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Houseplants have been having something of a renaissance in the last decade–and not just because so many people became plant parents during the early days of lockdown. Plant-filled interiors had already reached such a level of trendiness by early 2020 that the New York Times was reporting on the emerging career of a plant stylist. Today, the houseplant trend is going strong and growing beyond the fiddle leaf figs and monstera plants that are ubiquitous on Instagram. “Plant owners are aiming to diversify the greenery within their spaces,” says Rebecca Sterling, the resident plant expert at Easyplant, an online retailer of houseplants in self-watering pots. To find out what new houseplants will be popular in 2024, we asked Sterling and other experts to tell us what they see trending.
Textured Plants
“Texture is specifically having a moment in the spotlight, and a lot of the plants within our 2024 plant trends report reflect that bold, trending texture people are loving,” says Sterling. The team at Easyplant picked Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ Compacta, with its highly textured leaves, as their top houseplant of the year.
Larger Specimens
“This year, we’ll see consumers looking to incorporate larger-sized plants to uplevel their living spaces,” says Sterling, who notes that a large plant makes a big impact “without having to change too much or invest in home renovations.” In addition to Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ Compacta, Sterling predicts other varieties of Dracaena (Dracaena Lemon Lime, Dracaena Cinthos, and Dracaena Warneckii) and some larger Ficus (Ficus Tineke and Ficus Altissima) will be in demand.
Variegated Leaves
“Anything variegated will be popular,” predicts houseplant influencer Hilton Carter, the author of four books about houseplants (with a fifth, The Propagation Handbook, forthcoming in April). The team at 1-800-Flowers.com agrees with Carter, choosing philodendron, and specifically two variegated varieties, Philodendron Birkin Plant and the Philodendron Pink Princess, as their 2024 houseplant of the year.
Rare Coloring
In addition to variegation, Carter says he sees collectors clamoring for rare colors. “There are new varieties of variegated alocasias and philodendrons that have crazy red and pink colors to the leaves,” he says, pointing to the pink variegated alocasia ‘Black Velvet’ and philodendron ‘Red Moon,’ which he says are trending with collectors right now, noting “Tissue culture has come a long way!” Likewise, the striking Black ZZ with its almost black leaves was among Easyplant’s picks for 2024’s trending houseplants.
