Wendy's Wanderings
February 9, 2023
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I was fortunate enough to attend the Tropical Plant Industry Expo (TPIE) last month in Tampa, Florida. This trade show has been going on for the last 50 years thanks to the hard work and creativity of the nursery industry and their professional association, FNGLA.
As a kickoff speaker they brought in trends analyst Christine Borland from Amsterdam. She shared her take on new ideas and cultural trends for 2023. She also introduced me to a new word, ikigai. This is a Japanese word that means the "thing that you live for" or "the reason for which you get up in the morning." As people who are passionate about plants, I think we know what makes us get up in the morning. Consider ikigai to be the common ground between what you love, what you care about, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for. I laughed when I realized that the answer to all four questions for me was "plants."
In 2023, growers and gardeners are still madly in love with tropical house plants, and it seems that trend is only expanding. Florida growers presented variegated and colored forms of many tropical beauties. Philodendrons like 'Strawberry Shake' and 'Florida Beauty' were especially striking. The buzz of the show was around a birds nest anthurium, that glowed with gold and pink colored leaves. This Anthurium Renaissance 'tricolor' was selling for $750 — for a three-gallon pot! Most of the other tropical plant prices were more reasonable, but the rare, hard-to-find plants are still going for high dollar.
Anthurium Renaissance 'tricolor'
The design and container companies are capitalizing on the indoor plant trend by offering gorgeous containers for plant parents to show off their house plant darlings. Their elevated designs make keeping house plants a beautiful lifestyle choice.
This year gardeners will be purchasing products that they care about. Sustainable products and organic packaging were pronounced trends for 2023. From compostable pots to peatless soil media to boutique-packaged IPM kits, there are many more green living choices coming to market. Planting with a purpose was another obvious trend with attention given to pollinators, butterflies, and bee protection. Succulents and drought-tolerant plants are still popular and are more relevant than ever with potential water shortages in the future.
With all the new plants and products, TPIE is the horticultural highlight of the year. It's like my super bowl! The Tropical Plant Industry Expo has a history of accurately identifying the new trends for the coming year. So it's always fun to see these plants and products show up on the shelves at the local garden center knowing that I saw them first at TPIE. I highly recommend attending this inspirational show if you ever get a chance. It takes place every year during the third week of January and next year it will be in the Ft. Lauderdale area. It's always a stunning display and the latest and greatest that Florida horticulture has to offer.
-- Wendy Wilber