:strip_icc()/12-12-2022SPR16608_preview1-536181e9180f4612879548706bb279b1.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1)
Maximalists embrace eclectic collections, lots of color and texture, and a sense of whimsy. The right houseplants can be key to completing a space’s maximalist look. Think tall plants with large, dramatic leaves and twining vines that can climb up a shelf or spill out of a container. More is more for a maximalist look, so leave the single statement plant to the minimalists and Swedish death cleaners and choose several of the following plants to elevate your decor.
How you display houseplants and the number of houseplants you put in a room is as important to the maximalist aesthetic as the plants you choose. To achieve the look, layer houseplants in a room, with small plants on shelves or plant stands, oversized plants on giant planters on the floor, and hanging plants suspended from the ceiling.
Monstera
Elvira Kashapova / Getty Images
Monstera (Monstera deliciosa) has starred in the indoor jungles of Instagram for years now. The huge, fenestrated leaves on a mature plant almost embody maximalism. Train this climbing plant to grow up a moss pole or for more drama, up a wall or banister. It can grow up to 15 feet tall indoors. In its native Mexico or any place in Hardiness Zone 10 and up, monstera can grow to 60 feet tall. Surround it with smaller plants of varying leaf textures like peace lilies and ferns to put the maximal in a maximalist room.
Bird of Paradise
Bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) takes its nickname from its orange blooms that look a bit like a bird in flight. Its foliage makes it a perfect houseplant for the maximalist aesthetic. It has deep green, leathery leaves that grow up to three feet long and look a lot like banana plant leaves. Bird of paradise grows to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide indoors, with an upright habit that makes it a striking floor plant. A bird of paradise can fill a portion of a room all by itself, but for a true maximalist feel, group it with other large, lush plants.
Split Leaf Philodendron
Split leaf philodendron is the nickname given to a massive tropical plant that resembles a monstera. Two species of plants are nicknamed split leaf philodendron: Philodendron bipinnatifidum and Philodendron selloum. Like monstera, split leaf philodendron has giant, shapely green leaves that bring a whimsical, maximalist feel to a room. Split leaf philodendron doesn’t climb like a monstera, and is faster growing, too. Split leaf philodendron will grow to 10 feet tall indoors, so it’s a natural pick for a maximalist room.
Swiss Cheese Vine
Jacob Fox
Swiss cheese vine, also known as Adanson’s monstera, (Monstera adansonii) is a fast-growing tropical vine native to Central America and South America. Its striking foliage has holes and slits in it, sort of like slices of Swiss cheese does, hence the plant’s nickname. Put Swiss cheese vine in a container in a sunlit room and train it to grow up a trellis or let it trail out of a hanging pot. Swiss cheese vine’s length and dramatic foliage bring lush maximalism to any room. Best of all it’s easy to grow. Indoors, its vines grow to 10 feet long.
Pothos
Blaine Moats
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is a fast-growing and low-maintenance houseplant that looks great suspended from the ceiling in a maximalist room or placed on a shelf or plant stand with its vines trailing. Pothos is grown for its foliage, which comes in a range of colors from lime green to variegated. For a super-maximalist look, train pothos vines to grow up a wall or across a ceiling.
Palm
Dean Schoeppner
Palms are emblematic of a lush landscape, so they’re the perfect houseplant for a maximalist aesthetic. A tall palm in an oversized planter draws the eye upwards, adding instant drama to a room. Victorians, those masters of maximalism, were huge fans of putting potted palms in a room. Palms can grow in low light and don’t need much water or attention to thrive. Some good palms to grow indoors include bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii,) lady palm (Rhapis excelsa,) and areca palm (Dypsis lutescens.)
Hoya
Debbie Wolfe
Commonly known as a wax plant, hoya (Hoya carnosa) is a trailing tropical vine native to Taiwan, Vietnam, and India. Hoya produces stems that reach up to 4 feet long and can be trained to climb up a plant stand, trellis, or, for peak maximalist drama, a light fixture. Hoya has thick, glossy leaves that range from deep green to pink. ‘Variegata’ has white margins on leaves. ‘Krimson Queen’ has leaves tipped in cream or pink. Best of all, hoya produces exotic-looking clusters of star-shaped flowers that have a heavenly scent.
Spider Plant
Phoebe Cheong
Fast-growing spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) produces a rosette of gently arching narrow leaves that grow 18 inches long, and it looks great in a hanging container. Best of all, mature spider plants send out long, branching stems with frilly baby spider plants at the tips that can be used to expand your collection.
Heart Leaf Philodendron
Heart leaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) is a tropical vine with heart-shaped leaves that makes a lovely and easy-to-grow houseplant. Heart leaf philodendron usually has shiny green leaves, but some varieties have leaves in another color. ‘Brasil’ has a striking yellow band on each leaf. ‘Micans’ has bronze-colored, velvety leaves. Heart leaf philodendron looks beautiful cascading out of a container over the edges of a bookshelf or trailing from a hanging pot. You also can train its vines to grow up a moss pole, adding a touch of #InstagramJungle to your home.
Kangaroo Paw Fern
Easier to grow than other ferns, kangaroo paw fern (Microsorum diversifolium) makes a good hanging plant or shelf plant. It grows about a foot tall and a couple of feet wide so layer it in with larger plants for a maximalist effect. Kangaroo paw fern is an epiphytic plant, which means it grows on trees in the wild, not in the soil. Kangaroo paw fern gets its name from its lobed leaves, which reminded some imaginative person of kangaroo toes. This fern also grows furry rhizomes (roots) on the top of the soil.
:strip_icc()/bhg-this-elegant-bhg-x-walmart-end-table-has-a-surprising-hidden-function-that-tidied-up-my-space-tout-82381aeb83d8441799fc1cf47606ea8b.jpg?w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1)
:strip_icc()/bhg-x-walmart-bedding-essentials-tout-81d4d79ceb264a93a860eff4cad246dd.jpg?w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1)