Holey leaves and vines! A look at houseplant trends for 2022

“Things also become popular when they’re hard to acquire,” Sabharwal said. In the past, “Monsteras were never available in tiny sizes – only with big, giant leaves – and they were expensive. So initially it was hobby gardeners taking clippings and sharing them with each other, then posting photos on Instagram.” The hashtag #MonsteraMonday helped fuel the frenzy, he said.

The plants are more accessible today, so the trend we’re seeing is a combination of their good looks, social media popularity and ease of care, Sabharwal said. “They’re hard to kill, and you only need one to add the feel of a jungle to your house.”

Climbing plants also are having a moment, as social media feeds fill with images of vines spilling from containers and snaking their way up stair railings and bookcases. Philodendrons, especially the velvet-leaved “micans” and variegated “pink princess” varieties, are desirable, as are large hoya and pothos plants. All are relatively low-maintenance.

“The beauty of vining plants is that you can easily take a clipping and make another,” Sabharwal said. “And they don’t take up a lot of floor space” because they grow vertically.

He attributes their surge in popularity to the wholesale-retail cycle: In 2020, lockdowns and business restrictions created a shortage of plants, so demand grew. Commercial growers responded to that demand by producing more. But, Sabharwal said, small pothos and philodendrons flooded the market and just sat on nursery shelves, growing bigger as the year progressed. Now there’s a large supply of plants with long vines, which are in greater demand.