Trending Houseplants for 2024

By Kelly Kellow | The Gardens on Spring Creek Horticulturist

Every year in horticulture, there seems to be something new and trending.  There is the color of the year, perennial of the year, annual of the year, and even the recently publicized bioluminescent petunias! If you’re on social media, you’ve likely been inundated with influencers giving advice on plant care and interiorscaping, as well as showing of their rare plant exploitations. The pandemic also created new and influential houseplant trends. According to Garden Pals online, “House plant demand surged 18% during COVID.”  With the large influx of people working from home, house plants have become more integral to interior design than ever before.  With all that in mind, here are some examples of plant categories that I think are going to be trendy this year.  

Playing with texture and color will be big in 2024.  Take a step away from the typical spade leaf shape and look into plants that have finely toothed leaves, are lacey or frilly, or even have soft and fuzzy textures.  Philodendron ‘Xanadu’ has finely cut leaves, even more so than the traditional Swiss cheese variety, which will give your home a tropical look.  If you’re going for lacey leaf textures, check out Asparagus Fern. They look like the tops of asparagus when they go to flower.  Plants that add color, like Croton’s, have many different vibrant color combinations and leaf textures.  Croton ‘Zanzibar’ or ‘Banana’ is brightly colored with fine tooth leaves that will add both color and texture.  Most of these plants are easy to care for and find and won’t break the bank.  

Large leaf, bushy, and tall plants are also going to be huge this year.  Not only are they impressive, but they fill corners and empty walls without having to add more furniture.  Plants like the African Mask plant and Alocasia ‘Dragon Scale’ have interesting dark leaves with cream to white mid-ribs that get even larger as they mature.  Also consider plants that are more bush-like, such as the fishtail palm. These giants are also great for filling in large corners.  Most conveniently, these plants can tolerate indirect light, so they are perfect for that empty spot on a south-facing wall.  

Any plant with variegation is often highly sought after.  Variegations are different color pigments in the leaf, creating unique patterns.  Plants like variegated monstera are frequently desired but also come with a high ticket price.  Plants that are nearly black have also grown in popularity.  ZZ Plant ‘Black Raven’ has nearly black leaves compared to its sister plant, which is a traditional green.  Rubber trees also have a nearly black variety, but I find the color ‘Ruby’ a lot more interesting with its dark green leaves with ruby midribs, margins, and variegations.  Collecting these rare plants is impressive, and they will definitely need to be shown off to family and friends!

Lastly, I think that focusing on and buying air-purifying plants is going to be big. What makes certain plants air-purifying? It’s their ability to transpire carbon dioxide into oxygen, a process called photosynthesis.  Studies have shown that some plants can diffuse toxic chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene from the air.  Most of these plants are your traditional go-to house plants, like snake plants, spider plants, Boston ferns, peace lilies, and aloes.  They are easy to take care of and easy to find in many stores.  If you need a break from the traditional colors, don’t worry! Growers are constantly finding new variations of these plants to keep things interesting.  Happy shopping and trend-following!