars and Blondo Street east of Northwest Radial Highway on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. The Omaha area recorded almost 12 inches of snow the day before.

Steve Snow (yes, really) uses a tractor to clear his driveway in Bennington on Tuesday. The Omaha area recorded almost a foot of snow the day before, which lefts roads slick in many spots.

Juan Lentz walks north on 42nd Street towards Leavenworth Street during a winter storm warning on Monday, January 25, 2021. Lentz estimated he had gone about four miles on his five mile walk. He normally takes the bus, but the winter weather canceled bus service, so he had to walk home.

Juan Lentz pauses while walking north on 42nd Street towards Leavenworth Street during a winter storm warning on Monday, January 25, 2021. Lentz estimated he had gone about four miles on his five mile walk. He normally takes the bus, but the winter weather canceled bus service, so he had to walk home.

Rob Baum, 68, takes a break from shoveling the sidewalk near his home along Davenport Street in Omaha on Monday, January 25, 2021. At least a half-foot of snow is expected in the Omaha-metro on Monday.

Eliza Rijal, 10, her brother Aryan Rijal, 11, and their neighbor Jordan Rine, 7, run in the snow by their homes near 170th and Fort Streets in Omaha on Monday, January 25, 2021. Forecasters were expecting 10-12 inches of snow in the Omaha-metro area on Monday.

Two people hold hands while walking south on Madison Street toward 27th Avenue in Bellevue during a winter storm warning on Monday, January 25, 2021.

Diesel, a 3-year-old tiger born in Moscow, eats raw ground beef in his enclosure at the Simmons Safari Park in Ashland.

Billy Bluejay reacts to a call against Creighton.

Omaha's McKenna Ruch spikes the ball past the fingertips of Creighton's Jaela Zimmerman in the UNO vs. Creighton volleyball game at the Sokol Arena at Creighton University in Omaha on Friday, January 22, 2021. The Jays won the match in three sets.

Rose Pokorny and her son Ryan Pokorny look through an old plat map book at their business, RK’s Bar and Grill, in Malmo on Friday.

Sydney Sehi’s plant collection has grown to between 75 and 100 since she and husband Sam recently purchased a house in Benson. At top left, a, Monstera deliciosa albo, one of Sehi’s specialty plants. At right, visitors can brew up the perfect mix for their plant at Nodest in downtown Omaha.

Mike West looks over orders at Dirty Birds inside The Switch Beer and Food Hall in Omaha. The pickled fried chicken place is doing brisk business its first month of operation.

Players gather UNO goalie Isaiah Saville before the start of their game at Baxter Arena on Wednesday, December 09, 2021. Saville has "BLM" and a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on his helmet.

Thomas Wilkins conducts the Omaha Symphony in a performance at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021.

UNO's Claire Killianm left, tries to keep South Dakota State's Regan Nesheim from passing the ball late in the game at Baxter Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021.

A license plate is covered in snow during a January blizzard in Omaha.

Snow falls in front of a mural near 60th Street and Ames Avenue as a blizzard whips through Omaha on Friday, January 15, 2021.

Jon Jacobs cleans the snow off of his car in downtown Omaha as residents woke up to a blizzard warning on Friday, January 15, 2021. Jacobs works downtown.

About 50 Creighton students were moved into other campus housing after a ricin scare at Davis Square apartments late Thursday.

Jody Weible, a former member of Mead’s Village Planning Board, said she has developed a persistent cough because she lives near the town’s AltEn Ethanol plant. “You can’t open your windows; you can’t hang your clothes on the line,” she said.

Creighton's Shereef Mitchell takes off on a fast break as St. John's Vince Cole, left, and Greg Williams Jr. pursue in the first half on Saturday, January 09, 2021.

Creighton's Alex O'Connell gets hit by a ball as St. John's Rasheem Dunn falls over while trying to grab the loose ball in the first half on Saturday, January 09, 2021.

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner dunks the ball against Seton Hall's Ike Obiagu.

Seniors Aysha Ridley and Quintin Idt work during a math readiness class at Gretna High School. The class is in partnership with Metro Community College.

Deer walk through snow at Zorinsky Lake in Omaha on Thursday, January 07, 2021.

A snowball is thrown at a counterprotester driving by on K Street on the north side of the Nebraska State Capitol on Wednesday. Protesters had gathered to protest the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Fog begins to lift as the downtown Omaha skyline starts to appear as viewed from the Lincoln Monument in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Monday, January 04, 2021.

The front room at the Hepburn home. Megan loves using color; she thinks it’s more fun for daughters Harriet and Georgie. She painted the flower picture.

The Holiday Lights Festival’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks Spectacular fireworks show filled the sky over downtown Omaha Thursday.