Design Tips
Our Biggest Plant Predictions for 2022
We asked members of our team and friends from the plant community what they hypothesize will be the most significant plant trends of the new year. Read up on their predictions in this article.
We asked members of our team and friends from the plant community what they anticipate to be the most significant plant trends of the new year. Read up on their predictions below!
From statement-making plant varieties to hands-on propagation, passionate plant parents predict 2022’s biggest plant trends.
Shimmering Leaves
“I feel like Begonias are due for their time in the spotlight,” shares Maureen Newman. As a plant expert that spends her days overseeing The Sill’s growing plant assortment, Maureen is looking forward to bringing on two new visually-striking begonia varieties in 2022. She hypothesizes the interest isn’t in begonias specifically, but in their foliage: “With the recent popularity on Instagram of plants like the Cebu Blue Pothos or Silver Sword Philodendron, I think plants with shimmery leaves are really gaining interest.”
You can get the look now with a Satin Pothos, or Scindapsus pictus. A quick-growing, trailing plant, the Satin Pothos has silvery variegation that catches and reflects light. It is sometimes referred to as a Satin Pothos or Silver Philodendron because it is similar in easy care requirements and aesthetics to pothos and philodendron plants.
Blooming Orchids
Plant enthusiast and photographer Phoebe Cheong is well-known for transforming her Brooklyn apartment into a plant-filled escape from the surrounding concrete jungle. On her Instagram @welcometothejunglehome, Phoebe documents her ever-growing plant collection along with her furry—and photogenic—sidekick, Pixel the cat. We have a feeling Pixel would approve Phoebe’s 2022 plant prediction, since most varieties from the plant family Orchidaceae are considered pet-friendly.
“I believe the next ‘trending’ plant will be orchids,” Phoebe says. “Plant enthusiasts like myself have grown our collections in the past 2-3 years, and as our collections grows larger in numbers, space is getting limited. Personally, I have been more selective on the new plants I bring into my Jungle Home, and have been enjoying learning and collecting orchids this past year, specifically miniature orchids because it takes so much less space and sparks the same joy as when I see a Hoya bloom! Learning from my grandma who is an orchid queen and sharing my blooms with her abroad makes the journey more special.”
Orchidaceae is known to be one of the largest families of flowering plants, with thousands of orchid species found across the world. If you’re looking for a starter orchid this new year, opt for a Phalaenopsis. Affectionately called the beginner orchid, the Phalaenopsis is one of the easiest orchid varieties to grow as a houseplant and its blooms come in a variety of hues.
Plant Propagation & Cuttings
Morgan Doane, author of How to Raise a Plant and Make it Love You Back and co-creator of @houseplantclub, predicts propagation will have its moment in 2022. “Everyone who bought plants during our year of isolation will have learned how to propagate and will be ready to share with friends!” Morgan explains. Propagating plants is a relatively easy way to grow your collection and swap favorite varieties with fellow plant-loving people.
With a little rooting hormone, you can propagate many plants in fresh potting mix, but some common plants can also be propagated in water. This is because they have evolved in an environment that allows it. For example, most Aroid plants, including pothos plants, philodendrons, and monsteras, can be propagated in water. These plants originate from an ancestor that lived in swamps long ago, so being able to adapt to flooding conditions and still be able to grow was key to survival. As a result, these descendants have the ability to grow in water, too. However, they are still land plants and will do best if planted from their water-filled propagation vessel to a planter with potting mix once roots have grown.
Easy-Care Statement Plants
You might recognize The Sill’s head of Plant Education, Paris from Instagram or our online workshops. A passionate plant parent, Paris not only works with plants professionally but has her own growing collection. “I predict Dracaena plants will be a big hit,” Paris shares. “There are so many beautiful varieties that are almost as easy to care for as a snake plant.” Plants from the genus Dracaena are popular houseplants thanks to their easy-going nature and tolerance of lower light levels. There are over 100 different species within the genus, most of them native to arid environments in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Paris also thinks the reign of the miniature succulent is over, at least for now. She predicts 2022 will be the year of the large, and consequently low-maintenance, houseplant: “large statement plants will be popular because they require less care than small plants and they make a big impact.” Thanks to a higher volume of soil, large plants require less frequent waterings and repotting.
Horatio Joyce, Director of Public Programs and Education at The Garden Conservancy, also hinted at the statement-making plant trend but tells us there’s still room for small plants—grouped together, in impactful terrariums, of course. “I’m thinking extremes in 2022,” Horatio explains. “Terrariums because who doesn’t want absolute control over their own little curated world at this point? Or a giant fern that will do its own thing until it hits your ceiling or comes close to it.”
No matter what plant trend you try this new year, one thing is for certain: “Huge or small,” Horatio states, “we’ll want to be engaged and entertained.”
Words By The Sill
Empowering all people to be plant people—a collection of articles from The Sill's team of plant experts across a variety of plant care topics to inspire confidence in the next generation of plant parents. Welcome to Plant Parenthood™.
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