I write about houseplants for a living and these are 5 indoor plant trends worth jumping on in 2026 – they'll instantly green up your interiors

As a passionate houseplant collector and resident houseplant expert here at Homes & Gardens, I'm always hunting for new and innovative indoor garden ideas.

I've got the know-how on 2026 houseplant trends to help you get ahead of which indoor plants will rise to popularity next year, and how to fashionably style houseplants in the home. From lesser-known plant varieties to training vines as art, there are exciting ideas on the horizon for houseplant lovers.

Just like houseplant trends in 2025, some of these ideas are tried and tested, and continue to bring timeless indoor foliage to our homes. Others on this list will absolutely inspire you to try something different with your indoor garden display next year.

2026 houseplant trends

No matter how you like to style your houseplants, there's something for everyone on this list of 2026 houseplant trends. It doesn't matter if you only have a small amount of shelf space for houseplants, or a large conservatory waiting to be filled with foliage, there are so many ways to go above and beyond with indoor plants in the coming year.

1. Living wall art

This is one of the 2026 houseplant trends I'll certainly be jumping on, as it's the ideal solution to small-space indoor gardening. By utilizing wall space, living wall art allows you to display plants vertically.

This isn't just another version of vertical gardening or a living wall, however. This is curating indoor plants as art exhibitions.

It can involve some DIY-ing, for example, by placing a plant on a shelf and using a glassless box frame (from Amazon) around it. With an indoor hanging plant, such as the best pothos varieties, you can even bring the vines through the front of the frame to cascade down.

For something more low-maintenance, recreate the above look with a vertical planter, like this one from Amazon, and a glassless photo frame.

2. Collectible houseplants

If you love variegated indoor plants, you might just already be ahead of this trend: collectible houseplants. This is is a trend to have emerged from the Garden Media Group's 2026 Garden Trends Report, noting that particularly unusual varieties of houseplants are becoming more like collectible items.

Some of my top picks of unusual houseplants to get your hands on include Monstera 'Thai Constellation' (from The Sill), which is pictured above, and air plants, like this raspberry-colored air plant from Walmart.

But, it isn't just about collecting unusual houseplants. You can also participate in this trend by collecting many varieties of one type of plant, for example, different types of orchid.

With your collectible houseplants gathered, put some thought into how to display them, too. You can use indoor plant stands and indoor plant shelves to set up a living exhibition showing off these prized possessions, or place a particularly special houseplant centrally on a table.

3. Bold plant pots

Next on our list of 2026 houseplant trends is bold plant pots. The vessel housing your houseplants is just as fundamental to your indoor garden display as the plants themselves.

When it comes to decorating with plants, you need to take into account how the planters will enhance and show off the houseplants, as well as how they complement your interiors.

For 2026, try refreshing your indoor plant pots with bolder colors and shapes. I'm seeing an increasing number of plant parents online lean into playful, tasteful containers that bring houseplant displays to life.

These are some top choices for this trend:

4. Pastel foliage and flowers

For lovers of indoor flowering plants, turn to unique pastel hues for 2026. This includes the plant pictured above - a soft pink anthurium, available at Walmart.

In fact, 'faded petal' has been named by the Garden Media Group as 2026 color of the year. It's a softer, unobtrusive shade of pink, which can also be found on the philodendron 'Pink Princess' (available at The Sill).

Some blue houseplants also offer a pastel hue. For example, blue star fern (from Walmart) has blue-tinted foliage, as well as echeveria 'Topsy Turvy' (from Walmart).

5. Smart watering systems

If you often fall victim to the common indoor plant mistake of over or underwatering, take advantage of the rising number of smart watering tools available.

This doesn't just refer to things like this automated watering system (from Amazon) and gardening apps notifying you when to water your houseplants, this also accounts for things like a soil moisture meter (from Amazon) and watering globes (from Amazon) which keep houseplants hydrated over a period of time.

This houseplant trend is all about getting rid of guesswork watering and rather giving your plants the right amount of water exactly when they need it.

I personally rely on tools like a moisture meter to first check if my plant's soil has sufficiently dried before watering, which prevents issues like houseplant root rot.

Things like watering globes are also attractive in your plant pots, as they come in many styles. Check out these adorable mushroom watering globes from Amazon, for example.

FAQs

What's houseplant trends should I drop in 2026?

In 2026, it's about time we stop placing houseplants where they don't want to be. As much as a dark corner is a tempting spot for a houseplant to add some interest, the plant will only last so long if it requires brighter light.

So, we're leaving behind forcing houseplants to grow where they will not thrive in 2025. Instead, we'll be making more thoughtful placements and adopting the use of things like grow lights for houseplants where light levels lack.

I'll be adopting more than one of these trends to elevate my indoor garden in 2026. I'm also already making efforts to incorporate precision gardening in my everyday houseplant care regime, too, helping me to become a better plant parent.