Why this Grandma Favorite is Going to Be the Hottest Plant of 2026 – You Read It Here First!

When we talk about the hottest houseplant to hit this year, you might be expecting something sculptural, cutting edge, newly discovered, or incredibly hard to get. You might justifiably be imagining a plant with a complicated Latin name, and possibly a waitlist as long as the one associated with the Rolex watch or the Birkin bag. But what if the next big thing is something far more familiar? Meet the unexpected stars of 2026 – ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it for Boston ferns.

Because yes, I’m talking about embracing and growing the Boston fern as part of this year’s houseplant collections. That’s right, the one that once dangled from your grandmother’s porch, or presided quietly over sunny bay windows. Unexpected? Maybe. A welcome sight? Absolutely. These unexpected stars of 2026 are likely comfortably ensconced in many living rooms. But that doesn’t mean they can’t inspire us anew. This plant has always mattered, and as we enter the new year, this is a great moment to appreciate what we always knew, and take it forward with renewed gusto.

As trends swing away from ultra-minimalism and back toward warmth, softness, and emotional connection, the Boston fern deserves its return to the spotlight. For those of us in the know, this is one houseplant that should never fall out of favor. Let’s just call this plant what it is: a true BFF (Boston fern forever!). This living legend has captured the imagination time and again, so here’s why (as a bona fide devotee) I believe it deserves a spot in your home and garden this year – and every year, quite frankly.

From Victorian Icon to Grandma Plant

To understand why the Boston fern plant is back, we need to understand where they’ve been. You might be thinking of Boston ferns as the domain of a different demographic to you, possibly a little ‘yesteryear’ in tone and temperature. And yes, they do have a reputation as an old lady’s plant. But beyond superficial ideals, they are some of the most emphatically loved of all domestic houseplants – with an enduring charm going back centuries.

Victorians were obsessed with ferns indoors and outside – and when I say obsessed, I mean truly obsessed. The 19th-century phenomenon of “pteridomania” (that’s fern madness or fern fever, to you) saw fern motifs everywhere, from wallpaper to ceramics. Meanwhile, many fern varieties filled conservatories, parlors, and greenhouses. The Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’) became a superstar houseplant, thanks to its lush, arching fronds and adaptability to indoor life.

From stumpery gardens and ferneries to elegant conservatories and glasshouses, the Boston fern symbolized refinement, global curiosity, and a love of nature tamed, if not completely controlled. Fast-forward to the 1960s and 1970s, and the fern had another cultural moment. Macramé hanging baskets, sunken living rooms, and boho interiors couched its relaxed abundance and easy living ethos. A Boston fern spilling over a rattan stand felt worldly, artistic – and alive.

So why did this most beloved of houseplants fall out of favor? Partly, perhaps, it became too familiar. Its ubiquity led to a reputation for being tied to a particular vibe (be that fussy, ornate, frou-frou, or just plain old-fashioned). It started getting a bit of a reputation for being that ‘old lady favorite’ plant, and it stuck. As sleek succulents and architectural monsteras took over modern social houseplant platforms, the fern was quietly sidelined… But trends love a comeback story, right?

Time to Rediscover Boston Ferns

So, having been positioned on the fringes of cultural cool, how is it that designers, creatives, and plant lovers are all now rediscovering Boston ferns? Why is it now looking set to become one of the houseplants for the new year? It seems the design mood heading into this year is softer, slower, and more emotionally grounded. Think heritage over hype, comfort over cool, and plants bursting forth with possibilities and not styled within an inch of their lives. Boston ferns fit this notion perfectly.

Designers known for layered, soulful interiors (such as fern enthusiast Justina Blakeney) are championing ferns as movement-makers. Cultural tastemakers like Pamela Anderson (who is also famously experiencing a renaissance) have famously embraced a more pared-back, plant-filled living, and pushed back against an overly cosmetic, excessively produced glamour. Her natural, nostalgic, unpolished, and deeply personal aesthetic is the spiritual home of the Boston fern, infused with carefree zest, romantic abandon, youthful whimsy – and unstructured possibility.

This plant-forward dynamism values softness over sharpness, heritage over hype, and living things over perfection. In this context, a Boston fern isn’t dated and can shed the illusion of being high maintenance or fussy. Instead, it’s grounding. It’s exactly the kind of plant that belongs in a calm, characterful home, where nature is allowed to take the lead, freeing up space for thoughtful houseplant displays. Boston ferns are present everywhere from romantic period dramas to contemporary homes that lean to quiet luxury. The emphasis is on tumbling over conventional lines, while celebrating a heritage that can be reshaped with taste and affection.

Is this a Victorian throwback or a boho revival, or is it modern romanticism – a fusion of art and nature in a sympathetic reframing? Today’s Boston fern lovers want character and poetry, free expression and structural integrity. There’s a place for heirloom-style lacy, long-arched Boston fern varieties like Tropical Plants of Florida’s Boston Fern from Amazon, the more compact forms like Boston Fern ‘Compacta’ from Walmart, the edgy modern arrow points of Costa Farms Boston Fern from Lowes, or the playful frilliness of ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ and ‘Tiger Fern’ varieties.

How to Style Boston Ferns this Year

Growing a Boston fern indoors (or outside, when hardiness regions permit) does not need to be about a particular sensibility. It can just be about liking those expressive fronds, or its particular shape as part of a container garden. But this renaissance of appreciation for a certain softness in modern settings chimes so well with the Boston fern’s aesthetic and its history that it would be wrong not to give it some love. It simultaneously presents a return to tradition… and a twist on that tradition. If you’re stuck for ideas on how these plants can be most effective, consider the following:

• Consider leaf forms and growth habits: A Boston fern has innate drama, albeit softly spoken. Specific varieties can be dense, bushy and upright, like ‘Compacta’, or more about stiff, extended lines like ‘Orlando’ – perfect for modern interiors. Others present with arching, cascading foliage which can seem lacy, frilly or feathery, like ‘Fluffy Duffy’, ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ or ‘Verona’ – great for a romantic or playful vibe. For a curated Victorian, Grecian or naturalistic aesthetic, play with natural-looking containers, stones and ceramics, and stumpery-style planters, like the Dechous Driftwood Stump Log Vintage Planter from Amazon.

• Make more of individual displays: The Boston fern hanging basket is still one of the most impactful ways to showcase these fountains of texture, both indoors and grown outside in courtyards and stumperies. Whether hanging Boston fern plants from ceilings or presented on pillars or pedestals, they add natural movement to vertical gardens and an abundance of free-flowing color. While support is not needed to bolster their shape, you can present them in such a way as to create a visual ‘gallery’, using glass for a Victorian terrarium vibe, iron cages, or cloche dynamics like the Woven Willow Cloche from Anthropologie.
• Choose partners for depth and rhythm: Plant in concert as well as standalone, and lean into their verdant pyrotechnics. As long as you factor in ample growing room (Boston fern spacing is important), they work well in unison with other dramatic and gravity-defying houseplant forms. Balance with architectural forms and bold-shape leaves, like philodendron and calathea. Contrast their thrills and spills with the natural height of a fiddle leaf fig or parlor palm. Offset their frothy fronds with a glossy monstera or the papery silks of a peace lily plant. And lean into their chaotic tumblings by layering with English ivy. Showcase groups of varied tone and texture around a unifying structure, such as Terrain’s Tall Iron Plant Stand from Anthropologie, functional and sturdy.

Why Plant Nostalgia Is Trending

We’re living in a time of ‘plant nostalgia’ – it’s a powerful thing. And as we express this in our natural environments with plants that encapsulate something both dynamic and iconic, Boston ferns are naturally leading the charge. Perhaps this nostalgia revival is purely to do with an appreciation for certain historical periods., The success of dramas like Bridgerton and Downton Abbey accentuate this old school aesthetic which has captured the imagination. Or maybe the Boston fern’s Renaissance is more fundamental. Perhaps, whether we choose to admit it or not, we are ultimately creatures of habit and tend to travel back to what we know?

This isn’t restricted to Boston ferns, and there are certain other ‘old school’ houseplants now enjoying renewed appreciation as part of a throwback to more elegant, creative, introspective and emphatically poetic times. Other houseplants poised for a style renaissance this year include:

• Spider plants – resilient, joyful, and endlessly shareable.
• Rubber plants – bold yet familiar, with rich color.
• Cast iron plants – a Victorian staple, prized for toughness.
• Maidenhair ferns – delicate, romantic, and newly appreciated.
• African violets – compact, floral, and emotionally resonant.

Many of these pair beautifully with Boston ferns, especially in layered, era-inspired displays. To accentuate those throwback vibes, lean Victorian with dark woods, brass pots, and grouped plants. Explore Grecian antiquity with unapologetically sweeping urns and pillars. Channel the Seventies with terracotta, rattan, and macramé. Or blend eras: nostalgia doesn’t have to mean museum-perfect. Plants connect us to memory and comfort, as well as affording continuity. That’s powerful, and increasingly desirable, and it’s something the Boston fern offers with ease.

Obviously, however you tap into this old school aesthetic, consider the plant’s essential cultivation needs. Factor in plenty of space for your vision, cater to filtered, indirect light, and boost humidity where needed, using sprays like the Sincengel Leak-Proof Adjustable Mist Nozzle Plant Mister from Amazon. And don’t forget to feed during active growth with a targeted fertilizer like TPS Nutrients for Boston Ferns from Amazon, to help ride this wave of nostalgia to its fullest expression.

A Houseplant for All Time

It's wonderful that there is a renewed appreciation for this most revered (and yet also maligned) houseplant, which both encapsulates and redefines former glories. Yet while the Boston fern’s return to prominence is in part due to a wave of love for all things nostalgia, I can't help thinking there is a more fundamental truth at play.

Ultimately, there is something innately timeless about the Boston fern that defies mere whims, follies and trends. Surely, the truth is that this is a plant for all time, rather than an accessory to a trend. It adapts to minimalist lofts and maximalist sunrooms, modest courtyards and unique bathrooms. Both confidently modern and unabashedly traditional, you can grow the Boston fern outside and indoors and it thrives, expressing both external movement, and introspective calm. Few other houseplants are as intrinsically expressive, forgiving, nuanced, and generous.

So the invitation for this year is this: be curious, be playful, and think creatively with Boston fern colors, textures, presentations and placings, as we embrace this new age of heritage-modern love. Far from being old-fashioned, this uniquely versatile plant represents the best of all ages, and gives us a chance to both explore new twists on old themes and also honor its fundamentally timeless cool. Hang one where you wouldn’t expect it, pair it boldly, or just let it grow a little wild.

The Boston fern doesn’t just define a moment – it endures. And that may be exactly why it’s poised to be the houseplant of 2026. So rediscover it, reimagine it, and make space for this quietly confident classic in your home, greenhouse, or garden. And let's all celebrate our BFF (Boston fern forever). Coming to a revolution near you…

How to Showcase Your Boston Fern

Showcasing your Boston fern is equal parts presentation and location. There are several ways to cater to your fern’s need for space, humidity and filtered light, whether you choose to keep your plant at your height or pick something more elevated. Here are a few striking, aesthetically pleasing planters, baskets and plant stands to bring out the best in your Boston fern.

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