Lipstick plant

Lipstick plant: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Trailing to creeping stems up to 60 cm long; the plant becomes about as wide.

Leaves

Opposite, elliptic, 3–5 cm, thick and fleshy, glossy dark green.

Flower

Red tubular flowers 4–6 cm long in clusters at the stem tips, from April to August.

Calyx

Dark purple to brown and tubular: the flower emerges from it like a lipstick from its case.

Roots

Fine roots; aerial roots may form on the stems, which it uses to cling to bark in the wild.

Flowering: April–August · Plants: March–April · Pruning: September

Why grow it?

• Eye-catching red flowers from April to August.
• Glossy evergreen leaves: an attractive hanging plant even when not in flower.
• Ideal for a hanging basket or a high shelf, where the stems can trail.
• Easy to grow from cuttings, so you can propagate it yourself.
• A tough houseplant if you give it a cooler winter rest.

Lipstick plant: where does it grow best?

• Bright light but no fierce midday sun: a spot by an east- or west-facing window is ideal.
• Warm: preferably 18–24 °C and never below 15 °C; no cold draughts.
• High humidity: stand the pot on a tray of wet pebbles or mist it in summer.
• Airy, humus-rich potting compost, ideally mixed with a little orchid bark.

Light

Bright, out of direct sun

Potting soil

Multi-purpose compost or airy, humus-rich compost

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Watering

Moderately

Size

0.6 m tall, 0.6 m wide

Temperature

Minimum 15 °C

Goes well with

• Wax plant: Another trailing or climbing plant for a bright room.
• Columnea: A close relative with the same needs and also red or orange flowers.
• Boston fern: Likes the same humid air and gives a fresh green contrast.
• Orchid: Wants the same bright, warm spot and an airy growing medium.
• Peperomia: Compact, leafy little plants for the windowsill below.

Lipstick plant: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April.

1. Repot in March–April, every two to three years, when the roots fill the pot.
2. Choose a hanging pot only slightly larger than the old one, with a drainage hole.
3. Use an airy mix of potting compost with orchid bark or perlite.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as before and firm the compost lightly.
5. Water with tepid water and let the excess drain away.
6. Then keep the plant in good light but out of the sun for a few weeks.

Care

Water

From spring to autumn, water when the top 2 cm are dry, using tepid water, ideally rainwater. Never leave it standing in water.

Feeding

From April to August, half-strength feed for flowering houseplants every two weeks.

Humidity

In summer and when the heating is on, mist regularly, but not on the flowers.

Winter rest

In December–February, keep it cooler, around 15 °C, and water less for good flowering.

Do not move

Do not turn or move the plant once buds have formed, or they may drop.

Tip: Give it a cooler, drier rest at around 15 °C in winter: without that rest it often flowers only sparsely in spring.

Lipstick plant: when to prune it?

Pruning months: September.

When: Prune after flowering, in September, to keep the plant compact and bushy.

How:

• Cut long, bare stems back to 15–20 cm, just above a pair of leaves.
• Remove old, leafless stems completely.
• Use the cut tips as cuttings.
• Do not prune in spring: the flowers appear at the stem tips.

Caution: Do not prune in spring, or you will cut off the flower buds.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In spring or after flowering, take tip cuttings 8–10 cm long with a few pairs of leaves. Remove the lower leaves and root them in moist cutting compost under plastic at 20–25 °C; roots form in 3–4 weeks.

Several cuttings

Plant four or five rooted cuttings together in one hanging pot for a full plant.

Lipstick plant: how does it get through the winter?

• Houseplant: never below 15 °C and no cold draughts from a window or door.
• In December–February, give it a rest at around 15 °C, with less water and no feed; this encourages flowering in spring.
• Do not place it above a radiator: dry, hot air causes leaf drop and red spider mite.
• Light remains important: keep it close to the window in winter.

Diseases and pests

• Leaf drop: Too cold, too wet or draughts. Move it somewhere warmer and water less.
• Bud drop: Caused by moving the plant, draughts or drying out. Leave the plant in the same spot while the buds form.
• Mealybug: White, woolly tufts in the leaf axils. Wipe them off with a cotton bud dipped in alcohol.
• Red spider mite: Fine yellow speckling and webbing in dry air. Mist regularly and rinse the plant.
• No flowers: No winter rest or too dark. Give it more light and a cooler winter.

Through the year

• January: Winter rest at around 15 °C. Little water, no feed.
• February: Rest. Keep in good light.
• March: Water more. Repot if needed.
• April: Flowering begins. Feed every two weeks.
• May: Flowering. Mist and do not move.
• June: Flowering. Feed and keep out of fierce sun.
• July: Flowering. Water regularly and mist.
• August: Last flowers. Stop feeding at the end of August.
• September: Prune after flowering. Take cuttings.
• October: Water less.
• November: Move somewhere cooler, water less.
• December: Winter rest at around 15 °C.

Did you know?

• The name Aeschynanthus comes from the Greek aischyne (shame) and anthos (flower): a blushing flower, after its red colour.
• The species name radicans means ‘rooting’, after the aerial roots that grow along the stems.
• It is related to the African violet and gloxinia, which belong to the same family.