The New Complete Guide to Houseplants: Expert Houseplant Growing Advice for Everyone arrives December 1 with trending varieties, real-world care advice, and styling inspiration.
Houseplants have exploded in popularity over the past decade. Still, many of the guide books on shelves haven’t kept pace with how people realistically grow, collect, and live with plants today. That changes this holiday season with The New Complete Guide to Houseplants: Expert Houseplant Growing Advice for Everyone (Cool Springs Press; December 1, 2026; $30.00). This next-generation houseplant handbook is from Justin Hancock, horticulturist at Costa Farms, one of the world’s largest growers of indoor plants. The book is available for pre-order now wherever books are sold.
Written for everyone, from first-time plant parents to seasoned collectors, The New Complete Guide distills Hancock’s 25+ years of horticultural experience into a practical, beautifully photographed guide for real homes and real life. Coupled with the growing expertise Costa Farms has built over 65 years and more than 1,500 plant varieties, this new book teaches readers to match plants to their actual conditions, keep them thriving, and style them with confidence.
“When we looked at the houseplant category, we saw shelves full of books written for a moment that had already passed,” said Jessica Walliser, Editorial Director, Cool Springs Press. “Justin is one of the very few people who pairs serious horticultural expertise with the ability to talk to a brand-new plant parent without a trace of condescension. That combination is rare, and it’s exactly why we wanted him for this book.”
Organized into intuitive sections, the book covers:
- Right Plant, Right Place: how light, temperature, humidity, and potting mix shape plant success
- Meet Your Plant Match: profiles of today’s must-grow plants, from rare and trending varieties like Cebu Blue pothos and ‘Black Velvet’ arrowhead vine, to everyday favorites such as Peace Lily and Monstera, all written with a playful, first-person plant personality.
- Keep It Happy and Healthy: watering, repotting, pruning, propagating, and troubleshooting, including Hancock’s “Goldilocks Zone” approach to watering.
- Make It Look Great: styling plants like a pro with containers, groupings, and ideas that elevate any space.
- Quick-reference Top 10 lists: from plants that tolerate low light to pet-friendly picks and plants for a pop of pink, Hancock helps readers quickly find their perfect match.
- Seasonal Care Calendar: season-specific tips to keep houseplants happy and healthy all year long.
“Everyone has a different reason for bringing plants home and understanding that reason is the first step to a better relationship with your plants,” said Hancock. “Whether you’re drawn to how plants make a space look or how they make you feel, my book meets you where you are. My goal is to help you pick the right plant, keep it healthy, and enjoy it, because all thumbs really are green.”
One of the most trusted voices in the houseplant world, Hancock has spent more than 25 years educating home gardeners. He was senior garden editor at Better Homes and Gardens, where he answered thousands of consumer questions as the BH&G Garden Doctor. Now, as director of research and development and brand marketing at Costa Farms, he co-hosts the Plant Rx podcast, meets customers at Let’s Talk Plants events, and trials new plant varieties that end up on store shelves. His work places him at the center of the indoor plant movement at the fourth-generation, family-run grower, which produces more than 1,500 varieties across 5,200 acres and is headquartered in Miami.
“If you’re a plant person, you’ll love this book,” explains author and plant stylist Hilton Carter. “Justin is one of the leading voices in the industry, and he has a rare gift for making plant care feel approachable, intuitive, and genuinely joyful.”
The New Complete Guide to Houseplants: Expert Houseplant Growing Advice for Everyone by Justin Hancock is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Quarto.com, and CostaFarms.com. Readers who pre-order through CostaFarms.com receive the exclusive “Grow with Justin” bonus bundle, including a signed copy and more than two dozen pages of free bonus plant profiles.
At Costa Farms, it’s in our DNA to grow, and we’re passionate about plants! So much so that we grow more than 1,500 varieties on 5,200 acres. Costa Farms is a leading global grower of tropical plants, specializing in producing high-quality foliage plants and flowering plants. With a commitment to innovation and sustainability, Costa Farms offers a diverse range of products to meet the needs of consumers. Learn more at costafarms.com. The New Complete Guide to Houseplants: Expert Houseplant Growing Advice for Everyone by Justin Hancock [Hardcover, 272 pages, $30.00, ISBN 978-1577159742]
