Cactus: How the Prickly Houseplant Became a Mega-Trend — and Vanished Again

Some trends die quietly — the cactus went out with one last prickle. Between 2016 and 2020, the spiky desert plant was suddenly everywhere: on cushions and mugs, on socks and phone cases, in millions of Instagram photos. Then, almost overnight, the magic was over. In our series on ten years of trends, the cactus is the first one that didn't make it — the first resident of our little trend graveyard. Time for a fond obituary.

When it started: the summer of 2016

The starting gun can be dated fairly precisely. In September 2016, the coffee-table book «Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants» was published — and sold out within a week, later translated into ten languages. At the same time, the numbers exploded: Pinterest reported a rise of more than 90 percent in searches for houseplants in 2017 compared to the year before. And according to the US National Gardening Report, five out of six million new hobby gardeners belonged to the under-35 generation. The plant of the moment? The cactus — low-maintenance, photogenic and with just enough desert cool.

Where it came from: from the desert to the living room

Cacti come almost exclusively from the Americas, from the prairies of Canada down to Patagonia. Their secret to success: they store water in their thick stems and thus survive months of drought — which made them the ideal houseplant for a generation that wanted an Instagram-worthy home but didn't necessarily have a green thumb. Then there was the aesthetic: the «urban jungle» movement, the Coachella and Joshua Tree look and the rising longing for desert romance turned the cactus into the symbol of a whole way of life.

Why it caught all of us

The cactus struck a nerve. For a generation that could barely afford a large flat — let alone a garden — in expensive cities, the houseplant became an affordable piece of nature and an identity marker: the «plant parents» were born. And there was more to it than mere décor. A widely cited study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology (Lee et al., 2015) showed that simply interacting with indoor plants can measurably reduce stress — lower blood pressure, higher well-being. Plants as self-care, long before the word was on everyone's lips.

How the industry responded

Once the trend gained momentum, there was no stopping it. Primark sold cactus cushions for a few francs, H&M Home and Zara Home printed the spiky silhouette on everything from bedding to shower curtains, IKEA released cactus lamps, and from Urban Outfitters to Søstrene Grene the shape was everywhere. Even the cactus emoji became a small cult. The peak: you no longer had to explain the trend at all — a green outline with two little arms was enough, and everyone knew.

How it arrived with us

Here in our warehouse, too, cactus items piled up during the boom years — from night lights and doorstops to money boxes. Today, a glance at the shelf is like looking into a little trend museum: most of it has long sold out and won't be reordered. What's left are the last specimens of an era. So if you'd still like a piece of cactus nostalgia, now's the time — nothing more is coming.

Last chance: the final cactus treasures

• Cactus Salt & Pepper Shakers — the décor classic for a laid table.
• Cactus Water Bottle — a reminder to drink enough (unlike the real cactus).
• Cactus Soap on a Rope — summer freshness for your bathroom, scented with coconut and lemon.
• Cactus Dryer Balls — soft laundry without any fabric softener.

What stayed, what went

The great cactus hype ended as fast as it had begun. Of all things, the pandemic finished it off: from 2020, everyone rushed to the big, lush houseplants — monstera and fiddle-leaf fig took over the living room, and the sparse little cactus suddenly seemed too unspectacular. The décor cactus on cushions and mugs became a witness to an era.

How the trend lives today

And yet: the cactus never disappeared entirely. Because while the décor wave ebbed away, the original remained — the plant itself. A real cactus on the windowsill is no longer a hype today, simply a lovely, low-maintenance permanent guest. Perhaps that's the real lesson of this story: trends come and go, but a cactus outlives them all — you just have to water it. Rarely.

What really stays: the real cactus

• Grow-Your-Own Cactus Starter Kit — everything you need to raise your own little cacti, with guaranteed germination.
• Fairy Castle Cactus Seeds — grow your own little cactus castle (Cereus tetragonus), easy-going and patient.

Sources

• Houseplant boom & «urban jungle» (Wikipedia): Wikipedia
• Cacti — origin & water storage (Wikipedia): Wikipedia
• Study: indoor plants reduce stress (Lee et al., 2015, Journal of Physiological Anthropology): PMC
• Cactus emoji (Emojipedia): Emojipedia

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