8 trendy must-have plants for a home décor glow up

Across the world and across all interior design styles and themes, house greens have literally planted their position as the new design and décor must-haves. While plants were excellent companions through the lockdowns, their care is no longer a top priority in our lives as we return to offices. But that shouldn’t hamper your dreams of becoming a plant parent, we’ve turned to the experts to curate a list of low-maintenance greens that are high on style.

Mumbai-based Tina Mehta and Kerman Chowna started a boutique business selling exotic plants in 2021 with a line-up of stylish stalks and stems in equally trendy pots and planters. They founded Cocojungle with a background in branding and landscape architecture respectively and spend much of their time researching the latest houseplants and trees on the best-of-charts. Their savvy is on display on their website that boasts of creations like “Piña Colada”, a bromeliad (the plant is a close cousin of the pineapple) in a sunflower yellow ceramic pot and the “One Night In Bangkok”, a slender Ficus Alii in a black-and-white planter with a matching white stand (or what they like to call a “plant heel”).

For this guide, they pick 8 of their favourite house plants and trees. But before we get to them, here are Tina and Kerman’s three top tips to keep your plants in tip-top shape too:

1. All plants love a good “sunny break”. This means that no matter the kind of house plant you choose from this list, take it out for a day in the sun by placing it out on the balcony or window—maybe even outside your home or apartment for at least a couple of hours, once a month. Make sure you rotate plants frequently so all of the parts receive adequate light.
   
   
2. Never place a plant in the way of a direct AC draft, they will start to deteriorate. Plants are generally averse to air-conditioned spaces—especially tropical plants that thrive in humidity. But if you simply can’t get them access to fresh air and light, at least make sure they get some outdoor time to thaw and recover.
   
   
3. According to Tina and Kerman, most plants on this list don’t like to be fussed over and even thrive on neglect—especially when it comes to their watering needs. Water and spray them by doing a little research on how wet they like the soil, whether their leaves require misting and so on. In exchange, these greens will offer you the happiest relationship – one where both you and your plant babies can grow.