Couple grows a real ‘money tree’ and its initial seeds are valued at over $6,700

A retired couple from England, Pamela and Alistair Thompson, have found a unique way to turn their garden into a money-making venture. In 2010, they purchased a 46cm-tall Wollemi pine sapling for £70 ($98). This tree species is rare and was made available to the public as the first endangered tree species.

The Wollemi pine has a remarkable history, existing for around 200 million years and believed to have gone extinct about 2 million years ago. It was rediscovered in 1994 by park ranger David Noble in a hidden gorge in Australia, making it a significant biological find. The name “Wollemi” comes from an Aboriginal term meaning “watch out, look around you.”

While the Thompsons’ tree thrives in Europe, wild Wollemi pines face threats from wildfires and climate change, with only about 90 remaining in the wild today. The tree was introduced to Europe in 2005 when broadcaster Sir David Attenborough planted one at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, expressing excitement about finding such a rare survivor from an ancient time.

After 15 years of careful cultivation, the Thompson’s tree produced cones for the first time in August 2025. The couple plans to sell the seeds from their tree and donate the proceeds to the National Garden Scheme, a charity that supports health and nursing organizations.

Wollemi pines can be quite costly; the couple noted that a small tree was priced over £1,000 ($1,352), highlighting their rarity. They plan to sell seed bundles of five or six for £5 ($6.76) each to make them affordable while supporting charity. They have about five large cones, each producing roughly a hundred seeds. If they successfully package and sell these, they could potentially earn around $676. However, the seeds can sell for up to £10 ($13.52) each, and if they sold all 500 seeds generated by the cones, the total could reach $6,760.

In 2023, the Botanic Gardens of Sydney shipped over 170 young Wollemi pines to 28 botanical gardens in the UK and Europe, along with a separate collection to a garden in Atlanta, Georgia, to help preserve this rare species. This effort is significant for tree conservation.

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