I was chatting with an industry person a few weeks ago, and the name Bisser Georgiev of LiveTrends popped up. The person was saying that what Bisser has done with LiveTrends is to create products for this industry’s largest untapped market—the people who don’t necessarily care much about plants but still want to have a nice experience. I thought back to all the cool items in LiveTrends’ TPIE booth this past January and instantly understood this statement to be completely true. And then I realized I hadn’t shared any of what I had seen with you.

Thanks for the photo, Chris!

Let me remedy that! It’s impossible to go over everything. As you know, they introduce hundreds of products every year—as well as remove a fair number of products from their lineup. That’s to say, their offerings are pretty much always in flux.

The ones that stood out to me are the cutesy ones, the multi-functional ones, anything mushroom- or whale-shaped, and, for the plant lover that I am, the “you don’t see this every day” plant—in an interesting container, of course.

Here are some cutesy products in their new Tropicalia line. I love the bright, bold colors. Tropical vibes are strong with these.

I enjoy foraging for mushrooms—the real thing and also these. Nearly slipped this in my bag.

Whales! I’m pretty sure these whales don’t come with that painting, but it doesn’t mean you can’t create your own and upsell it.

While touring the booth Bisser told us that they are seeing continued success with products that have mixed materials, no matter what category. This was in their nautical or coastal collection.

Speaking of mixed materials, LiveTrends’ Crafted Beauty line reuses materials in an upcycled sort of way. The line uses straw scraps, coffee hulls, bamboo powder, wheat shells, rice husks and recycled plastic in each container. Upcycled products have sway with consumers.

My now-blooming hoya reminds me that they also mentioned that there is “huge demand” for the hoya trellis products.

And yes, LiveTrends does have products for those of us who do care about plants. Like this carnivorous terrarium …

And this giant bonsai of a—aw, heck, I don’t know what that is but gosh wouldn’t that be nice to have? (Laurie Beytes believes it is a Ficus macrocarpa.)

And the best part is we’ll come back to the LiveTrends booth next January and find different on-trend items that perhaps appeal to a different segment of that “don’t care much about plants” market—and maybe some new super-cool plants for those of us who do.

After a more-than-glorious Opening Day at Fenway Park last Friday—with temps in the high 60s (sweatin’ weather for Northerners)—it’s been cold-raining ever since with temps in the high 20s tonight (I am not going to tonight’s game, no sir). I’m sick and tired of it. I need something tropical.

The best I can do at the moment is to scroll through my TPIE photo roll. And then I found callas from Dümmen Orange’s booth. For me callas are one of the flowers that remind me most of the tropical containers in front of hotels along Collins Avenue, when I used to visit South Beach every other March. Here’s one called Dubai Nights.

I love its dark purple flower edged in a purplish cream. Who doesn’t love maculation? It gives an ordinary green leaf so much more depth. Every once in a while you’ll find a leaf that looks like this:

Very caladium-esque, wouldn’t you say?

Dubai Nights is new, but what isn’t necessarily new on the market but is new to me is Red Symphony. I like its red stem, which you cannot see much of in this completely inadequate photo. But it does show the leaf edged in red, which I like. 

I emailed Dümmen’s Marta Maria Garcia about these callas, and she sent me the following very tropical/very springy container from their CAST display. It features their newest calla called Red Salsa. Can you tell which one it is?

Yes, the red one. It’s a medium-vigorous variety with a medium size and a medium green leaf. The red color though—there’s nothing medium about it! Lovely and tropical—just what I needed.

First, there’s still time to sign up for the first Florida Vanilla Symposium happening at The Tampa Greenhouses at Fallen Oak Farm in Valrico, Florida, Saturday, April 12. Hosted by Sunshine State Vanilla and The Tampa Greenhouses, this is a full day of everything vanilla which, as you know, is an orchid. You’ll hear from folks who are involved in vanilla in all the different ways—from growing and marketing the plant and bean to using it for health and wellness benefits and my favorite, baking! You’ll even be treated to a vanilla-inspired culinary experience. The last day to register is TODAY, Wednesday, April 9. Do so HERE.

Interiorscapers, the second reminder is for you. Join Green Plants for Green Buildings for their next ChatGPGB (love their twist on the name), also known as the Interiorscape Community Open Forum. It takes place April 16 at Noon EDT on a computer or mobile device near you (i.e. it’s on Zoom). They hold this open forum to foster community and engage with others in the interiorscape industry. Your hosts will be Sean Campbell, President of Grundy’s Plantscaping, and Rebecca Bullene, founder of Greenery NYC. They encourage all interiorscapers to attend to help shape the direction of GPGB’s community initiatives. Take part, get involved and have a say in what’s going on. Head over to HERE for more info and to add the Zoom link to your calendar.

I received news recently that a new book I first told you about in Tropical Topics in December has won a 2025 Book Award from the American Horticultural Society (AHS). The book is “The Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation: Step-by-Step Techniques for Making More Houseplants … for Free!” which its publishers—Cool Springs Press—is calling a “comprehensive bible of propagation techniques” with step-by-step prop instructions for more than 80 different houseplants.

AHS has been recognizing outstanding North America’s best garden-related books since 1997. The judges read over the books with an eye toward writing style, authority, scientific precision, design and illustrations. Just three books won for this year—and would you look at that, one’s about our products.

But let’s get back to the book.

Written by Lindsay Sisti, the judges were impressed with the attention to detail and accessible yet authoritative writing style. In fact, a few of the judges found it “laugh-out-loud funny!” Another judge had this to say about the book: “I thought I knew a lot about houseplants until I started reading this book.” Funny and informative—that’s what I strive for every time I sit down to write. I bet I could learn something from this book, too.

If you’re a retailer, this will be a must-have for your houseplant department. Get your wholesale copies from Quarto’s specialty sales rep Monica Baggio.