I apologize ahead of time as I don't have an answer for you; I've never heard of this "product" before.

I just wanted to say that is such a beautiful Sans, I don't understand all these crazy concoctions (I've seen a few other things that companies have done to plants)... Who comes up with all these horrible ideas?

Planto

It's criminal what some growers will do to plants just to make a sale, isnt it? Crazy.

From the photo, it appears it can still absorb light, which is better than some painted plants I've seen. I imagine the goo might inhibit gas exchange though.

I think the danger with rubbing alcohol will be more to do with the rubbing, and how much residue of the glow crap is left behind. Alcohol itself isn't really harmful to most thick-skinned plants. I'm using it to get rid of spider mites on a jade. It gets sprayed and rubbed with a Q-tip every 3 days. Four treatments so far and it's no worse for wear.

If it were mine, I'd pick a disposable (outer) leaf and clean off all the spray, give it a week or two, and if looked ok, do the rest. Being a pretty durable species, I think it's going to do okay for quite a while with or without a cleaning, so I don't think you need to rush. Also, Walmart should have a 90 day return or exchange policy, so you've got time.

It is s very pretty plant, BTW, despite its paint job.

Thanks for the responses, I agree that it's terrible that these people are using cheap gimmicks that could potentially damage/kill the plants to sell them.

I just had a thought that might be better than rubbing the alcohol on the leaves, I think I will try soaking a paper towel in rubbing alcohol/water mix and then letting it sit on the leaf for a couple of minutes.. maybe this will soften the glow in the dark coating enough that it will come off without much rubbing. The last thing I would want to do is damage the leaf more.

Glowee is a trademark of Costa Farms. They're quite proud of it, but won't divulge any info about it except that it's a coating on the leaves. People love these plants anyway, I don't understand this either.

On FB house plant group, most who are talking about Glowee say it doesn't really work anyway.

The label says new leaves won't glow? They are expected to outgrow the coating, I wouldn't try to remove it for fear of doing more harm than good, as already said.

Hi everyone, the leaf with the coating removed via rubbing alcohol still looks fine, but I understand that it could take a week or two before any change. I was so focused on that one leaf that I failed to notice the coating peeling on another leaf. I wasn't able to peel the whole thing off, just a small piece at the top of the next leaf seemed loose. You can see in the picture how opaque the coating is.

Thanks for replying JustinWHancock from Costa Farms, I feel better knowing that the coating is not harming the plant and that it will continue to grow. Thanks for the offer of a refund, but that isn't necessary. The plant was a gift, I didn't buy it. My main concern was for the survival of the plant, so your response definitely helps. You are right though, as a kid, I would of loved to have these in my bedroom.

JustinWHancock, I buy plants from costa farms all the time, and I cant say there has been major quality issues, but is doing something as unatural as coating plants with this stuff really the way.....In my opinion and with many others on this site, stuff like pained succulents or glow in the dark plants all looks very cheesy and artificial. I would think someone who is new to plants would be very disappointed to find out new leaves fail to have this wax, and furthermore snake plants take a very long time to react to most cultural and environmental malpractices, I wonder If the test did not run long enough, please answer these questions if you see this and try to do in a way other than damage control

sorry if Ii sound harsh and thank U,

Rhamel

I found this article related to the plant and also referencing hancock, a consumer marketing specialist, :/

Here is a link that might be useful: Hancock article

Hi teengardener1888:

Our research and development team has assured me they've done thorough testing with the Glowee coating to ensure there's no harm for the plant. The coating we use is porous, so it does allow the plant to breathe just fine, and does not significantly reduce light penetration to the leaf.

As far as the gimmicks like glowing in the dark or adding artificial colors goes, I totally understand where you're coming from. As a horticulturist and plant lover, I'm not psyched about everything that our research and development folks are playing with. But to be perfectly honest, the houseplant industry isn't growing. We feel we have to try new things to get a new generation of folks interested.

In addition to the gimmicky things things, our plant hunting team is regularly travelling around the world looking for new varieties and new plants. And we have some fun things for plant lovers we're testing to make sure we can grow them well and they'll grow well for home gardeners. But ultimately, a new variety of pothos or sansevieria or spathiphyllum probably isn't going to get average shopper --- or kids, as we believe getting kids into plants is one way to keep interest in houseplants alive and growing --- excited as a gimmick would.

BTW: I hope the :/ face sign was in reference to my job title and not me! I know it's a really corporate-sounding title, but what it means is that I oversee the company website and social media, and I do consumer research and keep a pulse on consumer input. I'm not a longtime marketer or PR person. I have my university degree in horticultural science and before coming to Costa Farms, I was an editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine (so I'm trained to be objective). I know there are a lot of talking heads in the corporate world, but for what it's worth, I am being sincere. And I do collect feedback about Costa Farms plants/products and take them back to the powers that be at Costa Farms.

Feel free to reach out to me anytime with comments/questions/etc. I know not everyone is going to love everything we do --- you can't please everyone, after all. But in cases where there's primarily negative feedback on a plant/product/policy/etc., I do take that back and advise the rest of the Costa Farms team.

---Justin

Wow, there are enough interesting plants out there that look like they're from outer space that we don't need to paint them or gussy them up. Kids and adults don't need too much to get interested in plants - my kids love my ivy like crazy, simple ordinary ivy, and I have tons of really interesting plants now. I think this is just something to try to snag sales out of the disposable-thinking people - once it dies from neglect or they realize the new leaves don't glow, in the trash it will go. Which is sad, as Sans are very low-demanding plants.
I remember house hunting, and a professional home stager had come in, and used - guess what - a HUGE Sans as a focal point in a very empty living room full of large windows. That was statement enough for that room. A plant's natural beauty will speak for itself. If a grower wants more sales, try offering cool things like the fuzzy Purple Passion Vine, the heart-shaped Rosary Vine, the awesome String of Pearls, etc etc etc and those are just some really common but awesome plants!

OP- good luck with your plant. I would suggest not "rescuing" these plants in the future, as hard as it may be, because you're only driving up their sales and making them think it's what the consumer wants. I almost rescued a gold-painted succulent, but didn't for fear it would die and be a waste of money - how can a plant completely covered with gold paint complete photosynthesis??? And it DID look tacky and fake.

Thank you JustinWHancock, Glowees don't seem like the worst thing in the world, nothing I would buy, but I guess if they don't hurt the plant and make people happy, and those people are willing to pay a couple extra dollars, I guess there fine. I really cant say I have seen painted succulents from costas, but I may be wrong. Thank you again, and im sorry for being so stern, I have talked to other what I call"Plant propaganda specialist" and wasnt happy with their responses, but you seem sincere...

teengardener1888:

We haven't painted any succulents --- one of our competitors does that. But, we do have a line of colored cacti we call Desert Gems. The difference is that with our Desert Gems, it's just the cacti spines that are colored, not the plant itself: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/155303887126040014/

And again with the Desert Gems, it's the kind of thing that some people love and some people hate. (I've gotten some really, really intense mail from people who HATE them, and I've talked to shoppers in stores who thought they were the coolest thing in the world.)

At the end of the day, Costa Farms is just trying to add excitement and get more people to get into plants. Another person posted, "A plant's natural beauty will speak for itself." And to people who like plants, that's definitely true. But it's also true how many people are "plant blind" and don't even notice plants in stores. It's those folks that we're trying to reach out to, and get them excited about trying a plant for the first time. Then, we hope, they'll buy more and learn to see plants' natural beauty like we plant lovers all do. It's certainly not our intention to deceive, fool, or trick people with our plants.

---Justin
Costa Farms

If it doesn't hurt the plant or fool the consumer, I don't have a problem with it. I imagine buyers will be less pleased with their cacti when the new growth emerges color-free, but they'll probably be less unhappy than people who buy naturally hot pink or yellow cacti only to have them die when the base outgrows the graft. Commercial growers manipulate plants in all kinds of ways to make them more appealing to consumers, and many of those ways are much more devious (growth inhibitors, for example).

So, Justin, is skimming the web for gossip about Costa Farms' plants part of your job description? What a job! :-D

I agree, having to deal with skeptical customers like me. I haved to say in general costas farm has highe quality than other places I have seen....

Hi kwie2011:

I find keeping an eye out for what people are saying about our plants is really helpful. I often get great feedback to bring back to the team here to make improvements. I also try to clear up misunderstandings about our plants (like the thread with Glowee here, letting people know the glow-in-the-dark coating doesn't hurt the sansevieria in any way). I also hope to give Costa Farms a voice so people realize it's not just a faceless company, but a company made up of people who really love what they do.
: )

---Justin
Costa Farms

It's awesome to be able to speak with you directly, Justin. TY for taking the time.

I agree that a new variety of the same old plants isn't where I would look to generate excitement, increase sales. But I don't necessarily agree that attempting to appeal to those who don't already collect plants by trying to grab their attention with novelties is the best way to increase sales as a long-term plan.

When a person who wasn't previously interested in plants tries one, it's often a novelty plant. There's a reason they are novelties (vs. stalwart, reliable old standby house plants.) They don't usually live long. These failures can give a false sense of being incapable of keeping a potted plant alive in general. I would be wary of concentrating much on these type of products to generate new lovers of plants in general. A worthy goal I share and appreciate very much.

Most 'plant-heads' have a fairly low opinion of most novelty plants, for reasons that are mostly in regard to past experience and concern about plants' future. I've never seen anyone with an extensive collection of them. Novelties do not foster confidence, or trust in plants in general, or the companies/stores that sell these them. If it was made more clear which plants are unlikely to live indefinitely, and are intended to fill the needs of those who find them temporarily interesting, and/or decorative, the misunderstandings and disappointments could be alleviated, and the novelties accurately appreciated for what they are.

As with Poinsettias, and tender perennials sold "as annuals" where winter is too cold for their survival, there is nothing wrong with a temporary plant, and/or correctly represented novelty. Everyone loves the Poinsettia, and almost everyone realizes that although some do it successfully, it's unusual in general for these to stay alive indefinitely. A happy truce has been reached.

When dealing with novelties, don't try to hide it, just explain it. An honest, interesting story is worth buying, won't create any ill-will about being fooled, and eliminate avoidable survival disappointments.

I think Glowee is being represented well if it comes with a label explaining that it is an added coating that new leaves won't have. But there is no avoiding the disappointment when it does stop glowing, even if known. IDK if this psychology matters, and hopefully your company has devoted some of the R&D efforts into handling that. I have kids, and I think what they would remember later is something like, "my plant eventually declined, didn't keep doing what it did when I got it." Nobody minds buying or starting new tomato plants in the spring, but we have no historical data for plants that stop glowing in the dark. Will folks want to buy another glowing plant, or be turned-off to them in general, or Sans in particular, or just glowing plants? People do occasionally get rich, even retire early on a great novelty, but few companies can...

I saw these several months ago at WM. I was torn because I had recently lost a Gold Flame and there were several in the display. Ultimately I decided not to purchase it though because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get all the coating off. It did seem like some of the coating could be scraped off with a fingernail but I wasn't about to try that in the store!

Not to threadjack but I think one of the barriers to getting kids interested in plants is location. If someone takes their kids to WM or HD then the kids aren't going to see all the neat plants unless their parent goes into the garden center.

I thought I'd give an update on my glowee plant. The leaf that I had removed the coating from with alcohol wipes and water looks fine after a week. It's not showing any damage or alcohol burn. I'm not sure how long it takes for damage to show on a sansevieria so I will wait another week or two before removing the coating from the rest of the plant.

Queen-Gardener - I didn't "rescue" the plant, my sister bought it for me. She's not a plant person and didn't realize that the plant glowed because it had been coated with something.

kwie2011 & purpleinopp - I still had the packaging my glowee plant came in, so I pulled it out of the bin. It doesn't say anywhere on the packaging that new growth wouldn't glow. I must have read that on their website. It also doesn't say that the glow in the dark coating only lasts a couple years. Maybe they don't expect the plant to live that long.

Definitely agree with Purp.
It is tiring to go to garden centres and see the same plants over and over again - nothing uncommon or new. I was very sad when saw the only S. cylindrica available was dipped in paint cause I was looking for it a long while.
Sometimes I buy dying plants from clearance because reduced price is less than the ceramic pot's worth o.O There wouldn't be leftovers if they sold more interesting -not painted novelty- plants (and look after them correctly in stores).
I have no experience with CF as don't live in the US so I spoke in general.

This is a 50/50 situation people...

You have to realize, that the economic sucks and that says it nicely. This company is just trying to stay afloat. See its like this...what do 95% of the population do spend there last 5 on a plant or a package of hotdogs?

Plants to most people are luxury items they don't need them to live. Thus these companies must do this, in hopes of wrangling new clients. This plants are attractive to interior decorators, kids, college group, and gift people.

Us few plant folk that probably make up less then 10% of the population are not going to keep these suppliers in business.

Me myself I would buy this plant for my kids room and more then likely I would paint the new leaves...make up some cool little story about it, have him take it to school. It will get them interested in plants, why does it glow? what type is it? All these little questions can act as a fish hook in a little guys mind. When I was young, I use to garden with my little red wagon and any little weeds I could pull up.

In the near future, I will be buying a small piece of property. I will be building a rainforest, raise beds for tons of gardening, pumpkin patches, rose gardens etc. I want to open a teaching garden. So this little glow in the dark plant would just be a cool little alien creature for my son and out in our yard he can find the amazing would of plants to see all the amazing species that are out there.

I totally understand why Costa Farms is trying these types of "novelty" plants. Like it or not, the average person IS attracted to these types of unusual gimmicks - especially youngsters.

I myself had one of those grafted cacti with the neon mutant growth on top when I was a kid.

The average person doesn't even know how to keep houseplants alive for the long term, so for most people the brief enjoyment they get out of a gimmicky plant is enough for them even if the gimmick interferes with the plant's growth later. For a few, it may be the first step towards a more serious interest in plants.

I no longer have any interest in buying novelty plants for myself now that I am older and more serious about plants.
However, I am grateful that my mom got me interested in plants by getting us some small novelty things in the past.
If I have a child that I wanted to try to get interested in plants, I may very well decide to try to get them something like this glow in the dark Sans.

This post was edited by summersunshine on Sat, Jan 10, 15 at 15:47