TPIE Cool Product Awards announced
By Teresa McPherson
15 products were presented with Cool Product Awards at Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE).
From nearly 50 nominations, the Garden Center Group managing director Danny Summers’ team of garden retailers narrowed their selection down to 15 products to receive Cool Product Awards at TPIE. Here’s a look at the winners.
Agri-Starts’ Ty Strode said this vanilla vine is self-pollinating and easy to grow in protected conditions (indoors), as it is subtropical. Blooms (and beans) begin to appear 24 to 36 months into plant development. It has glossy green leaves and tolerates light conditions from super low to high.
These planters feature a drain drawer at the bottom that pulls out for emptying; when the drawer is even with the outside of the pot, it drains. When pushed in about 1/4 inch, it holds water for the plant to absorb. Several sizes and colors will be available.
Not a stranger to the Cool Product Awards, Flori-Design has received 11 awards total. This year, it presented three new designs, all made from custom-blown glass — a purse in two sizes, a slipper and a wine bottle. The terrariums are preplanted (or landscaped) and ready to be sold in retail.
This new hybrid has been in trials and is now being released into production. The plant features an eye-catching neon purple leaf and is suitable for hanging baskets and in mixed planters. Available now as an unrooted cutting.
This new androlepis is a gorgeous large variegated bromeliad spreading 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall. The leaves are green, white and a deep beautiful fuschia pink. Available in late 2026.
This showy subtropical plant has stunning pink flowers that bloom in clusters at least twice annually. A popular choice for indoor gardening due to its low maintenance sun requirements.
The Everlasting Memories Rose includes a preserved rose available in two colors (red and pink) and a heart-shaped necklace with a small ball in the center. When shone against the light, it reveals the phrase “I Love You” in 100 different languages.
Deep red stems and a blend of deep green and coppery red create a striking contrast. Penang’s Brady Lo said, “The parents of this hybrid are philodendron ‘Tatei’ and philodendron ‘Red Imperial’, which produced philodendron ‘Congo Rojo’; this philodendron ‘Red Congo Variegated’ is a mutation, which produces this stunning foliage.”
This new peperomia is part of the LeafJoy Trial Collection, which was found by a plant collector; The Plant Co. now has it in production. It has the most incredible color variations.
This new anthurium comes from Dr. Jeff Block at DocBlock and is now in production as part of The LeafJoy Collector’s Edition Plant Collection. It features striking dark foliage that develops red veins to separate the textured leaf sections.
PlantDoc is reportedly the first and only 100% biodegradable, color-changing soil moisture meter. Ideal for houseplants in pots 2 to 8 inches in diameter.
This philodendron’s new foliage emerges a creaming white and turns green over time. The white leaves do not produce chlorophyll, so the larger the green portion is for the plant, the faster it will grow, first producing the young white leaves.
Following the company’s original leaf-shaped trellises, it is now adding a new fiddlehead-shaped trellis and leaf-shaped plant saucers: The SAUSR. The new SAUSR is available in two sizes and three colors.
Teresa McPherson
Teresa McPherson is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].
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