Online communities to swap, share or exchange seeds and plants are on the rise

Instead of buying at nurseries, gardening enthusiasts are trading plants and seeds via Facebook groups

“They are my prized possessions.” Mumbai-based Mamta Sukhija Joseph is talking about the Dendrobium nobile orchid, a double-petalled red azalea and a cherry plum in her terrace garden. She got them from Darjeeling in exchange for a gulmohar bonsai from her collection. The pride of place in Sunita Hooda’s garden in Gurugram, Haryana, goes to Sansevieria cylindrica, a snake plant variety, which she got from a grower in Chennai after she swapped her pink syngonium (arrowhead plant) for it. “I sent the person crinum lilies too because while my plant costs ₹30, sansevieria is usually priced at ₹800-900. Also, he might have spent quite an amount on packing and transportation as well,” says Sunita.