The surging popularity of houseplants in the past few years shows no sign of slowing down. That’s why luxury bedroom retailer Feather & Black has been inspired to conduct a study via OnePoll to find out how people use houseplants in their interior design.

A recent study revealed that on average people have 6.5 houseplants in their home, with the highest percentage of the population (32%) owning between 3 and 5. 21% of people own 1 to 2 houseplants, while 19% have a collection of 6 to 7 plants in their homes. A staggering 1 in 20 (5%) of the population claim to own over 20 houseplants.

The survey data also revealed that more than half of the population (54%) add houseplants to their interior design to promote wellbeing and relaxation. Houseplant therapy is especially popular among Gen Z with 36% claiming to use houseplants for mindfulness. 47% of people simply feel the desire to incorporate nature into their home, while 38% of respondents said they incorporate houseplants into their decor for aesthetic purposes only. Air purification (29%) and mood boosting (25%) rounded out the top five main reasons for decorating with houseplants.

The poll also indicated that one in ten (11%) men use plants to boost creativity. That explains why 7% of men keep their plants in their home office. In comparison, fewer women get plants in order to boost creativity with only 5% of women claiming to do so. Millennials and Gen Z are the age groups that are more likely to use houseplants to boost creativity. Similarly, in regards to productivity, 10% of men use plants to their advantage compared to 2% of women.

When deciding how to decorate with houseplants, more than a quarter of people (27%) turn to friends and family for ideas. While the majority of respondents don’t feel the need to search for inspiration at all (35%), those that do turn to Instagram (16%), print magazines (12%), Pinterest (12%), online magazines (11%) and TikTok (8%) to seek out the exquisite ambience they wish to recreate.

While Instagram remains the most popular platform for Gen Z (32%), a quarter of Gen Z plant keepers (25%) find their houseplants decor inspiration on TikTok. Unexpectedly, quite a big proportion of 25-34 year olds (19%) look for houseplant inspiration in print magazines, despite the general perception that younger generations rely heavily on social media.

Other Key Findings:

• The orchid has been voted the UK’s favourite plant, followed by cactus, peace lily, spider plant and aloe vera.
  

• The majority of the population spend between £1-50 on their houseplants collection while 1% of Brits splash over £500 on their houseplants. Gen Z were the biggest spenders when it comes to houseplants.
  

• 1 in 10 (11%) people claimed they value their houseplants the same way they would a pet.
  

• Nearly 1 in 10 (13%) adults polled admitted they talk to their houseplants. Younger generations, particularly 25-34 year olds, are more likely to talk to their plants than older generations, with 1 in 5 (19%) claiming to do so. That’s nearly double the amount of those aged 55 and over who speak to theirs (10%).
  

• 7% of people name their houseplants. That trend is especially popular among 25-34 year olds, with nearly 1 in 5 (17%) claiming to give their plants a pet name.
  

• An impressive 21% of 24-34 year olds name their houseplants after their favourite authors. The names of book characters are first choice for 17% of 18-24 year olds and 22% of 25-34 year olds – most likely relating to the rising trend of physical books reading among Gen Z. Film characters and celebrities also prove to be a good source of names for 25-34 year olds, with 19% opting for Hollywood namesakes.
  

• The most popular place for displaying houseplants is the living room (50%). Other popular spots are the kitchen (23%), hallway (7%), bedroom (5%) and bathroom (4%) and home office (4%).

• 4% of people run Instagram accounts dedicated to their plants – men (8%) are more likely to do so than women (1%).
  

• 63% of people regularly forget to water their houseplants – something that is more likely to happen if you’re between the ages of 25 and 44, where 2 in 3 (75%) in this age group people frequently forget this task.
  

• 1 in 5 (18%) arrange care for their house plants while on holiday – men are more likely (20%) to do this than women (16%).

Laura Burnett, Buyer at Feather & Black said: ‘’There are numerous studies suggesting that plants have multiple health benefits, and our study’s findings add weight to the importance of incorporating houseplants into interior design."

"Seeing that such a significant proportion of the population uses houseplants to improve wellbeing and even boost their mood will hopefully encourage people to expand their greenery collection.’’