When green waves came splashing over the internet

Gone are the days when a lack of supply had the price of some succulent plants in the stratosphere.

Zhou Jianqiao has no doubt about it: the flower power he now wields is largely attributable to pixel power.

"The popularity of succulent plants in China comes from the internet," says Zhou, founder of Zhejiang Wanxiang Flower Company Limited, in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, said to be the largest succulents company in China.

"Thanks to the spread of the internet, the succulents market in China grew rapidly between 2011 and 2014. However, as more and more people began to learn about them they were in short supply, so they were incredibly expensive. Since 2015 the market has become more stable and most prices have fallen to what you could call reasonable levels."

Zhou began to import succulents from South Korea and set up his company in 2014, when the Ministry of Agriculture authorized Chinese companies to import seeds.

Yang Xiaobing, the manager of Beijing Attraction Flower Company Limited, echoes Zhou's sentiments about price. He set up in business in January 2015, and it has become the biggest succulent company in Beijing.

"The price of succulents grew crazily before 2015, and it was common for some species to cost thousands of yuan," Yang says. "Now, with the increasing supply, things are very different."

As an example he cites Graptopetalum mendozae, which he says fetched 60 yuan ($8.9) in 2014, but which can now be bought for five yuan.

Though lower prices obviously reduce sellers' opportunities to make huge profits quickly, they also mean more people are likely to be drawn in by the succulents craze, bringing in more money to the business, and both Zhou and Yang say their sales are increasing steadily.

In 2015, Yang says, he sold 1 million succulents, and last year he sold 2.2 million. The plants he sells are delivered to Beijing and Tianjin, and cities in Hebei and Shanxi.

So what exactly is it, apart from the beauty of these plants, that attracts buyers?

Some enjoy the process of cutting leaves and seeing them produce new life and many buy the plants to release pressure. They are particularly attractive to those who live in rented accommodation, given that they are easy to move. Still, there are buyers for whom the love of succulents never fully takes root, especially those who, despite giving the plants what they think is adequate attention, sees their plants die.

Zhou's and Yang's companies offer training to reduce the risk of this happening. Yang started such training in 2015 and they immediately became popular. His company delivers succulents to customers whom he gives on-site training on how to maintain them and how to promote their growth, the care needed differing from plant to plant. He now puts on more than 100 activities a year in conjunction with schools, companies, hospitals and government departments and agencies.

"People love our activities, and many ask us for an encore and even long-term cooperation," Yang says.

The Potted Plant Branch of the China Flower Association set up its Succulent Plant Community in Qingzhou, Shandong province, last September, and held an exhibition in March over three days, attracting 206 companies from all over China.

In Jin Tianying's WeChat, there are several group chat rooms in which people auction their succulents.

"Many can fetch about 5,000 yuan, and they once sold a Haworthia for 15,000 yuan, which was amazing," Jin says. "If the plant died it would be heartbreaking."

Xing Yi contributed to this story.