Simple Life Matters

Philodendron Caramel Marble is on top of the rareplant collector's plant "wishlist". In 2020, one leaf Caramel Marble cost aroung P500,00, almost the same price with variegated Billitiae. In 2022 the price of the plant dropped to P50,000 per leaf and currently, you can buy the one leaf for only 15,000 to P20,000 depending on the quality of variegation.  Plant Care and Propagation:  Use a mixture of coco husk, coco peat, coco cubes, pumice and vermicast as a medium. Let the aerial roots crawl the plant pole to activate it before cutting and replanting. You can use a coco pole, but I suggest using moss pole since it is looser. Water the plant two to three times a week during summer. Do not overwater as this will cause root rot. Put it on a high humid place and under indirect sunlight.  Do not over water the plant as this will cause root rot, Water it when the top two inches of the soil is already dry. My forecast is that the price of one leaf Caramel marble might go down to

Philodendron Spiritus Sancti was once tagged as the most expensive plant worth two million pesos during the pandemic. They said it is one of the hardest plant to propagate but I begged to disagree knowing it comes from the family of Philodendron which are easist to grow. You can just imagine if you buy this plant two years ago for P2 million pesos and now you can buy a juvenile size for only P5,000 peso. Patience is really a virtue, so I will wait a little more for about another six months and my forecast is that it will drop to P1000 by end of the year. Just like other plants, Spiritus Sancti can be grown via tissue culture so its not a surprise that it will flood our local garden soon. Care Tips and Propagation: Place your plant on ahigh humid area with lots of bright indirect sunlight. just like Philodendron Billitiae let its aerial roots be activated by pointing and resting its aerial roots to the soil. Wtaer two to three times a week during summer.  Use a loose medium like combin

Philodendron Strawberry Shake variegated is very beautiful when there's a splash of pink and yellow on its leaves. However, its variegation is prone to revert. When you saw a reverted leaf/leaves in Strawberry Shake just cut it and the new leaf when sprawl might have a good variegation again. I bought my Strawberry Shake at he last quarter of 2022 with 2 leaves and mild variegation for P16,000.  From 2020 to 2021, the price of one leaf cost range from P30,000 to P40,000. As of this writing, you can buy one leaf for P800 to P1,000 only. Care Tips and Propagation: The moment you saw a leaf/leaves that reverted, then that is the best time to cut and propagate the plant to have its variegation back both on the cuttings and the mother plant. Use a loose soil mix like coco peat and pumice with vermicast.   Philodendron Strawberry Shake is a good buy plant for rare plant collectors, especially now that it is more affordable. I am planning to grow and let my Philodendron reach 5 feet in he

The Monstera Thai Constellation matured size with 3 to 4 leaves price ranges from P100,000 to P120,000 from 2020 to 2021. In 2022 the price dropped from P40,000 to P60,000. Late 2022, it cost around 10,000 to P16,000. As of this writing matured size Monstera Thai Constellation can be bought from P4,000 to P6,000 while the medium-sized leaves price ranges from P2,500 to P3,000, and the juvenile size for P1,000 to P2,000.  The Monstera Thai Constellation, unlike the Borsigiana Albo does not revert. However, there are some genes with heavy variegation and mild variegation. I remember when I bought my regular Monstera Deliciosa imported from Thailand. The seller brought the plant to my apartment, uprooted. Then I planted the plant with the mixture of rice hull and loam soil and water the plant right away which causes the roots to rot the next day.    Monstera Thai Constellation is susceptible to root rot when overwatered. Make sure to water it once a week during cold weather and twice a we

The Monstera Borsigiana Mint is somehow very similar to Borsigiana Albo and Monstera Green of Green but with mint or greeny tiny dots on its leaves. The plant care and propagation should be the same as Monstera Borsigiana Albo. You need to place the plant in a bright indirect sunlight, most recommended in a humid place. Do not use Urea as a fertilizer because the leaves of the plant will revert to full green. Personally, I use Osmocote and Thermocote for my variegated plants to enhance their variegation. I am yet to buy a Monstera Mint plant since it is a bit pricey until now. From 2020 to 2021, one leaf of Borsigiana Mint cost P100,000. In late 2022, the price of the plant dropped from P40,000 to P60,000 per leaf. As of this writing, you can buy one leaf brosi Mint for P20,000 to P30,000. My forecast is that one leaf Borsi Mint will cost P5,000 to P8,000 by end of the year.  Care Tips and Propagation:  Use a mix of coco peat, coco cubes, pumice and vermicast as a medium. Let the aeria

 Look: Caterpillar ate my Rare Plants worth 100k.  Oh no! The Caterpillar eaten my rare Monstera Borsigiana Aurea, Monstera Albo and Thai Constellation. The price of this plant when I bought it in 2021 is about P100,000 pesos. It has given me two new leaves but look at what happened when I woke up in the morning I realized that almost all the leaves vanished as it was eaten by a caterpillar. So, I bought a ready-to-use neem oil in Lazada and sprayed it on all of my plants to get rid of the pests in my garden. Neem oil can be used to keep pests away and to get rid of pests that are already there in an existing infestation. Use neem oil in the morning and evening. Don't use neem oil in the middle of the day, because the direct sunlight and neem oil together can burn the plants. However, do not use neem oil on recent transplants or otherwise stressed plants. Though plants must be completely covered with neem oil for the pesticide to be effective, it is a good idea to test the product

The Monstera Borsigiana Albo is one of the most wanted plants for rare plant collectors due to the beauty of its foliage. The leaf design and color of variegated Borsigiana Albo with good genes is very captivating. There are some genes that are tri-color, a combination of white, green and yellow foliage. I bought my Monstera Borsigiana Albo early 2022 for P6500 per leaf. From 2020 to 2021, the price of one leaf of Borsi Aurea cost P50,000 and dropped in 2022 for P10,000 per leaf. As of March 2023, the price of one leaf medium-sized Borsigiana Aurea is P2,500 to P3,500 depending on the quality of its variegation.  CareTips and Propagation:  For soil mixture, you can use, a soil-less medium or loam soil. For a soilless mixture, just mixed coco peat, coco cubes and pumice or rice hull. Let the aerial roots crawl on the plant pole to activate its aerial roots before cutting and transplanting. In this way, you give the newly cut plant a more chance to thrive. Placed the newly propagated pl