Vietnamese undergraduates who have been smitten with ornamental plants are turning their passion into a business by selling the flora online.

Nguyen Mai Thy, a freshman at the University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, has been a fan of ornamental cacti and plants in the genus of Echeveria since junior high.

After over three years doing research on the characteristics and caring methods of each plant, Thy now runs an online shop selling them.

Thy makes use of her spare time after school to brainstorm ideas for new designs, care for her plants, and ship them to her customers.

“I am still picking up doing business so I want to focus on making the best and most beautiful products for my customers at the moment,” Thy said. "I'm not thinking too much about profit."

As for C., a senior at the University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City, the passion for ornamental plants took root in eighth grade.

“[The hobby] was interrupted when I got to college,” C. said. “As fate would have it, I picked up caring for plants again during my senior year as a means to relieve stress from heavy study loads. After I posted photos of my plants on Facebook, my friends began asking [if they were for sale].”

It has been over a year since C. took his business live.

“I mostly ship at night or on the weekend to save time, since school is still my priority,” C. said.

A group of three sophomore students from the University of Architecture got their business idea from an assignment at school, where they were asked to design fish tank ornaments during a perspective drawing lesson.

They offer customers not only ornamental plants but also complicated miniatures used for indoor decoration that can take months to finish.

“It’s both for money and inspiration,” Bao, a member of the trio, said with a grin about their four-month-old business venture. “We’ve only invested VND3 million [US$135] in it. When the plants sell, we earn some extra money for our next products.”

Meanwhile, junior medical student Dang has been running an online store selling cacti and Echeveria plants for the last two years.

Dang’s plants are bought directly from flower farms in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat, and the packaging is also carefully designed to increase the products’ appeal.

From an initial investment of VND3 million, Dang now makes nearly VND10 million ($445) a month from the business.

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