Top 10 Most Expensive Plants in The World

Plant kingdom is not simply meant for supplying oxygen and beautifying the place – it even contains a world of opulence and exclusivity where some of the plants cost an awful lot. These plants extend from wild grown plant species in remote regions to the artificially grown breeds that take years to produce by horticulturists.

They symbolize the epitome of the natural, scientific, and economic cardinalities. They found out that, understanding what makes or keep certain species expensive gives one a good feel on issues of rarity, care and demand.

It may be that one has a knack for plants, loves travelling and discovering wildlife, or just plain curious in wanting to know which plants make history, are expensive and why they are so.

The following is a list of the Top 10 Most Expensive Plants in The World, a glance at how they are grown, the best environments for them, and why they are so costly.

1. Shenzhen Nongke Orchid

Shenzhen Nongke Orchid

Price: $200,000

Cultivation: The Shenzhen Nongke Orchid is a result of a controlled scientific cultivation that took researchers from China 8 years to produce intentionally. It is one that needs man-interference and is produced by selective breeding hence grown in environments that include greenhouse that allows manipulation of factors such as temperature and humidity. Not only does this orchid have bright colors and a unique shape, but it only blooms once in every 4-5 years.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: They do best under protected structures especially where modern horticultural research is well developed such as in China, Japan and some parts of Europe and North America.

Single Person Cultivation: Impossible when done by individuals because it demands science and resources in planting.

Why It’s Valuable: However, the Shenzhen Nongke Orchid is not only rare but scientifically produced making it inter stellar rather than intrinsically rare. This is through research in farming, and the fact that while the orchid is attractive, it blooms for a short duration only makes it all the more appealing to those who cultivate these plants.

2. Juliet Rose

Price: $15,800

Cultivation: Developed by David Austin a renowned breeder the Juliet Rose took over 15 years of breeding. It does best in soils with good drainage, full sun exposure and should be pruned from time to time. This rose prefers a moderate climate and is unsuitable for the hot summer; hence, it grows best in English gardens or similar climate.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: It can be grown successfully in the UK, Northern Europe, some parts in North America and New Zealand because the climates in these regions are relatively moderate.

Single Person Cultivation: While it is possible for your gardener to tend for the Juliet Rose, it is best to handle the flower by an experienced rose gardener or breeder since it would need certain techniques in rose growing.

Why It’s Valuable: The Juliet Rose is also known as possessing a pale peach hue and a perfectly shaped rose. It took fifteen years to create and a good amount of money to make which along with the beauty of the flowers required the high prices. That is why it became known as the ‘£3 million rose’ due to expenses on its creation.

3. Saffron Crocus

Saffron Crocus

Price: $5,000 per pound of saffron

Cultivation: Saffron Crocus is cultivated for flowers stigmas that are harvested manually for the preparation of saffron. This tree prefers the water resin with a lot of sunlight and dry summers to grow well in soils that drain well in the Mediterranean region.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: Saffron is cultivated in cultures that include Iran, Spain, Italy, and India with the region of Kashmir well-known for the product.

Single Person Cultivation: Yes, saffron farming on small scale is conceivable but as you have read, it requires a great deal of manual labor because of the need to pick the stigma manually. An individual can also pay attention to a small piece of land but requires detail work on it.

Why It’s Valuable: Thus, saffron are called ‘red gold’ due to the fact that getting the threads demands several rather complex operations. From 75,000 saffron flowers, only one pound of saffron is produced and that’s why saffron is among the most expensive spices on the globe.

4. Gold of Kinabalu Orchid

Gold of Kinabalu Orchid

Price : $5,000 per stem

Cultivation: Orchid was found in Kinabalu National Park in Malaysia and prefers high altitudes with high humidity and moderate temperatures. It is a challenging plant to grow and does not do well away from its tropical home and takes fifteen years to flower.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: In Malaysia, specially the reserves and other protected areas of conservation. Specialised growing glasshouses as mimics of the natural setting where it grows may be required during its cultivation.

Single Person Cultivation: Not recommended. Because of its extremely limited availability due to its status as an endangered species, it should only be grown by botanists and conservationists.

Why It’s Valuable: The Gold of Kinabalu Orchid is much sought due to its yellow-green color with red blotches coupled with it belonging to the endangered species. This orchid is found in Kinabalu National Park only, and due to it being extremely scarce, it is one of the priciest flora’s on the planet.

5. Old Pine Bonsai Tree

Price: $1.3 million

Cultivation: Such bonsai is 400 years old and needs a strict trim, and constant monitoring of the ground and the amount of water and light necessary for tree’s life. Bonsai is not just in cultivating plants but it is definitely a form of art that takes about three decades to cultivate.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: Bonsai trees are originally from Japan, but they are cultivated almost anywhere in the globe especially temperate countries like China, Korea, the United States, and Italy.

Single Person Cultivation: Well, yes, to get a bonsai to this level of skilled mastery takes generations of work; thus one person may only grow part of the bonsai during his or her lifetime.

Why It’s Valuable: This bonsai’s worth is not in the years – it is four hundred – but in the centuries’ worth of expertise to carve and preserve its stunted form. Many people tend to consider bonsai trees is a form of art and having trees reach this level of growth requires a lot of effort and hard work hence their high value.

6. Variegated Monstera Deliciosa

Price: $5,000 per plant

Cultivation: Monstera Albo’s care includes bright indirect light and a humidity level above 50%. It is a very fast growing one and bears fruit prefering warm climates of the tropics or areas that the climate can be maintained to be warm and wet.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: Most suitable for tropical regions of world like Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil or for green houses all over the world.

Single Person Cultivation: Yes, this plant is mostly cultivated at homes or greenhouses by enthusiast but difficulty in maintaining variegation arises.

Why It’s Valuable: The Variegated Monstera’s striking foliage of irregular, brightly white and dark green patches are all part of the plant’s genetic makeup. It has remained scarce in their natural habitat, and the ability to sustain the diversification of its color pattern makes it very valuable to collectors.

7. Hoya Carnosa Compacta ‘Hindu Rope’:

Price: $6,500 per plant

Cultivation: They prefer indi-rect light and do not need frequent watering, making its growth within homes possible. They thrive in warm temperatures and have low humidity tolerance hence not as demanding as many other fancy plants.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: It can be cultivated at any place in the globe and commercially, however, it belongs to the tropical area such as India and Southeast Asia.

Single Person Cultivation: Yes, this accounts for the fact that most home gardeners opt for this plant because of the little that needs to be done on it.

Why It’s Valuable: The Hoya Carnosa Compacta is beneficial due to curly leaves of the plant and for the ability to maintain it healthy. It is expensive because of its shape and it is rarely found growing wild in the wild.

8. Philodendron Minima ‘Variegata’

Price: $2,000 per plant

Cultivation: The Philodendron Pink Princess grows best in an environment that is placed in a bright indirect light area with high humidity. It prefers a well-drained environment and requires frequent spraying for color changes to be enhanced.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: It can be cultivated in tropical regions of Central and South America or can be grown as an indoor plant throughout the world.

Single Person Cultivation: Yes, this plant is popular among indoor plant lover, but to get the right combination of pink and green is quite a challenge.

Why It’s Valuable: It is a unique plant with pink and green stripped leaves, so every leaf of this plant is a masterpiece in its way. The scarcity of this kind of hen and the challenge of reproducing stable variegation help to put the bird in this category.

9. Neoregelia ‘Black Knight’:

Price: $2,000 per plant

Cultivation: This bromeliad needs partial shade and is content with moderately acidic, dry soil. It thrives best in areas with humidity and heat, which is why it is most often associated with tropical climates, but you can easily grow it indoors if properly watered.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: This plant is from Brazil but thrives in tropical climate, although it can be cultivated inside other countries.

Single Person Cultivation: Yes, it can be grown by the hobbyists and those who also cultivate indoor gardens but keeping the right environment for it is very important.

Why It’s Valuable: The Black Knight is prized for its glossy, dark almost black foliage, which is incredibly rare to find in plant kingdom. It is rare and very conspicuous, making it suitable for collection.

10. Alocasia Azlanii:

Price: $1,500 per plant

Cultivation: The Alocasia Azlanii grows best in conditions of high humidity, filtered light, and in hummus, well draining soil. It is mostly a plant that grows well under warm conditions, such as tropical regions; when grown at home, in colder regions, it is often best grown indoors.

Country Suitable for Cultivation: Originating from Malaysia, it is suitable for the same geographical climate or can be cultivated in a greenhouse.

Single Person Cultivation: Oh, yes, it is one of the more sought after plants and can be cultivated by anyone with some understanding of humidity and the amount of light in the area.

Why It’s Valuable: This plant is appreciated for its leaves that glitter with colors of jewels with hues of pink and purplе. That is why it is considered as an ornamental plant since its appearance and rarity make it be a target of people who enjoy horticulture.

Why Expensive Plants Matter

Examining inaccessible plants as aesthetics opens many interpretations that go beyond admiration; it discusses the tendencies found in rarity, care, and value. These plants need to be possessed with some certain amount of information and method of cultivation and hence there is a sense of pride and commitment associated with these plants.

Regardless of being a hobbyist, plant collector or a curious individual fascinated with world of flora the process of growing these plants provides both, pleasure and a challenge. The price of those items is not their primary value – every face reflects the story and time, each lens – the art of creation and the phenomenon of nature.


  1. Why are some plants so expensive?

    Tough to grow, scarce and in high demand are the reasons that make plants expensive. Most of these plants are tender variants that can be very difficult to locate in their natural habitat, or plants that need special conditions to grow well. Some has been nurtured for many years through selective breeding thus their value

  2. Can a single person cultivate these expensive plants?

    Indeed, it is still possible to domesticate some of these plants by a single individual if and only if they possess the necessary knowledge and environment requisites. However, some demands need scientific knowledge or specific conditions that cannot be cultivated individually, for example, the Shenzhen Nongke Orchid, or the Gold of Kinabalu Orchid.

  3. Which countries are suitable for growing these expensive plants?

    Most of these plants are from tropical or temperature regions like SE Asia, Europe and some parts of North America. Specific countries include:
    Shenzhen Nongke Orchid: Restricted nations such as china or Japan.
    Saffron Crocus: The Mediterranean origin can be seen in Iran, Spain and the Indian sub continent.
    Old Pine Bonsai: Countries located in the temperate region like Japan, China and Italy etc.
    Variegated Monstera: Outside – in certain geographical climates such as Thailand or Brazil or inside closed spaces.

  4. Why is the Shenzhen Nongke Orchid so valuable?

    This kind of orchid is adopted exceptionally simply because this is a Shenzhen Nongke Orchid that underwent 8 years research by agricultural scientists. This flower is rare, and only blooms for a period of 4-5 years contributing to its cost.

  5. What makes the Juliet Rose so expensive?

    This rose hybrid is one of the many creations of over fifteen years’ effort in cross breeding by an Australian rose breeder known as David Austin. The rose has the gorgeous peach color and it blooms perfectly which makes it an important asset to the collectors of roses.

  6. Can I grow saffron at home?

    Yes, saffron can be grown at home, but it requires specific conditions: These conditions include right drainage, full sun, and low humidity in summers. Saffron harvesting entails a processes whereby each flower produces a small of the spice and the exercise is time consuming.

  7. What makes bonsai trees like the Old Pine Bonsai so valuable?

    Such trees, as the Old Pine Bonsai, are recognized as art forms that are living. This particular bonsai is over 400 years old, this is why it takes generations of master to maintain it in shape and healthy state. Due to its age, the special attention paid to its construction and the fact that it was created as artwork the purse is rather steep.

  8. What is the best way to care for the Variegated Monstera?

    The Variegated Monstera is a relatively new species of Monstera and grows best in bright, indirect light, high humidity, moderate watering. It is somewhat tender to over-irrigation, and direct sunlight may burn its beautiful white and green foliage. This is a plant that is best suited to controlled environments indoors.

  9. Are all expensive plants difficult to care for?

    In fact, there are some beautiful plants that are expensive but very easy to grow. Some of them include; Hoya Carnosa Compacta that requires little attention and can be grown indoors. However, others, such as the Gold of Kinabalu Orchid, have dependencies on small conditions that make the growth highly technical.

  10. Why are variegated plants more expensive?

    The variegated plants cost more money because variegation is a natural mutation, which is rare to come by. Such a system through propagation is difficult to maintain, and thus helps to enhance the plant’s scarcity and desirability.

  11. Can I purchase these expensive plants easily?

    Such easy-growing species as Variegated Monstera or Philodendron Pink Princess can be bought in specialised nurseries or online plant stores. Nevertheless, species such as the Gold of Kinabalu Orchid are less common and may be bought from a particular collector or from conservation programs.

  12. Are expensive plants a good investment?

    In a way, yes, that particular plant is an investment because it is so rare and highly sought after within the plant community. However, they should be well taken for them to retain that value and as the matters in the plant world change, so does the price in the market.