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What’s Trending for 2023?
Since the pandemic began, demand for houseplants has surged as more people want to care for their own natural treasures. This is no surprise given that plants provide numerous benefits, such as improving physical and mental health, boosting productivity and creativity, removing toxins from the air, and livening up a space.
Just as fashion and paint colors are tracked to see what’s in and what’s out, there are houseplant trends as well. Whether you’re looking to add some of the most popular plants to your décor or opt for a bit more obscure species, the coming trends in the houseplant world for 2023 will influence what you choose to have in your home.
RELATED: 8 Exotic Houseplants You’ve Never Heard Of
Tree-Like Statement Plants
One of the best ways to turn heads is to have a statement plant to enhance your home décor. Add a tall houseplant to fill a space and serve as a type of living artwork. Many of these tree-like plants grow six feet or taller. While monstera continues to be a popular choice, other options include rubber tree, bird of paradise, fiddle leaf fig, and croton.
Low-Light Houseplants
Another trend to look forward to includes plants that can thrive in dark, low-light spaces. If you plan to put your plant somewhere other than a south-facing window—or you don’t want the stress of worrying about light levels for your plant—you might consider a houseplant that requires less sunlight than others. Some plants that thrive in these conditions include arrowhead vine, rubber plant, peperomia, and peace lily.
RELATED: 10 Trees That Tolerate Low Light Indoors
Modern and Unusual
For Instagram-worthy houseplant pictures, be sure to add some modern and unusual plants to the mix. It’s trending to have weird and different plants as opposed to traditional looking ones. Some of the best options that have bold colors, uncommon leaf shapes, or variegated leaves include head turners like pothos, tillandsia, staghorn fern, spider plant, and pilea.
Orchids
Expect to see lots of orchids in the coming year. The National Garden Bureau, which promotes gardening in North America, just declared 2023 as the Year of the Orchid. With more than 28,000 species, orchids are easy to grow, genetically diverse, and breathtakingly beautiful. Keep in mind that when grown indoors, orchids need to receive 10-16 hours of indirect sunlight.
RELATED: This Orchid Care Routine Will Keep Beautiful Blooms Coming
Fast Growing
With so many new plant parents since the pandemic, fast-growing options are popular for their (almost) instant gratification. Because houseplants’ growing seasons are spring and summer, expect them to grow more during warmer months. Choose a plant that gains size in the way you like; some plants grow vertically and others take a bushier form. Types to consider include arrowhead plant, asparagus fern, walking iris, purple passion plant, and philodendron.
Variegated Plants
Variegated plants are attention-grabbing centerpieces featuring leaves with multiple colors, often providing a tropical feel. The leaves tend to be green with an accent color that can range from lighter greens like emerald and lime to yellow, red, pink, purple, cream, or white. The most intriguing aspect of these common houseplants are the patterns that the colors form, such as speckles, stripes, veins, blotches, or borders. The colors can also change depending on light exposure and season. Ideas include red Congo philodendron, watermelon peperomia, variegated English ivy, and variegated white bird of paradise.
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Air-Purifying Species
Environmental issues like climate change and sustainability are top-of-mind, so people want their homes to be clean and eco-friendly. While all plants that use photosynthesis absorb carbon dioxide, certain species are more air purifying than others. Certain species, such as English ivy, peace lily, and golden pothos, clean the air by absorbing pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. Some plants that excel at absorbing carbon dioxide include snake plant, succulents, and prayer plant.
RELATED: 10 Low-Maintenance Houseplants to Keep Indoor Air Fresh
Indoor/Outdoor Plants
Another big trend is to bring traditional outdoor plants inside the home. To save money, it makes sense to be able to transition planters you use as home decor onto an outdoor patio or balcony on a seasonal basis. The best plants for this are tough ones that can survive temperature changes and thrive with different levels of sun exposure when moved outdoors, such as cat palm.
RELATED: 10 Plants You Can Winter Indoors
Tabletop Succulents
Instead of just focusing on plants in the corners of the room by windows, add some collections of small, low-growing succulents on tables. Succulents are low-maintenance houseplants that require only occasional watering since their thick leaves store water. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Our favorite varieties include aloe vera, snake plant, panda plant, and string of pearls.
Vintage Value
The Flower Council of Holland identified this trend that captures our attention to diversity and to the usefulness of a plant. The idea is to value even the misfits, “not to throw out but to repair and patch up with love,” doing our small part to address what the organization sees as the loss of connection and harmony in the world. Colorful flowers for home bouquets and bright house plant choices include azalea, croton, ceropegia, false aralia, calathea, and primula.
Inspiring Memories
Given the recent renewal of attention to the home as a source of daily togetherness, The Flower Council of Holland believes there is a strong need for people to create a home environment where fond memories can be cherished. The following flowers and plants have a special poetic character representing harmony and softness that are great for inspiring memorable moments: blue star fern, araucaria, anthurium, bromeliad, hydrangea, and ficus.
RELATED: 20 Flowering Houseplants That Will Add Beauty to Your Home
Pink Barbiecore
This one is for pure fun. Barbiecore—all things Barbie fashion—is everywhere now and expected to continue into the new year. The flower and plant delivery company Bloom & Wild anticipates many requests in 2023 for pink floral bouquets and gift plants, from vibrant hot pinks to bubblegum pastels. Think pretty pink roses and tulips, lisianthus, pink caladium, beleaf begonia, and rose painted calathea.
