Bigger is better: The best indoor plant trends for 2019

Touted for their health benefits and styling credentials, indoor plants have hit homes and apartments with a vengeance. Plant newbies and green thumbs have taken to the trend with equal enthusiasm, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a home, cafe or indoor space that hasn’t welcomed the influx of greenery.

What’s next for the world of indoor plants?

We’ve seen the fiddle leaf fig have its moment in the sun, closely followed by the monstera; so what is the next “it” plant?

We asked three experts for their predications on the biggest plant trends we can expect to see in 2019.

Bigger is better

For Plant Mama’s Jenna Holmes, 2019 is going to be the year in which size counts.

“People are wanting to invest in more mature plants,” she says. “This makes the styling more effective.”

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This season of The Block saw Jess and Norm choose a mature Japanese maple as the hero piece in their main bathroom. A decision that the judges loved.

“If you’re going to have greenery in your bathroom, that is the way to do it,” judge Neale Whitaker said.

Sara Chamberlain, of The Real Estate Stylist, agrees we will embrace the indoor tree in 2019.

“Cumquat trees are going to be cool again, and can be inside if they’re getting enough sun,” she says. “A ficus inside is another good option, and can get to a great height.”

Styling

While there are only so many different indoor plant varieties you can buy, there are countless ways to style them.

“Twenty-nineteen will be more about being creative with styling,” says Holmes. “People are becoming more creative with pots, plant stands, macrame plant hangers.”

The Plant Society’s Jason Chongue says we’ll see a shift in how people style their indoor plants.

“With increased apartment living we’ll see shelves full of greenery. Rather than green walls, we’ll see mass potted planting on modular shelving systems allowing for easy maintenance and versatility in styling,” he says.

Hayden and Sara’s attempt at a green wall in their master bathroom was unanimously criticised by the judges.

“This feels so over the top. It’s just an ugly choice,” Whitaker said.

“It” plants

When it comes to the types of plants we’ll be seeing more of in 2019, Chongue names a few familiar faces, but not as we know them.

“Plants such as bird of paradise (Strelitzia nicolai), fruit salad plant (Monstera deliciosa), cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) and heart leaf philodendron (Philodendron cordatum) will be gracing the indoors without the business of pattern and variegation,” Chongue says.

But, which one will be strong enough to steal the fiddle leaf fig’s crown? For Chongue, it’s the umbrella tree (Schefflera amate).

Holmes believes that tropical is where it’s at for 2019, with ferns being next year’s “it” plant.

“Ferns are coming in as people’s confidence grows,” she says. “They are such a feature plant.”

Plants to farewell

For Chongue, 2019 marks the end of an era for the fussy fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)

“It has had its day in interiors and its temperamental nature has meant it has been a struggle for plant enthusiasts.”