Surprise? This Is the Most Popular Houseplant in the Philippines
You don’t need us to tell you how much horticulture has exploded in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world over the past few years. Just look at your social media feed and, perhaps, even your own camera roll. The so-called "plantdemic" seems to have no signs of slowing down, as demand for unique or rare plant species continues to rise while many of us continue to stay at home.
That got us thinking: of all the hundreds, maybe even thousands, of houseplant species out there, which one tickles the fancy of Filipinos the most? To find the answer, Housefresh, a digital platform that provides home improvement and cleaning advice and solutions, parsed through the 230 most Instagrammed houseplants in every country, including the Philippines, based on a pre-existing from research done by NeoMam Studios for Budget Direct Home Insurance. It then cross-referenced the list with the Google searches for each botanical name using a Keyword Explorer (Ahrefs).
Based on the study, the Monstera deliciosa is the most popular plant in the Philippines. The Swiss Cheese plant, as it has been nicknamed because of the giant leaves riddled with holes, is a favorite not just in the Philippines but in Europe, Oceania, the rest of Asia and North America (including the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica), where it ties with another plant: the Mimosa pudica.
In the rest of Southeast Asia, the Monstera deliciosa is the most popular in at least five other countries:
1| Brunei – Pachystachys lutea
2| Cambodia – Epipremnum aureum
3| Laos – Plumeria rubra
4| Indonesia – Dieffenbachia
5| Malaysia – Passiflora caerulea
6| Myanmar - Monstera deliciosa
7| Singapore - Monstera deliciosa
8| Vietnam - Monstera deliciosa
9| Thailand - Monstera deliciosa
In Europe, at least 10 countries also favor the Monstera deliciosa, and according to Housefresh, the plant ahs actually evolved its Swiss cheese holes evolved to “filter sunlight through the rainforest canopy onto each leaf more or less equally, keeping the plant healthy all over and not just at the top.”
Meanwhile, in the Middle East and Central Asia, taking top spot is the Nerium oleander, or simply oleander. The toxic plant is popular in countries like Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. And in Africa, the number one houseplant in 12 countries in the continent is Lantana camara.
What’s YOUR favorite plant?
To find out the favorite houseplant in each country, head to Housefresh.
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