Freek Tromp will be Dümmen Orange’s new Head of the Tropicals Business Unit. Freek succeeds Wander Tuinier who elected to step away from the role and move over to lead the commercial responsibility for Europe and Asia.

Freek will assume responsibility for leading the execution of Dümmen’s global strategy and further growth for their tropicals business. Prior to this appointment, Freek was head of Dümmen’s Quick Plug growing media unit. “This is a fantastic opportunity to combine my experience as a Business Unit Head with Dümmen Orange’s ambitious agenda in the tropicals business,” says Freek. “I fully share Dümmen Orange’s belief in the power of advanced breeding technology to drive innovations, and I am excited to work with our many Tropicals customers around the world.”

I’ve mentioned Dümmen Orange’s anthuriums here before, and they do also have a wide variety of shapes and colors of phalaenopsis and succulents, too. Find out more about their tropical offerings HERE.

In the last Tropical Topics I had brought up the concept of “maximalist” houseplants. And by that I meant some sort of plant that would appeal to the maximalist stylings that Gen Zers (a.k.a. Zoomers) lean toward. To get an idea of the attributes of maximalist designs there’s an excellent bit about what designs and stylings that generation is attracted to HERE (check out the Hibiscus Snakes floral print—wowza).

Several readers liked my idea of asparagus ferns being the frilly, chilly funny looking plants that Zoomers could snuggle up to. Here’s one that I adopted from a friend who moved.

Mark (last name not apparent) wrote to say he had just repotted his 34-year-old asparagus fern and it’s looking better than ever. Garden author and columnist Marianne Willburn said she loves asparagus fern, but prefers the weirder texture of bottle brush-looking A. densiflorus Meyeri.

For a real maximalist look, she says that Beaucarnea recurvata (ponytail palm) is it, “starting out as the cute little palm-ish houseplant and then, hey, what’s this cool base thing happening?”

Coincidentally, Judy Laushman wrote in about an article from Thursd.com. This piece revels in all things caudiciform, which is what that “cool base thing” is called. The article is slightly dated (if June 2021 can be called dated). Caudexes, or caudiciforms, are not necessarily related. It’s just a plant characteristic they all share.

Get in the know about caudiciforms with this VIDEO of Kew Gardens’ extensive collection of them.

Came from Jessica Jurado from Green Acres Nursery & Supply ǀ Matsuda’s. She begins with this “disclaimer:” “I am just my company’s admin; not speaking for ANYBODY else here, but I greatly enjoyed your “Maximalist Houseplants” write-up.”

Jessica, no disclaimer needed! In fact, YOU are the person we grow plants for. If anything, your opinion here is the most valuable. And we are ALL EARS!

Jessica continues:

“I get that trends come and go, but houseplants are TIMELESS! I am a new-ish plant mom since beginning to work for Green Acres (family owned chain of garden stores in Northern California) and have fallen in love with ALL THE PLANTS. Just today, I was gently separating Emerald Star snake plant starts and repotting them to place around the office; it centers and calms me to have plants around me! Now, because of the New York Times article, I might have a complex about whether my babies will be accepted by gen-pop. Not that I care, but the thought is there.”

She loves all the plants, never mind which ones that New York Times article, “The Fiddle Leaf Fig Is Dead,” says are out of favor. She’s in the plant game for all of them.  

... At Ecuagenera USA’s Open House. Thousands of tropical plants will be available for sale at the on-site event, taking place at their Apopka, Florida, facility. The event started today (May 5) and goes from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. from now until May 8. 

At the open house, all plants will be at least 20% off, with some marked even lower! You could get a Philodendron ornatum for $20—half off!

Or an Alocasia x chantrieri seedling for just $10.

Ecuagenera also will have a wide array of aroids and orchids. Aroids—talk about “it” plants.

This is an in-person sale at Ecuagenera’s Apopka facilities only. Take a weekend trip to the Sunshine State or call out a favor from a local friend. Check out all they have going on and get their address at http://www.ecuageneraus.com/.