In the last Tropical Topics, fresh off my visit to the Tropical Plant International Expo in Tampa, I told you all about the eight plant-related Cool Product Awards from The Garden Center Group’s Danny Summers and a select group of garden center owners. This time around I’ll let you all know about the remaining seven non-plant Cool Product winners—and seriously, these are cool products.

Expandable Moss Totem Pole from Aroid Greenhouses. I mentioned Aroid Greenhouses in the last Tropical Topics for their winning of a Cool Product Award for their whale fin sansevieria. They also won a Cool Product Award for their Expandable Moss Totem Pole. It’s a hollow tube wrapped in moss. One end has a stick that inserts into the ground or pot, and the other end has an open top. This open-ended design allows you to connect pole upon pole. As your plant grows, so can the supports it grows on. It does come with a cap to close off the open top. www.aroidgreenhouses.com

Bendable Moss Pole and Bendable Coir Pole from Mossify. The former pole has a greater diameter and a thicker layer of moss, which gives it good footing for aerial roots. The latter pole is smaller in diameter and is better suited for supporting vines that would twirl around it. Both are bendable, so you can create shapes and directions for the plants. www.mossify.ca

Bendable Moss Pole

Bendable Coir Pole

Xaxim Pots from BioFink. These pots look like they may be a coir product, but they are actually made out of palm tree waste. Only 3% of a palm tree is used when harvested for hearts of palm. BioFink was determined to do something with that 97% fiber waste, so they developed this biodegradable, plantable pot. They process the fibers and “glue” them together with biodegradable materials to form the pot. Plants readily root into the container’s walls. The Xaxim Pots (pronounced “za-zeem”) also won TPIE’s Favorite New Product Award. www.biofink.com

Macrame and woven plant hangers, pot covers and more from Creation Jute. This Connecticut-based company has an extensive line of plant hangers and pot covers mostly made by hand and available in a range of natural colors and fibers—all of which are made in Bangladesh. The 1970s would be so proud. www.creationjuteusa.com

Planters and Stands from Floridis ARF. Floridis planters and stands, manufactured in Brazil, are made of polyethylene resin, making them super light and extremely tough. The company has a wide variety of styles, sizes and colors, all of which have a modern look. I absolutely love the one planter that came with a stand—just flip the stand 180 degrees and it raises or lowers the pot display height! www.floridis.com

Head Planters Collection from The Pottery Patch. The retailer judges loved this collection of head-themed pottery, available in multiple styles and colors. Personally I love the Easter Island pots. Fun stuff!  www.thepotterypatch.com

Bohemian Collection of Indoor-Outdoor Planters from Pottery Pots. Pottery Pots’ new Bohemian Collection features natural bamboo exteriors and a concrete/fiberglass interior for both indoor and outdoor use. I like that they have drainage holes and short feet to elevate the bamboo exterior off of the surface. Available in a variety of sizes and styles. www.potterypots.com

If you want to learn a bit more about all of the Cool Product Awards, you can check out the VIDEO that Chris Beytes made (along with our own Kim Brown behind the camera). He even threw in a few of his own picks! As always, a standup job, Chris and Kim! (Can you believe that was filmed entirely on an iPhone?)

Now, I love the videos that Chris pulls together, truly. But he clued me in to the video that the folks at Aroid Greenhouses made as part of their brand’s YouTube vlog (video log) channel. Paula Amezquita is not only in front of the camera but also behind it, too! She and the Aroid crew do an excellent job documenting the planning, preparation and the installation of their booth over the course of several days. Sure, putting up a booth might be no big thing for you. But their customers now can understand all that hard work that goes into booth setup. Check out their VIDEO and you’ll see them put together a ginormous version of that Expandable Moss Totem Pole.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, now’s a good time to remind you that while tropicals and houseplants are primarily green and leafy, not everything associated with the holiday has to be red, or roses.

Sure, anthuriums hit the mark with glistening red, heart-shaped leaves. But why stop with the obvious? Little Prince of Oregon sent out a friendly reminder this week that the Heart Fern, Hemionitis arifolia, is a perfectly fine fill-in for Valentine’s Day. It’s a tuft-forming, evergreen fern displaying glossy green, heart-shaped fronds on black stems.

Stick a red heart pick in it and voila—you’ve got yourself a totally appropriate Valentine’s Day houseplant.

Other houseplant or tropical plant suggestions that say I love you? Drop me a note about them at ewells@ballpublishing.com. And have yourselves a lovely Valentine’s Day!