Cooper McGregor has only developed his keen interest for house plants over the past year and a half.
The 15-year-old already has 90 plants in his bedroom, each one a different variety, and although his wish-list is ever-growing, he says he is fast running out of space to house them.
“I don’t think my parents want it to spread to the rest of the house,” he jokes. “I forget that I’ve got so many, to me it doesn’t feel like heaps.”
Each plant has its place, creating a mini, well-organised jungle in his Stoke home.
The Nayland College pupil says his collection began when a friend’s mum gave him some cuttings.
“It has grown quite quickly since then,” he says. “I’d go to the store with my dad, like to Bunnings, and I’d always have a look and get ones that were on clearance.”
Once the new additions arrived home, he would look up how to care for them online.
“Then I found more plants that I like and I’d buy them.”
He says the most he has spent on a plant is $30 but he makes a lot of holders himself, including terrariums.
“I go to the thrift shops and get jars and then find moss outside and small plants.”
He also makes his own driftwood hangers using sphagnum moss and fishing line.
While he hasn’t sold any of his plants or home-made hangers and terrariums, he says it might be something he would consider.
“I propagate some of the plants and give them away to friends, but I don’t really have many people who are into plants that I know except my friend’s parents.”
He says that his friends think it’s a “bit crazy” how many plants have taken hold in Cooper’s room.
“But I think they think it’s cool,” he says. “It doesn’t feel like too many, it’s not a jungle jungle.”
He estimates it takes just a few of hours a week to look after them.
“Most of them I only water once a week, so it doesn’t actually take too much time.”
Cooper says there are lots of reasons he became interested in plants.
“I guess they look cool and also I find they’re interesting. There are so many different ones, there would be one for every kind of person.
“Some I really like, like carnivorous plants, I find it really interesting how they’ve had to adapt in the wild to eat bugs.
He says, while his collection is almost at triple digits, there are still plants on his wishlist.
“I like the philodendrons, melanocrysum and the big-leaf ones like gloriosum and ones like that.
“My plant buying has definitely slowed down recently, I have to squeeze in new ones that I find.”
Cooper finds his hobby very rewarding.
“I like to buy them on clearance, cut off the dead leaves and watch them come back to life. It’s rewarding to see new leaves coming up.”
As for the future of his plants, Cooper says it depends where he decides to go in life.
“If I move away to university I’ll probably save 15 of my favourites to take with me.”
