Saturday, August 11, 2018

How to decide who gets this rare plant?

String Of Hearts - Pink



The collectors are coming out of the woodwork.  This rare pink form of String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii) is very desirable.  If you really want one, what price will you pay?

The eBay market has some reasonable low prices ($14 - $ 36).  The catch is that nobody has any quantity.  If I ration every customer to 6 pots, I will need 300.

Pink variegated plants grow slowly.  It may take a year to get 300 Pots.

Now who should get them …. And at what price?

When there is short supply, most small businesses take care of their best customers.  Good Will counts.

Less friendly but fair is ‘First come, First served’ at the ‘Fair Market Price’.

How to determine the market price when there are so few available?

The demand for these pretty pink hearts will never be satisfied!


String of Hearts - Ceropegia woodii variegata





Wednesday, August 8, 2018

String of Dolphins... You gotta see this!

String of Dolphins
 String of Dolphins… You gotta see this!

 
            Plants can be interesting in any number of ways--- color, flowering, variegation, size or shape.

            Common names and novelty help attract casual lookers.  We have String of Peas (Senecio rowleyanus), String of Beads (Senecio herrianus), String of Bananas (Senecio herrianus).

            Now we’ve found the most clever of them all ---String of Dolphins.  By looking at the leaves up close and at the right angle, there is no doubt that this is a Dolphin.  The diving Dolphin has one or two fins on its arching body.

            I don’t understand how this novel plant (Senecio pregrinus) has not been around. It’s not in commercial production and is still only found from eBay collectors at high prices.

            I paid those high prices and am attempting to build stock.  So far, it is easy enough.  Those indoor gardeners lucky enough to find one will have no trouble growing Dolphins at the windowsill.

            Will this be the next internet wonder to sweep through the expanding houseplant craze?


Diving Dolphin's body