Under the spell of rare plants

Lockdown has prompted many of us to add some greenery to our interiors. The craze for rare plants, in particular, has been such that some have made them an acute collector… and beneficial to health! Testimonials and advice from Guillaume Mousseau, a passionate specialist, and Nadia Bérubé, who has acquired some 300 plants over the past three years.

Rare plants have been part of Guillaume Mousseau’s life since he was little. “My parents founded Le Cactus Fleuri in Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in 1976, and I was born in 1990. So I was immersed in centers of cactus and succulents throughout my youth,” he says, adding that his parents were for a long time the only producers of this type of plant in Quebec.

His knowledge and his passion grew in the family and while he did not take over the business (although he continues to be involved in it), his love for these species has never left him, since he collected a lot of them. “I have a very busy life, between work and three young children, but I try to pass on this link with plants to them”, confides this marketing entrepreneur who has taken care to put his plants out of reach of his cherubim.

It’s good for morale !

Pampering your plants, talking to them: it’s good for them as much as for us, since we feel gratified to have taken care of them when they flourish. And then, it’s an opportunity to forge a network by developing a real passion, as Nadia Bérubé experienced. “I started getting interested in rare plants at the start of COVID-19. It has become a great hobby during confinement. Being single, it was difficult not being able to meet anyone, ”recalls this financial advisor.

“Groups were created on social networks, which made it possible to have advice, to exchange ideas, discoveries and share the little marvels that we had unearthed,” she recalls. Today, she notices that there are a multitude of collectors who are always on the hunt for the new, while the rare gems of 2021 are now more accessible in garden centers, as the trend has become popular. It remains that this activity has been very beneficial to her and that it has given her a superb interior garden, which she loves to pamper.

This passion develops as we learn more about this fascinating universe. Guillaume Mousseau, like his parents, never stops looking for new things to offer to customers. The Daniel A. Séguin garden in Saint-Hyacinthe is a great source of inspiration for him. “It’s a beautiful place where you can discover new rare plants in a more natural context,” he remarks.

The secret of a flourishing plant

Guillaume Mousseau notes that many people are afraid of not knowing how to take care of their plants and say that they don’t have a green thumb.

The example of cacti placed in the bright bathroom is recurrent. “Even though this room is light, which is necessary for a cactus, it is also humid, which does not correspond to the very dry natural environment of this desert plant. »

It is therefore necessary to check what is the original living environment of the plant and try to recreate it at home as much as possible. “Of course, we can’t humidify our house to 60% or 80% to meet the needs of a tropical plant, but it can adapt if it is misted with water every week. It is important to seek horticultural advice from specialists to know where to install it, what its water needs are, then when and how to prune it”, believes Guillaume Mousseau, who confides that he has a particular crush on the Chinese lantern. , a tropical plant whose leaf is similar to those of our maples and which makes very beautiful flowers.