Houseplants are really having a moment right now—they’ve been trending for a number of years now, but with so many people working from home during the pandemic, houseplant gardening has really soared in popularity. And recent surveys indicate that most of the people who started growing houseplants during the pandemic have no plans to stop any time soon.
So if you’re a person who loves houseplants and likes to stay on top of trends, you may want to take a peek at some of these beauties to add to your indoor jungle. Have any other favorites? Let us know!
Top 8 Trendy Houseplants
To be clear, none of these houseplants are new. In fact, several are “oldies but goodies,” having been around the block quite a few times. What we’re seeing here are two things that make a houseplant currently trendy: Those that are exotic looking (and sometimes hard to locate) and those that are so easy to grow it’s almost silly.
- Kokedama: Also called Japanese moss balls, kokedama is the art of covering the root balls of plants in soil and sphagnum moss, then wrapping with string to keep it all together. They can either be hung up or displayed in a shallow dish. Great plant options for this artsy project include orchids, African violets, ferns, cyclamen, kalanchoe, wax plant, Christmas cactus, and sedum. Water every couple of days for about 5-10 minutes to soak the moss ball, moving it into a larger moss ball when it’s grown too large or starts looking stressed.
- Calathea: Exotic, brightly patterned foliage is what makes calathea so popular right now. These lovelies thrive in bright, indirect light (although they’ll tolerate slightly lower light conditions), watering every 1–2 weeks, well-drained soil, and higher humidity (break out the mister!).
- Air Plants: Air plants, or tillandsias, are a curious plant that grows without any soil. They’re architectural little darlings, growing into quirky shapes and sizes. Most are small, some are large, many flower, and all are low-maintenance. Give them good air circulation (no closed terrariums, for example), mist a few times a week, then do a deep soak in water for about 1 hour every week. When you take them out of the water, shake off the excess moisture and let dry on a towel before replacing in its display.
- ZZ Plant: It seems every traditional houseplant experiences a resurgence every few years, and ZZ plant is definitely in that category. Dark green glossy leaves, upright growth, and super easy to grow. They’re not finicky at all, preferring low to bright indirect light and watering only when the soil is completely dry. Be aware, though, that all parts of the ZZ plant are poisonous—if you have curious pets or young children, you’ll need to monitor them.
- String of Turtles: To be honest, this is one of our favorites around here. And what’s not to love? Adorable tiny leaves that look like turtle shells, relatively easy care, and slow growth with a cascading habit. It’s from the Peperomia family, and although it’s a succulent, its care is a little different than most other succulents you may be familiar with. It loves bright, indirect light (especially at the top of the plant where the new growth is), slightly humid conditions, and infrequent watering. Soak the plant when the top two inches of soil are dry, and make sure the pot is never sitting in water.
- Sansevieria: This one just may be the “grandma” of the houseplant group (maybe #2 to African violets), and it’s always popular because it’s so darn easy to grow. What’s fun, though, is all the different varieties of sansevieria—you can start a collection featuring different foliage colors and shapes. Give them low to medium light, and infrequent watering (once a month soaking is great, then let it totally dry out), and you’re good to go.
- Cast Iron Plant: Cast iron plant is the hard-to-kill plant that you thought you could only grow outside. Wrong! It thrives beautifully indoors with low light and infrequent watering, similar to sansevieria. Dark green, upright leaves are the perfect foil for your more exotic-looking houseplants.
- Jumbo Houseplants: The secret to a great houseplant display is combining plants of all sizes and growth habit, which is why all of the oversized plants are so popular right now. They either have jumbo leaves or grow to a jumbo size, or both! Some of our favorites right now are Swiss cheese plant, Areca palm, ficus tree, and fiddle leaf fig.