NURSERIES are expecting a lower sale of plants during the ongoing movement-control order, a reverse in trend of the unexpected peak sales during the early two lockdowns in Malaysia. 

This time around, they said, the interest of people to grow home plants seemed to have phased out, largely due to the fact that many have returned to work, or because of financial constraints. 

These nursery owners had seen a 50% hike in new customers as a result from the first MCO, which happened in March to August last year, followed by a slight decline in MCO 2.0 period at the beginning of this year. 

Sales however have now resumed as before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Palace Rose Nursery owner, Keith Tang Chee Lap, 36, said the withering participation was because many have now returned to their workplace or were in a financially tight situation. 

“They no longer have time to care for their plants or are spending less to focus on purchasing necessities or paying their loans,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Nevertheless, he said about 20% of new customers retained gardening as a permanent hobby. 

“Some have bought plants as a collection series or enjoyed the achievement of watching their plants grow big. 

“They even propagate and sell their baby plants on Facebook groups and see a good future in planting.” 

He said sales were surprisingly good right after MCO 1.0 where almost every customer that entered into their shops would walk out with large quantities of pots and plants. 

“Even the trucks that shipped in our supplies would be curious as to how fast stocks were selling out.” 

According to his observation, among the best selling plants were the hibiscus, roses and the philodendron species. 

“These plants would usually be sold about 50 to 100 quantities per week (before the pandemic), but during the first MCO, it was about 200 to 300 per week.”

But overall, Tang said all of their inventories including gardening tools were in great demand. 

The family-run business with retail branches in Sg Buloh and Setia Alam had also started to utilise online platforms and delivery channels to send bought items to their regular customers staying at home. 

Another nursery owner, Lee Giin Khoon, who has been managing Poh Soon Garden for 30 years, said boredom was the factor for the rise in gardening interest among people. 

“Every nursery business had some increase in sales during this pandemic because there were a lot of new beginners. 

“Some customers told me they have even got bored of playing video games or have polished their home after several rounds of cleaning,” he said. 

The interest was piqued among all age groups from children up to senior citizens, Lee said. 

“Parents influence their children with their new hobby and all schools these days teach gardening too.” 

However at this moment, Lee also said people have stopped buying plants mainly because they have returned to busyness at work or realised they do not have green fingers. 

Indoor gardeners

Asiya Ishaq, a student from the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said she picked up gardening as a stress relief mechanism when MCO first started last year. 

“There are bitter gourd, yam, four-angled beans, basil leaves and a few other plants at home now. 

“I have gotten better and more experienced with different types of plants and the environment that they require.” 

The 23-year-old slotted about 30 minutes daily watering and weeding her plants. 

“It has been amazing because I spent more time with my mum and we get fruits of our labour from the garden. 

“Other than that, our kitchen waste goes to the garden so there are honestly many benefits.” 

Another plant enthusiast, Karene Lee Fong Lin, 28, said she and her husband became more active in the hobby when the first MCO started. 

“I have spent more than RM5,000 on my home garden project. Almost every day, I’m out in my garden, repotting, watering, checking for pests and making moss poles. 

“It could take up to three hours including cleaning the porch after the messy gardening session,” she said. 

Despite the efforts, she and her husband love this activity. 

“Both of us have different preferences in gardening. His choice is growing trees or edibles while I lean towards the house and rare plants.” 

She also dedicated herself to an Instagram account updating a public diary of her home garden on top of her full-time job as a business analyst.

The page saw followers when she set it up on October 29 last year, of which, Lee said the plant community online is close-knitted. 

“I made a lot of new friends so that we can actually hang out in reality and not talk about plants.” 

The government announced the third phase of MCO from May 12 to June 7 to stem the increasing number of Covid-19 cases. – May 15, 2021.