MANILA: A gardening craze dubbed “plantdemic” has spread across the Philippines after coronavirus restrictions fueled demand for greenery, sending plant prices soaring and sparking a rise in poaching from public parks and protected forests.
Photos of delicate flowers and broad-leafed foliage cultivated in backyards and on balconies have flooded social media as housebound Filipinos turn to nature to relieve stress and boredom.
“It’s unbelievable. People are super interested in plants these days,” said landscape gardener Alvin Chingcuangco, who has seen prices for some varieties of monsteras reach $1,140 each, compared with $16 before the pandemic.
Manila plant seller Arlene Gumera-Paz said her daily turnover tripled after she reopened her doors following months of lockdown.
Demand remained robust even as prices for the most popular varieties of indoor plants, such as alocasias, spider plants and peace lilies, doubled or even quadrupled.
“It’s hard to understand people. When plants were cheap, they were ignored,” said the 40-year-old, who buys her plants in bulk from growers in nearby provinces.
But as demand has grown, authorities have warned that many plants on the market may not have been legally obtained.
Rangers patrolling the forests of Zamboanga in the country’s south for illegal loggers and wildlife poachers were ordered to watch out for plant thieves, after officials noticed some species posted on social media could only be found in the region’s protected areas.
“Prior to the pandemic we hadn’t observed many plant poachers,” said Maria Christina Rodriguez, Zamboanga regional director for the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.
“This only became popular during lockdown.”
Removing threatened species from forests is illegal under Philippine law and carries hefty penalties. Collecting other native plants is allowed but only with a permit.
Thieves are targeting plant varieties popular on social media, such as staghorn ferns and pitcher plants, Rodriguez said.
But catching offenders is difficult — once the plant has been dug up and sold “it is hard for us to prove that it came from forests or our protected areas,” she added.
A spate of plant thefts from public parks in the northern city of Baguio prompted authorities to tighten security and issue a plea on Facebook for people to leave the greenery alone.
So far only five people have been caught for stealing flowers, said Rhenan Diwas, officer in charge of the Baguio City Environment and Parks Management Office.
“Maybe it’s because of boredom or they want to generate income,” he said.
The stress of lockdown and financial pressure caused by the pandemic have prompted many Filipinos to seek solace in their gardens, earning themselves the nicknames “plantitos and plantitas,” or plant uncles and aunties.
“The safest way to make yourself happy is through growing little things,” said Norma Karasig Villanueva, former president of the Philippine Horticultural Society.
Long-time gardener Ivy Bautista, 30, said tending her plants helped to “kill boredom” and earn some money by selling cuttings from her extensive collection.
But she opposes the “insane” prices charged by other sellers, fearing it could drive plant poaching.
“It’s ridiculous, a plant that I purchased for 400 pesos ($8.29) is now selling for 5,000 pesos ($103.63),” said Bautista.
In an editorial titled “Plantdemic” last month, the Philippine Daily Inquirer decried the high prices being charged and urged buyers to get their plants from sellers “with legitimate, lawful sources.”
Rodriguez in Zamboanga said she welcomed the interest in gardening, but wished they would plant flowers or edibles instead of native flora.
“Be responsible plantitos and plantitas and be mindful of where the plants are coming from,” she said.
“We’re really serious about this because it creates an imbalance in the ecosystem once the species are plucked out of their natural habitat.”
‘Plantdemic’ hits Philippines as demand for greenery grows
https://arab.news/cmupy
‘Plantdemic’ hits Philippines as demand for greenery grows
- ‘It’s unbelievable. People are super interested in plants these days’
- Stress of lockdown and financial pressure caused by the pandemic have prompted many Filipinos to seek solace in their gardens
Kosovo, Serbia ‘need to normalize’ relations
- Kosovo, which hopes to join NATO, has also been cultivating relations with Washington in recent months, by removing tariffs on American products
PRISTINA: Kosovo and Serbia need to “normalize” their relations, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, several days before legislative elections where he is seeking to extend his term with more solid backing.
Kurti has been in office since 2021 and previous accords signed with Serbia — which does not recognize the independence of its former province — have yet to be respected.
“We need to normalize relations with Serbia,” said Kurti. “But normalizing relations with a neighboring authoritarian regime that doesn’t recognize you, that also doesn’t admit to the crimes committed during the war, is quite difficult,” he added.
Tensions between the two neighbors are regularly high.
“We do have a normalization agreement,” Kurti said, referring to the agreement signed under the auspices of the EU in 2023.
“We must implement it, which implies mutual recognition between the countries, at least de facto recognition.”
But to resume dialogue, Serbia “must hand over Milan Radoicic,” a Serb accused of plotting an attack in northern Kosovo in 2023, Kurti asserted, hoping that “the EU, France, and Germany will put pressure” on Belgrade to do so.
Kosovo, which hopes to join NATO, has also been cultivating relations with Washington in recent months, by removing tariffs on American products and agreeing to accept up to 50 migrants from third countries extradited by the US. So far, only one has arrived.
“We are not asking for any financial assistance in return,” Kurti emphasized. “We are doing this to help the US, which is a partner, an ally, a friend,” added the prime minister, who did not rule out making similar agreements with European countries.
Unable to secure enough seats in the February 2025 parliamentary elections, Kurti was forced to call early elections on Sunday, after 10 months of political deadlock during which the divided parliament failed to form a coalition.
“We need a decisive victory. In February, we won 42.3 percent, and this time we want to exceed 50 percent,” he said.
