Why Tropical Plants Are On the Rise
December 5, 2023 
This pothos named ‘Manjula’ is part of the Exotic Angel Plants Collection at Costa Farms. Photo: Costa Farms
The holiday rush is over, and it’s now restock time for many growers. For some, retailer orders may be coming in, but others might be pondering what to grow. Where might the market be headed, what could be a big seller and, therefore, a nice fat revenue source?
Our crystal ball is chipped and murky, so we talked to a couple of experts and dove through the reports. The good news: according to the National Gardening Association 2022 Survey, 600,000 more households grew plants in containers last year, and there has been a steady rise in spending on container gardens.
One look at social media and the popularity of foliage plants is apparent. In fact, #foliageplant has 197,000 posts, #foliagefriday more than 230,000 posts, and #alocasia clocks in at well north of one million posts on Instagram. New varieties seem to spring forth weekly, becoming famous as quickly as an influencer can get their hands on one.
With all the industry effort to bring new varieties to customers, I asked Justin Hancock, Senior Brand Marketing Manager for Costa Farms, a Field of Dreams question: is the current foliage plant situation “if we grow it, they will come?” He confirmed the idea. “Yeah, so far,” he says. “And we’ll see how far that continues. There’s still so much enthusiasm around new rare plants with the consumer that if you grow it, they will come.”
Expanding Market Opportunities
New ways of shopping — and selling — are here to stay as well. Costa Farms has an Amazon store. Etsy plant sellers abound. The COVID-19 era not only fostered increased interest in houseplants and designing home spaces with plants, but also new ways to buy them. Growers and retailers are no longer limited to customers who live within a comfortable drive.
Garden Media Group’s 2024 Garden Trends Report states, “Companies such as Ship My Plants (SMP) are paving the way for green buyers and sellers alike. SMP marries the plant-loving Zoomers’ wants and needs with the inventory and capabilities of sellers by creating the ultimate online destination.”
Part of the reason for the recent explosion in tropical and foliage plant availability is the proliferation of tissue culture propagation.
Hancock explains, “When house plants became popular worldwide during the pandemic, I think tissue culture labs really caught on and they added the stock. Now, all of a sudden, you have so many choices for plants that before were difficult to propagate or just weren’t really in commerce. Monstera ‘Thai Constellation’ is a key example, along with Jewel Alocasias like ‘Black Velvet’ and ‘Silver Dragon’.”
Biophilic design is a growing trend, and it means a huge increase in demand for indoor plants. According to the report 2023 Interior Design Trends produced by NewPro Containers, “biophilic design creates a connection between the office environment and nature by incorporating natural elements, such as plants and natural light, in an indoor environment.”
Incorporating natural elements, of which plants are a huge component, leads to improved productivity, creativity, and well-being. Companies are getting on board, and firms are competing to offer cutting-edge designs with foliage plants as integral components.
“Interiorscaping is a big business,” says Hancock. “I’d be willing to bet a lot of the interiorscapers are doing some of the biophilic trends even if they’re not calling it that.”
Rare and variegated plants have become very popular in the last few years, as seen here at the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) in 2019. Photo: Jim Mumford, Good Earth Plant Company
What’s Hot Right Now?
Trends are cool, but how about some actionable intel? What plants are hot right now? What has a lot of demand?
Good Earth Plants in San Diego provides interior and exterior landscape design, plant installations, and maintenance services in non-traditional gardening spaces. Their Operations Manager, Joe Benedetti, shares his perspective on houseplants.
“As far as varieties go, there’s been a huge boom and interest in rare plants and variegated plants in the last couple of years.” He sees increased demand for rare hoya varieties and variegated Philodendrons, as well as Alocasia and Peperomia varieties.
“Right now, at a genus level, Philodendron, Monstera, and Epipremnum are probably the top three. If you have a new variety of Monstera, people are rushing to it,” says Hancock. “Statement plants are still going strong.”
He explains a progression of popular plants that began with fiddle leaf fig a decade or more ago, then proceeded through Monstera deliciosa, and now White Bird of Paradise/Wild Banana.
“Climbing and trailing plants are still hot. I think part of that is the ability to put it on the shelf and have it cascade down. It adds so much to the aesthetic, especially some of the pothos and the philodendrons,” Hancock says. “When given climbing support, the leaves can get three or four times the size. It’s great for Instagram.”
Variegation is still popular as well. For varieties that normally don’t display variegation, the demand is crazy.
“I have seen a couple of growers release new pothos varieties because the variegation pattern is a little bit different than what you see in other pothos. In particular, pink is still on fire, white of course, and silver. I’m also seeing more and more interest in gold.”
When asked for a rising star, Hancock says, “We’re seeing a lot of enthusiasm around Alocasia ‘Jacklyn’ (Alocasia tenderusa). And that doesn’t look anything like any alocasia that I’ve seen before. The leaves have a little bit of fuzz and it’s hairy with big dentate margins.”
Subscribe to eNewsletter
