![]() Ingeborg Carr, the director of marketing at Altman Plants, points to larger societal shifts. Industry experts and large growers see more practical reasons for the plants’ proliferation. Like avocado toast, a cactus is an attainable object of affection and obsession, a stereotyped symbol of the Golden State, what Morera calls the “mecca for wellness, natural living, and floppy hats.” It’s a product of the drought-motivated embrace of water-conscious horticulture, sustainability, and an obsession with the lifestyle evoked by the idea of getting lost in Joshua Tree on a weekend. A recent Garden Center magazine survey of independent retailers found that cactus and succulent sales had risen 64 percent since 2012. Altman Plants, the country’s largest grower of succulents and cactuses, has for the last decade posted double-digits gains each year. But growers have seen increased interest from young adults- 37 percent of millennials grow plants indoors, as opposed to 28 percent of baby boomers-and sales have been booming. ![]() There’s no easy way to break down sales by species in the $13.6 billion U.S. The Cactus Store in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood Reams of trend stories and social-media posts suggest that these resilient plants are having a renaissance, and have become a decorating staple in boutiques, restaurants, offices, and apartments. “The trend toward succulents as decorative houseplants, or people wearing emoji cactus T-shirts, is not something we’re stoked on.” “Infantilizing these creatures that are so insanely resilient isn’t our style,” he says. Restaurants and stores are draped in “ succulent art.” The obsessed have created succulent-inspired hair, cupcakes, even “ Instagram plant porn.” To Morera, mass appeal-whether it’s succulents as wedding decor or placing a stray cactus in a storefront window to symbolize “California cool”-is a mixed blessing. Morera has seen these eclectic plants shift from misfits to big business, becoming the new hot houseplants. In January, Martin and Morera released a book on hardcore cactus collectors, Xerophile, and their successful pop-up in New York City last year will return this summer. The “ little shack full of cactuses” found a fervent audience by assembling an eclectic collection of rare plants and taking a studious approach to the subject. Along with fellow plant geek Max Martin, his uncle John Morera, and others, Carlos opened the Cactus Store, a minimalist storefront in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood, in 2014. Morera’s reflections on this particular cultural moment-”everyone’s become a treehugger, or, I guess, a cactushugger”-matter, because many see him as a trendsetter. ![]() ![]() Ask Carlos Morera about succulents and cactuses, and their current dominance of interior design and social media, and he’ll talk to you about the planters at weddings. ![]()
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