Rise of the "plantfluencers": Pandemic-induced house plant craze holds steady in Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS -- If you picked up a house plant or two during the pandemic, you're in good company.

Specialty stores across the Twin Cities say business exploded and is still holding strong.

Whether you're searching for the rarest, the most expensive, or the coolest thing you can find, Scott Adam has a succulent for every occasion at the Fractal Cactus in Minneapolis. He says the plants he sells are downright therapeutic.

"People needed a small win, you know. Just buying a plant, taking care of it meant something," Adam said.

Perhaps that calming quality is why house plants and succulents are taking off.

"You start drawing them and it's, 'Oh, I've got 200 house plants in my tiny apartment,'" said JP Pizarro of Sunnyside Gardens in Minneapolis. "I want to say that I have over 200, easily."

And people will pay

"People sometimes is making decisions like, 'I'm not going out this Friday, I'm saving up,'" Pizarro said.

Plants at the Fractal Cactus start at just $8, but can go up to $800 for something big and bold -- and we haven't even gotten into "plantfluencers" yet. Maya Harris is one of them.

"I suppose we have a really big following on Instagram. People follow us and like we go live every week to show off new inventory," Harris said.

With more than 25,000 followers clamoring for house plant content

"It's insane," Harris said.

But she also co-owns Planty Queens, a shop in Minneapolis where she meets different types of plant fanatics

"I call them 'The Collectors.' For them, it's like 'I gotta catch 'em all like Pokemon,'" she said. "More millennials are having plants as children."

Plant enthusiast Hannah Brand works at a nursery by day, and plantfluences on the side.

"I try to post the special stuff that mean a lot to me," Brand said. "When you see a bloom or a new leaf, it's just something that makes you feel good inside,  like oh my gosh, I grew this plant. It's like infinite knowledge."

It's a blossoming industry that's rooted in something simple.

"It just feels right," Adam said.

Many of the plant shop owners tell us a big part of their job is education, because some rare or tropical plants can be tough to take care of and they want people to keep them alive.