A trailing basket plant that flowers indoors: ‘Mona Lisa’ pushes glossy red tubes from dark calyces, and radicans ‘Purple Star’ flowers in dusky purple. Bright light, slightly dry between waterings, and it blooms.
Most houseplants sold for hanging baskets are grown for foliage. Lipstick plant is the exception that flowers reliably indoors: clusters of tubular red or purple blooms emerge from dark, cup-shaped calyces at the stem tips — like a lipstick from its case — from spring into fall, on a plant with glossy, waxy, trailing foliage. It is a gesneriad, cousin to African violets, and it behaves like one: bright indirect light, a slight dry-down between waterings, and no cold water on the leaves.
We commonly carry two: ‘Mona Lisa’, the classic red-flowered form with dark green leaves, and Aeschynanthus radicans ‘Purple Star’, whose flowers are a deep dusky purple. Both trail two to three feet from a basket in an east window or under a covered patio in the mild months. The rest of the bench is on our Houseplants page.
These are the lipstick plant varieties we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
The standard lipstick plant: waxy dark green leaves and bright red tubular flowers held in near-black calyces. Blooms in flushes from spring through fall in good light. Trails two to three feet.
The same trailing habit with flowers in a deep, dusky purple-red — subtler than ‘Mona Lisa’ and unusual on the bench. Same care.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Lipstick plant flowers on light. Hang it in or beside an east window, or in bright filtered light from a south window; a dim room gives you leaves and no blooms. Direct sun through west glass in summer scorches the waxy leaves. On a covered patio in spring and fall it wants bright shade, never sun.
A light, airy mix — African violet mix, or potting mix with extra perlite and a little bark — in a basket with drainage. Lipstick plant flowers best slightly root-bound, so repot only every two or three years, and only one size up.
Feed a bloom fertilizer (higher phosphorus) at half strength every two to three weeks from March through September, monthly the rest of the year. After a flush of flowers, trim the stems back by a third to keep the plant full and encourage new tips — flowers form at the ends of new growth.
Let the top inch of mix dry, then water thoroughly and let it drain. About every five to seven days in summer indoors, every ten to fourteen days in winter. Constant moisture gives you soft growth and no flowers; letting it go slightly dry in late winter actually helps set buds. Use room-temperature water — cold water on the foliage causes leaf drop.
It tolerates our dry indoor air reasonably well, but browning leaf tips or bud drop point to a vent blowing on it or humidity below 20 percent. Hang it away from the register and mist occasionally in the driest months. Keep it above 60°F; it drops leaves in cold drafts.
Lipstick plant is non-toxic to cats and dogs. Mealybugs and aphids like the flower buds; pick them off or use insecticidal soap. Outdoors, a shaded covered patio from March into May and October until nights near 50°F; it has no frost tolerance.
Yellowing, spots, no new growth — snap a photo of the plant and its window and we’ll diagnose it at the bench. Advice is free.
We stock indoor potting mix, orchid bark and perlite for the chunky blends aroids and epiphytes want, balanced houseplant fertilizers, insecticidal soap and neem for the usual mealybug and mite visits, and moss poles, hoops and saucers. The pottery yard has terracotta, glazed and lightweight pots from 4-inch up, plus hanging baskets and cache pots.
Light, almost always. Move it to an east window or bright filtered light near a south one. Letting it dry slightly between waterings, keeping it a little root-bound, and feeding a bloom fertilizer in spring all help. Flowers come on new tips, so pruning after a flush encourages the next one.
Yes — it is listed as non-toxic to pets, one of the few flowering hanging-basket plants that is.
When the top inch of mix is dry, roughly every five to seven days in summer indoors and every ten to fourteen days in winter. Use room-temperature water and let the pot drain fully.
Cold: cold water on the foliage, a draft from an AC vent, or a chilly spot near a window in winter. Move it somewhere warm and still and water with room-temperature water.
On a covered, shaded patio in spring and fall, yes, and it flowers well there. Bring it in before summer heat and before any night near 50°F.
Stems trail two to three feet from a basket over a couple of years. Trim after flowering to keep it full; the cuttings root in damp mix.
Lipstick Plant live on the houseplant bench; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.