Costing millions, sales of plants such as monstera, aglaonema, succulents and scindapsus have thrived during the pandemic.

Homegrown greenery is a welcome trend for Hidayatun Mustagfiroh, who prefers to be called Firoh. Previously, she faced a financial slump when she had to close her numerous beverage stalls and their franchisees in Yogyakarta, Makassar, Depok and Bogor.

"The malls were closed, so we closed [our business] as well. It was difficult to turn it into a home business, so I took a break," said the mother of two. "During that break, I took care of the plants, initially cheap plants and then I became more and more aware of other types of plants."

Firoh bought her first expensive green baby out of curiosity. "I got hooked on this one plant which, in my opinion, was expensive and I thought that price was too ridiculous. I bought it for 1 million rupiah [US$70]. It was a monstera."

As her business knowledge grew, Firoh changed gears from being a customer to a seller. She can even sell plants that are not yet in her possession. "I once wanted to buy the plants in a nursery that I [liked but could buy because] they were very expensive. I posted it on my social media, the response was good — people thought I was selling."

And now sell them she does. "My net turnover as of this month is almost Rp 100 million [$7,060]," she even once sold a pot for Rp 130 million ($9,180).

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