Hunting for Pink Variegata Alocasias
How much do Pink Variegata Alocasias actually cost?
Pink variegation is a desirable trait in many plants, for example in alocasias. But are they expensive? How much do they cost?
I enjoy having something special in my plants. A certain “gimmick.” It can be the color, shape, growth habit, or some other peculiarity. As those who follow my blog or Instagram well know, I choose black flowers and plants for my garden. When looking for rare houseplants, my main preference besides black is a cotton candy pink. And of course, I had to be attracted to this expensive family of Alocasias.
Recently, a single-leaf baby plant, Alocasia Black Velvet Pink Variegata, moved into my home. My partner’s comment nicknamed it “Rääpäle”, a word meaning something often a bit miserable, small but cute. The word runt might work. (The plant app I use named Rääpäle “Khaleesi,” but maybe that’s beside the point.) What might be more interesting to some is that the price of Rääpäle when grown can range anywhere from 280 to 800 euros (summer 2024 – note that the value of rare plants decreases pretty fast). The price of Rääpäle itself was 100 euros, which is excellent for a plant with an emerging leaf; the leaf has a small tear. But a Black Velvet Pink Variegata corm alone can cost that much, sometimes even more.
Other pink variegated Alocasias I’m searching for include Bambino Pink, Amazonica or Polly Albo Pink, and Cuprea Pink. Cuprea is rare, and with good variegation, an adult costs around 500-600 euros. I’ve seen largest individuals with excellent saturation and strong variegation cost up to 3000 euros. An adult Amazonica Albo Pink might be around 300-400 euros. Bambino is a bit more affordable, but we’re still not talking about any supermarket daisies. I’ve seen baby plants sold for 70-120 euros. But the price of variegated Bambinos has been expected to decrease significantly during 2024.
This weekend, I felt firsthand that I’m not the only one craving these plants:
Plnts.com had discount days where the price of a pink baby Polly plant was around 63 euros for one day. Guess what? The cart said sold out the moment I managed to press “pay.”
Well, in the evening, I saw an auction where a slightly older, medium-sized pink variegated Bambino was up for grabs. I ended up bidding on the plant. It looked promising since my bid was the highest. But a minute before, when I blinked, someone else managed to place a substantial bid over mine. The Bambino Pink went for 250 euros.
And that’s not all..! Next, I succumbed to the world of Ebay. There I encountered a tiny mini Bambino Pink. The auction starting price was 42 euros. Well, I bid on it about fifteen minutes before the auction closed. But sure enough, seconds before the sale ended, someone added 50 cents to the bid. I can say that this third loss made my bile boil quite a bit.
This hobby is not cheap.
But on the other hand, one can always console oneself with the fact that paying hundreds for a plant isn’t even that much. Some of the most desired alocasias, such as Alocasia Nobilis Pink Variegata, are rarely available. The price of a pink Nobilis (and especially the even brighter K version) hovers around 1500-3000 euros..!
Finally, luck treated me a bit more kindly. I found an adorable and strongly variegated Bambino Pink, and the same seller also had a large Alocasia amazonica Albo Pink Variegated. I ensured there were no signs of variegation regression (where the plant corrects the color defect and starts growing only green again) before buying both as a bundle. I opted for Express shipping because the less time the plant spends stressed during transit, the better its chances of surviving the move.
Fingers crossed that everything goes well! And if not, I believe that all of the mentioned Alocasias, except perhaps the Nobilis, will experience a significant price reduction during 2024.
