Indoor Plant Trends for 2021
Plants bring happiness, this is scientific fact. According to Psychology Today, bringing living plants into your life has been proven to lower blood pressure, purify the air you breathe, improve attentiveness, raise productivity, lower anxiety and improve general well-being. That is a major part of why we’re here: to bring you plants and hopefully bring some wellbeing to your day.
We don’t know about you, but we are so very ready to look beyond 2020 and see what 2021 has in store. After searching through our analytics, reviewing our sales, consulting our botanical experts and industry professionals, and hearing back from you, our customers, here is our top 20 for 2021 list. It consists of two parts: our top 10 indoor plant trends for 2021 and our top 10 garden trends for 2021. (Why such a big list? Because we can – we are proud to offer one of the biggest selections of any online garden center… so we’ll flex a bit ;-) ).
Top 2021 Trends for Indoor Plants...
1. Be Brave and Dive In – Shark/Whale Fin Snake Plant (or Starfish Snake Plant)
This past year pushed many past their comfort zones, and they came out fighting - taking on new challenges while bravely facing complete upheaval of daily routines. We want to celebrate that resilience in the new year, and keep it going!
For anyone who is afraid to become a plant parent for the first time, 2021 is your year. We recommend the Shark Fin Snake Plant - an easy to care for plant that makes a strong statement. It’s incredibly simple to care for, almost “thriving on neglect” as one of our botanical experts likes to say. They prefer to be watered less often than most, and can survive in fluorescent light conditions, making them an ideal plant for new plant owners. It’s strong and resilient, like you - you’ve survived 2020! Bring a Shark fin snake plant home and remember how strong you really are as you take on what will hopefully be a much, much better year.
|
|
|
2. Have a Little Luck – Chinese Money Plant
Chinese Money Plant was a very popular plant this year, and we think its for both aesthetic reasons and for the meaning behind the plant. The cute disk leaves stand attention and look like a modern art piece. This plant will look lovely on a windowsill or on your coffee table. It also represents luck, and you can manifest good fortune in your life every time you look at it. 2021, the year of the Ox, is the year to feel strong and lucky!
|
|
 |
3. Pretty in Pink – Hoya Carnosa (or Stromanthe Triostar)
Pink house plants were all the rage this year, and that isn’t stopping anytime soon. The rare Philodendron Pink Princess waiting list is proof enough that we just can’t get enough of pretty, uplifting pink variegation in our houseplants. Pink in color psychology is often associated with calming, nurturing, kindness and compassion, and these are emotions that everyone should bring into their home. Try adding some pink in your day with Hoya Carnosa.
|
|
|
4. Put Your Heart In It – String of Hearts (or Anthurium)
We’ve watched people shopping this year (pretty closely!), and it’s safe to say that customers are often looking to fill their home with positive symbolism. With the ever rising search results for String of Hearts, we think everyone will benefit from having symbols of love and acceptance hanging around their homes in the form of heart shaped leaves. String of Hearts plants are small and understated, but they are a great choice for new plant owners since they are so easy to care for. Hang a string of hearts up with a trendy macramé plant holder so that the hearts will greet you at eye level every morning.
|
|
|
5. Meditate with Peace and Calm – Peace Lily
This writer’s first plant ever was a peace lily, so the resurgence in popularity makes perfect sense to us. It’s easy to care for, it cleans the air in your home, and it even speaks to you - when it’s thirsty the leaves will droop slightly. Peace Lilies have apparently been very popular to give as gifts of goodwill this year. Our customers haven’t been able to see friends and colleagues in the same way, but many took to sending peace lilies, a universal sign of peace and friendship. Our potted peace lily is already paired with a pot of your choice, making it an effortless gift ready to go on a shelf.
 |
|
6. Small but Mighty - Petite Houseplants
We know that plants bring joy, and we’re here to remind you that you don’t need big, luxurious houseplants to create a joyful tropical oasis. Small, petite plants in key places in your home can transform a room, breathing life with little pops of exotic color and shape. Some plants, like a little Ficus Ginseng plant or a Buddha Belly plant, look like little modern art sculptures, perfect to balance the look of a bookshelf display.
A Venus Fly Trap in your kitchen will both eat little pests and brighten a windowsill with a tiny zap of bright lime green. Peperomia mini watermelon, white fittonia or pink polka dot plants can add texture and warmth to your home office, placed just so next to a paperweight or picture frame. Even the littlest plants will make a big statement in 2021.
7. Stand Tall – Ficus Altissima
Interior designers will tell you that having a strong, tall tree indoors as an anchoring point will make any room look polished and put together, lifting the eye to make the room look bigger. Often, the go-to tall indoor tree has been our favorite Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree. Recently, we’ve seen a lot of buzz about the Ficus Altissima as a great addition or alternative for the FLF in the new year. It has a lighter, brighter color in its leaves, but still brings the height and works the same way in interior designs. It’s been gaining popularity and looks like it will be a big hit in 2021.
 |
 |
8. Living Fountains – Philodendron Brasil (or Golden Pothos)
If you follow plant enthusiasts on social media, they often post absolutely stunning rooms with veritable fountains of living greenery, draping every corner of their bedrooms and offices with plants, plants, and more plants! If you aspire to live in a space surrounded by indoor tropicals like these trendsetters, a hanging basket with flowing vines will do the trick pretty quickly. There are even macramé double hangers available where you can make two plants look like one long, flowing fountain of greenery.
Climbing plants with vine-like foliage, such as Philodendron Brasil, Hoya carnosa Variegata, or Golden Pothos, are easy to care for and will create these waterfalls of greenery if given a little time and the right kind of soil and nutrients. With these flowing beauties, you too can surround yourself in towers of tropical foliage. They’re also pretty great at creating some privacy in front of big windows!
|
|
|
9. An Elephant Always Remembers – Alocasia Regal Shields or Burle Marx Philodendron
The elephant ear shaped leaves of many indoor tropical plants have been finding a places in more and more homes. It’s a great way to bring home relatively low-maintenance plants that look exotic and wild, really bringing home the tropical feeling. They’re native to shady areas in the tropics underneath other taller plants and trees, so they do well in indoor situations. We personally love the Alocaisa Regal Sheilds and the Burle Marx Philodendron as trendy, chic additions to your home in 2021.
|
|
|
10. Propagation Nation - Bonide Root Powder
The year 2020 was a challenge for many, and 2021 will certainly still have its own challenges as well. When you just cannot think about what’s going wrong in your world anymore, the best medicine is sometimes to take care of another living thing. After reviewing all of the trends, we think one of the biggest trends in 2021 is propagating more indoor plants! Pet adoption is on the rise, and in the same way so is propagating baby plants.
College students will take to Instagram and show off their massive propagation walls, with tons of little vials growing new roots on little houseplant cuttings. It’s no small feat to patiently nurture a cutting into a whole new plant, but it's a hobby that brings an immense sense of pride and achievement when successful. We want all plants to thrive, whether their ours or yours, so there are tools that will make your baby plants grow into the healthiest indoor plants possible. We recommend a rooting agent such as Bonide Rooting Powder to make sure your cuttings have a leg up in life.
At Garden Goods Direct, we are constantly working to improve what we offer to our customers, how we ship our plants, how we care for them in our nursery, and how we can create the best online shopping experience possible. We know this year has been incredibly hard for so many people, and so many things are uncertain while we are socially distancing from friends and family. We are so thankful that we were able to send plants across the country to bring joy, relaxation, and comfort to those isolated in their homes, unsure of what is coming around the bend this year. So, from everyone here at the Garden Goods, please know that we plan to continue our mission into 2021: find the best plants for you and get them to you a.s.a.p., so that you can enjoy some vibrant life in your home and garden.