What is Lipstick Plant?
The lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus spp.) is a genus of tropical plants related to the African violet. They belong to Indonesia and Malaysia. The most common type grown as a houseplant is A. radican which grows like a vine and is the type I know of.
In their native lands, they grow as epiphytes or what we call air plants. It does not grow in soil. Instead, they stick to trees or rocks.
Its leaves are dark green and oval in shape. Their most distinctive feature is their flowers. They are brightly colored, red, pink, purple, yellow or orange, and have a strong smell. They are cylindrical and come out of tubes like lipstick. Sunbirds, native to Southeast Asia, find it irresistible. Here in the United States, if you grow your lipstick plant outside during the summer, it will attract hummingbirds.
How to Grow Lipstick Plant
Lipstick plants are hardy in zones 10 – 12, so here in the United States we grow them as houseplants. Indoors, they are happiest in a temperature range of 65°F to 85°F. If you want to move your plants outside during the summer, you can do so when night temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In the fall, they will need to be brought back inside when nighttime temperatures drop to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lipstick plants love bright, indirect light when grown indoors as houseplants. Do not place it on a sunny window. The leaves will burn. Instead, try a north-facing window that doesn’t get direct sunlight.
Although it does not grow naturally in soil, we can grow it in our homes in well-drained soil. Try adding some extra perlite to make the soil lighter and better draining. Your goal is to provide soil that can maintain the plant’s roots moist without being saturated.
Water until the soil is moist, then don’t water until the top half an inch is dry. During the spring and summer, water your plant a little each day to provide additional moisture.
Fertilize with a 3-1-2 liquid plant fertilizer. If you can only find 9-3-6, dilute it to half strength. Fertilize once a month in the spring and summer. Avoid using fertilizers in fall and winter when plants are resting.
How to Prune a Lipstick Plant
If you are growing a lipstick plant, you will need to prune it so that it does not become too tall. You can either pinch the tips to form a bush or cut the stems back to 6 inches long after the plant blooms.
To prune limbs, cut off the tips or growing ends of each stem with scissors or even just your fingers. To use your fingers, squeeze the tip of the plant between two fingers until it breaks. That’s why it’s called pinching!
When you pinch limbs, you are removing the growing tip from the trunk. The plant will react to this by growing two or more new growth points, resulting in one or more new stems. So what you will end up with is a plant with many dense stems instead of just a few dense stems. Dense plants are healthier and more attractive than sparse plants.
Whether you prune or pinch, do so after your plant has flowered because each year’s flower buds are formed the year before. If you prune your plant before it flowers, you risk cutting off the buds which will result in fewer flowers or no flowers at all.
How to Grow a Lipstick Plant From a Cutting
The easiest way to propagate lipstick plant is by cuttings. In the spring, select a stem with new growth and make a cutting about 4 inches long. To speed up root formation, you can dip the stem in rooting hormone. Gently push about 2 inches from the cut end of the cutting into a container filled with pre-moistened soil. I always water my soil before I put my cuttings in because I find that if I water it later, the soil and branches float away. To create a mini greenhouse, cover the container and cuttings with a plastic bag and place them in a room with indirect light, such as a north-facing window.
It will take 4 to 6 weeks for your cuttings to root. You’ll know it’s rooting when you see new leaves. Plants that have no roots cannot grow new plants.
