When asked recently what motivated me to stand for the IPA board, I said that it was the chance to stay in touch with the latest indoor plant and design news and research. At our last board meeting, I promised to put that motivation to good use for the benefit of all IPA members. So this short introduction will be the first of a regular series on new plant varieties.

For this first piece, I looked towards the USA for inspiration, finding it in the August 2018 edition of I-Plants Magazine. If not already part of your staple reading material, I highly recommend this informative magazine. It is full of great tips for interior plantscapers.

In this e-magazine, renowned interior plantscaper and honorary IPA member, Kathy Fediw wrote about her visit to Cultivate’18, the annual conference of AmericanHort. There Kathy found a host of new indoor plant varieties on display, including the neon-coloured Philodendron ‘Lemon’ (pictured) and the unusually-shaped Sansevieria ‘Shark Fin’.

Kingston White and Brett Weiss from Morning Dew Tropical Plants profiled aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens). What’s new about them you may be asking? Well, check out the colour that Aglaonema varieties such as ‘Gold Madonna’ and ‘Papaya’ are bringing to interior plantscapes.

Looking overseas for new plants may result in design inspiration. However, the plants listed in this article may not be available here in Australia or New Zealand. So I would like to be able to share the news with you of plant varieties more accessible to our members.

What new varieties are you growing and/or planting here? Feel free to drop me a line at info@interiorplantscape.asn.au and I will help share your stories.

Gabrielle Stannus / Inwardout Studio/ IPA Board Member