I was one of those people. I have about 15 plants and I’m now mixing my own soil. This has become a great hobby for me.

I was a plant mom long before the pandemic hit and it makes me so happy people got on board with gardening and house plants.

The channel *Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't* was what got me into plants, this pandemic.

Everyone should grow plants and veggies and anything they can. If everyone did the world would breath better. Just saying.

This is me, I have gotten so many plants since the start of quarantine and it's really helped me stay clean.

I've had a Desert Rose plant for my entire time in college, nearly four years now, and his name is Kanan. Love the guy, he's such a steady grower and seeing him slowly grow inch after inch in my year is so rewarding. I completely understand how people can pass down bonsai from generation to generation, the Desert Rose is a similar long growing "tree-esq" plant and even though my plant is small, at the speed he's growing, he'll be in a twelve inch pot by the end of the month.

This houseplant boom was already in full swing before the pandemic hit. Most people just suddenly had more time on their hands, so they could invest more time in their hobby. More time to care for plants means you can handle more plants. 🤷🌿

My mother has houseplants older than me. I'm 42.

Why didn’t you not cover both the pros and cons of this trend? This explosion must have some negative aspects. Environmental? Labor exploitations? Price gouging, etc.?

From "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl: “The story of the young woman whose death I witnessed in a concentration camp. It is a simple story. There is little to tell and it may sound as if I had invented it; but to me it seems like a poem. This young woman knew that she would die in the next few days. But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge. "I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard," she told me. "In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously." Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, "This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness." Through that window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms. "I often talk to this tree," she said to me. I was startled and didn't quite know how to take her words. Was she delirious? Did she have occasional hallucinations? Anxiously I asked her if the tree replied. "Yes." What did it say to her? She answered, "It said to me, 'I am here-I am here-I am life, eternal life.” That's what plants are for.

I have an entire room dedicated to nothing but plants. I've always been into house plants but I've really went overboard this past year.

Over the last year 1½ i have bought 18 plants and made cuttings for 6 more. I was never one who could keep plants alive, but all are thriving. It really gives life to my once pretty empty home home

as a person who has worked at plant store prior and during the pandemic.. this is so fucking true yall were crazy about plants and gardening, i need a damn raise yall

Been growing psychedelic cacti for the last few years, and my collection has grown quite a bit. It’s a p chill hobby. But goddamn if early Vice News comment sections aren’t always an absolute fuckin’ dumpster fire. 🤦🏻

I'm so glad I'm not alone in this hahaha. My plants are like my therapy when I feel stressed out now 😅

I bought exotic plants and endangered plants so I can flex on my zoom.

The entire home decor industry has seen a boom imo.

“It’s not about having the most exotic looking plant...” “my first plant was $100” How casual to drop in irrelevant information.

Plant people: please research native plants in your area. House plants are often non-native invasive species which can cause habitat destruction. I did invasive removal in a nature park and we removed tons of ornamental houseplants. They can spread off your porch or lawn by birds or other animals. You can easily look up the plant type and see if it is invasive in your state or country. Then you can choose to only grow native plants! This simple choice can prevent habitat destruction! 😊🌱

For someone who always had a crap ton of plants, this brings me joy.

I went to prison for the first time back in March of this year. As soon as I got out I started buying plants. Now I can't stop. Lmao

Houseplants are wonderful! They make me happy.

I'm working on my clean air collection. So far 6 or 7 plants. I'd like to get more until Im surrounded

I had some easy to care for houseplants before the pandemic, but now I have like a mini jungle in my flat. I enjoy caring for them and seeing the progress and they really make the space more comfortable.

I started a COVID garden, spent way more money on plants that I don’t eat then I ever thought I would, but damn do they look fabulous

Ok. Full disclosure. I have house plants in every room, but it didn’t start with the shutdowns! I have a five foot tall Parlor Fern, and a Spiderplant taking over a table and lamp. Both have spawned ‘babies’ or seeds in which I merely replanted and created new. My only new purchase was veggies seeds and grew an indoor garden in my kitchen in a bay window. A crop of greenbeans. And strawberry seeds to start in a large planter to get year round fruit. Plants are fun, and yes clean the air. But please research plants before buying, there are many types...

Wow! Some I'm not the only one!!! Pre-Covid 3 plants. Post-Covid 24 plants!!!

Absolutely true…I literally went to the garden center and purchased about 7 house plants 🪴 Knowing damn well, they were going to die 🤦🏽‍♀️ I thought I was the only one #whoknew🤷🏽‍♀️

I buy LEGO Botanical collection sets. Save money on water and fertilizer, and don’t have to worry about it dying 👌

Remember people, some houseplants like ficus need 6+ hours of super bright light. Don't get plants if you don't have the lighting.

Although I scoffed derisively at the concept of this video, I'm glad I watched it as it was informative and weirdly relevant to our times.

I have the four left that refuse to die. A bird of paradise, the "poison bulb" A. Albafolia, "queen of the night" ceres and datura metel.

So this is why I'm spending $98 on 4 house plants in Seattle right now. Lol

I had several houseplants and started growing edible plants from seed one at a time during the pandemic. It’s really cool getting several benefits from each plant and after all that I can eat them too. Basil is so easy to grow, smells great, thrives easily, and it repels flies and mosquitoes. Maybe I’ll get an avocado from my plant one day, but if not it at least it looks pretty cool. A

In my experience, I like buying plants to avoid buying man-made stuff that will later just break, lose interest and end up in a landfill. Plants are a great way to feed the need to collect something. Eventually you can compost it to bring new life.

Same thing happened here in Indonesia. People suddenly take up on gardening as a hobby, big social media influencers are flexing their super expensive exotic plant to their audience. It's been interesting 😂

I started growing plants earlier this year, 3rd Jan I think, I bought a bunch of indoor plants for my newly moved apartment, to just give it a bit of 'life', now I have approximately 25-26 plants, right now I am so grateful to have such habit, as it really de-stresses me and gives me company, I am living in Cambodia, the situation here has gotten worse and worse since April (the latest lockdown just ended today, yah), plants play an important part to help me maintain my sanity.

My wife resembles this statement. She started bringing home free plants next thing I know the whole living room is packed.

i been hoarding house plants like an addict wayyyyy before the pandemic. on a side note, i guess there is no actual news in the world today. awesome work, vice........people buy plants. people propagate plants from cuttings. you broke the story first.

I have about 35 plants now, I bought my first one at the very beginning of the pandemic. I love my plants! 🪴

One doesn’t experience self-transcendence, the illusion of self only dissipates.🎈

Oh good, now I know why I started to take interest in plants like never before within the last year.

When I was a kid in the late 70’s would have a mini green house in a box of super sugar crisp cereal. Lol. No sugar on label today. Sad so many childhood things gone by the wayside. Grew up without internet and video games for most part. Grandparents and family had a garden to grow and eat food. Was given a responsibility of chores and value. Don’t hear too much of public schools growing or being taught how to garden and prepare foods. Hats off to the 4H clubs.

As a content creator focused on houseplants/cacti/succulents... during the lockdown and even present day... plant prices are crazy high compared to a couple years ago. As a collector of over 600+ houseplants (2 collections in different states) it's sad to see the prices on such small cuttings or certain plants with a high ticket price. On the flip side I got new people watching the channel with a new interest for plants. Since the lockdown I taught myself how to dry my blooms that pop up in my collection and create art with it and it's been my small business for 1 year now all thanks to the lockdown/pandemic. Plants is a gift that keeps on giving! Happy Planting!

Food prices would collapse if everybody grew food instead of these useless plants.

My mom became interested to plants during this pandemic. Yeah that's all I gotta say

I started the pandemic with one dying dracaena. I had no idea what it was or how to take care of it. Doing research into it led me into a magical plant world that I could not imagine life without! Love taking care of these beautiful creatures!

I have always had house plants...I grew up with my mom having gobs of plants. I now have over 60 in my own house. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Collected over 40 indoor plants ontop of what I already had. I had to modify my whole South facing wall windows to make more storage room for my plants. My boyfriend has dust allergies and with all the plants and the humidity his allergies have subsided greatly. No regrets.

I got plants when the pandemic hit. I started to grow interest ever since I got a native plants and my first indoor plant (that's alive) which is a monstera

I too was one of those people. Went from 1 plant to over 12 in the past year

Philippines had its House Plants Craze during this pandemic. My mom was like addicted. I can see her willing to sell me for her plants

Love this! I've 12 plus plants in my front room alone lol

Plants and cats are my therapy. Nature is amazing at healing the soul 🐱💚🌱 This was a pleasant insight to our plant world~

We were given a plant by a neighbor who moved away and even though I'm a notorious killer of plants, I have been taking care of it and it went from a scraggly thing with only a few stems of leaves to a flower blooming beauty. It turned out to be a fuchsia (I hadn't known what it was) and I named it Boz Scaggs. My friends think it's a goofy name but when you just know....It's been a hell of a year and half and trying to learn to take care of myself again as well as I take care of Boz.

I've acquired 15 new plant friends since the pandemic :))

This was a fascinating and insightful discussion. I love to grow/keep plants and I study horticulture at MTSU. The houseplant boom was already underway before the pandemic and the pandemic accelerated that processed. I hope it continues!

I’ve started a garden that unintentionally feeds the squirrels

Who tf watching vice news owns a home? lol this should be apartment plants.

I'm a plant collector from more then 15 year experience but I noticed that the price boom more then double ...from new demand causing higher price very sad...

This is totally my wife. We had so many plants in Germany but we had to PCS to Virginia and we couldn’t take our plants with 😞😥😢

Sorry but social media did not make me do it. I started cooking more during the pandemic. I figured, why not grow my own herbs since I keep buying fresh ones. It were gateway plants really. Now I am growing who knows what is next. But cooking made me do it. And yes it is calming and very relaxing.

now i want house plants, thanks vice

All these casuals hiking up the prices…

As an employee of the biggest ornamental plant nursery in America... I approve. Buy more plants. 😂

Pre Covid: 0 indoor plants 9/2021: 40+ indoor plants 😂🤭

Also share/swap cuttings for free 🌱

I went out and bought plants and even got trays for vegetable/herb growing. Unfortunately, I discovered I have the opposite of a green thumb and they all pretty much died.

I could stop, but I won't stop.

This is so true! I have 45 in my bedroom alone..I gotta problem lol

I admit without guilt that I am one of these person's! Before April I had zero plant's. Then I started propagating starts from my dad's mother plant's and now I'm at around 20. I had 30 but have since been giving some away

More hard hitting news from the news organization that brought you Proud Boys.

House plants be keepin it fifty feeeeeefth st!

$100 on his first plant - now that is too much money.

I started growing avocados during lockdown, basically because the pits were free. I've got 8 of those and more recently I've started growing green onions, just had my first harvest (it was yummy)

Is Vice saying the ECOsystem of our houses is being invaded?

Hard hitting journalism

Why did you sneak that in

That's some hard hitting journalism right there. 😂

Was it social mobility or the lack of it?

The mid century modern furniture had a boom too

I got like six plants in the last year. They are still alive 🙌🙌

I had no plants at the beginning now I have 20!!! I also became a minimalist.

No Hilton, that’s not why.

Loved this💚

Dam that's exactly how I feel about plants too ☘️ 🌵

I started with 5 plants 2 years later I have 60 now

My girlfriend has so many plants now she can't keep up with them, how do I get her to stop?

I started with a single plant and long story short, I'm sitting with 35+ now.. not counting the various propagation and seedlings! LoL

Yeah, because theyre more affordable and easier to take care of than some annoying ass kids. 🤣😭

Since the pandemic I've become a plant collector lol

I can't do house plants they require too much attention. I prefer having a huge garden cause the sky will take care of them. If I where to have indoor plants it would have to have a watering set up.

Don’t forget to water your plants ♥️ 🪴🚿

Between 2 ferns

I live in a cave so I don’t have a bunch of plants but I love watching plantfluencers

Lmao i feel called out. I got 16 new plants on my porch this past year

A plastic Christmas tree is the best!!!! U never have to water it and doesn't mind living in the back of the dark broom cupboard for most of the year:)

Landlord won't let me hang pictures or repaint my flat, so...plants it is.

I went from 6 to over 100 this year!

My balcony has become a forest, during the last few months. :(