Houseplant · Gesneriaceae
Lipstick Plant
Aeschynanthus radicans
Keep it warm, in bright indirect light, and in humid air, and the lipstick plant will trail red flowers from a hanging basket for most of the year.
Bright indirect
Every 5–10 days
55–81°F · 13–27°C
USDA 10–11
Overview
So where does the name come from? Look at the flowers, where a bright red bloom slides out of a dark tube just like a lipstick out of its case. It's a trailing tropical from the gesneriad family, the same bunch that gives us African violets, and out in the wild it grows as an epiphyte clinging to tree branches around Southeast Asia. Indoors, it just spills out of a hanging basket, with glossy leaves running down stems that get 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) long.
It looks exotic, sure, but it really doesn't ask for much once you know what it's after. It likes to stay warm, it likes humid air, and it flowers best when its roots are a little crowded in the pot. Get those three things right and it'll bloom on and off from spring well into the cooler months.
And here's the nice part for anyone with pets or little kids: it's a totally safe pick. The ASPCA lists it as non-toxic, so you can hang it somewhere a curious cat or a toddler might reach and not think twice about it.
Care
The short version: it wants bright indirect light, warmth above 55°F (13°C), and humid air. Let the top of the mix dry out between drinks, ease off the water in winter so it sets buds, and feed it lightly through spring and summer.
Light
Set it in bright, indirect light near a window, but keep it out of that harsh midday sun, which'll scorch the leaves. It handles medium light and partial shade okay, but the brighter the spot, the more flowers you'll get out of it.
Water
Wait until the top inch (3 cm) of mix dries out before watering again, so roughly every 5 to 10 days, and never let it sit in water. Hanging baskets dry out fast, so check those more often. And ease off in winter, because cooler, drier roots are what get the flower buds going.
Soil
Pot it up in a light, fast-draining mix, something like African violet soil loosened with sphagnum moss and a bit of crushed charcoal. It naturally grows on tree bark, so the roots want air way more than they want to sit wet.
Temperature
Keep it somewhere between 55°F and 81°F (13°C to 27°C) and away from cold glass. Once it drops into the mid-50s it starts shedding leaves, and a real cold snap can knock it back pretty hard.
Humidity
This one really wants high humidity to look its best. Group it with other plants, pop it over a pebble tray, or run a humidifier, but pair that moisture with some moving air so mold doesn't get a chance to settle in.
Feeding
Feed it every two weeks through spring and summer with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer watered down to half strength. Then quit feeding in fall and winter while it's resting.
Pruning
Once a round of flowers fades, cut the stems back to about 6 inches (15 cm) to push out bushy new growth. Trim any straggly stems back to roughly 2 inches (5 cm) so the plant stays full instead of going leggy.
Repotting
You only really need to repot every 2 to 3 years, or when the roots start crowding the drainage holes. It blooms best a little pot-bound, so don't rush it into a much bigger pot.
Size & spacing
The stems trail 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) long with a spread of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm). A hanging basket or a high shelf gives them the room to cascade the way they want to.
Troubleshooting
Most of the time, whatever's wrong with a lipstick plant comes back to the air around it, like a cold draft, dry stale air, or watering that keeps swinging around. Catch the early signs, though, and you can usually sort out the cause before it drops much. Just find your symptom below and tweak its spot or its routine.
Leaves dropping off, mostly down low
Losing leaves near the bottom? That's usually a chill talking, so look for a cold draft, a drafty winter window, or an AC vent pointed at the plant. Sloppy watering doesn't help either, whether the mix dried out completely or stayed soggy. Shift it to a warm spot above 55°F (13°C) and keep the watering steady, and it'll settle down.
Fix:
- Move to a warm spot away from drafts and cold glass
- Keep temperatures above about 13°C (55°F)
- Water consistently so the medium stays evenly moist but not soggy
Fuzzy gray stuff or dark spots showing up
Soft gray fuzz is botrytis blight, and those crisp dark patches are leaf spot, and both love damp air that just sits there with nowhere to go. So snip off whatever's affected and get some air moving through the plant. Keep the leaves dry and up off the soil, and the spores won't have anywhere comfy to land.
Fix:
- Remove affected foliage
- Improve air circulation
- Keep leaves dry and off the potting medium
Sticky bits, webbing, or little bugs turning up
Anything sticky or webby is a pretty clear sign of aphids, mealybugs, scale, or spider mites. They like to hang out on the stems and the undersides of leaves, so check there first, then wash or wipe them away. Follow up with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and keep the plant off on its own until it's all clear.
Fix:
- Wipe off or wash off pests
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Isolate the plant until controlled
Toxicity
Good news if you've got pets or kids: the lipstick plant is safe. The ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and there's nothing in the leaves or those bright red flowers that'll poison an animal or a child. So go ahead and hang it wherever you want.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
The ASPCA calls this one non-toxic to cats, so there's no poison to stress about. Sure, a nibble might upset a stomach a little, but honestly any plant can do that.
Dogs None
It's safe for dogs on the ASPCA's list too. If a curious pup grabs a bite, the worst you'll probably see is a touch of indigestion from the roughage, and that's it.
Horses None
Horses are on the ASPCA's clear list as well. A horse isn't exactly going to wander over to a houseplant, right? Either way, nothing in it is toxic.
Rabbits Safe
There's nothing in the lipstick plant that'll poison a rabbit, so if one sneaks a bite, it's really no big deal.
Livestock Safe
Grazing animals have nothing toxic to fear from it, though a tropical houseplant like this hardly ever ends up anywhere near them anyway.
Birds Safe
A pet bird can share the room just fine. The leaves don't carry any known toxins that would bother it.
People Safe
It's safe around kids too. Nobody grows it to eat, but if a curious little one has a taste, it won't poison anyone.
Varieties
A handful of named forms pop up in the houseplant trade, and mostly they just differ in their leaves or their flower color. Here are the ones you're most likely to run into.
'Variegatus' (variegated lipstick plant)
Rather than plain green, this one's leaves come splashed with cream to yellow variegation.
Aeschynanthus radicans var. lobbianus
You'll see this sold as the red bugle vine, with dark red calyces over a red corolla, even though the botanists have since lumped it in under A. pulcher.
How to propagate
Making more of these is easy, so one healthy basket can turn into a few. Just take your cuttings during the warm growing months and they'll root the fastest.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer during active growth · Roots in about two weeks
Want more of them? Take cuttings in spring or summer while the plant's growing, since that's when they root the quickest. Grab a soft stem with three nodes, pull off all but the top 2 to 4 leaves, and dip the cut end in rooting hormone. Then pot it into equal parts vermiculite and perlite, keep it a little moist, and you'll usually see roots in about two weeks.
Myths
The lipstick plant is poisonous and risky to keep around cats and dogs.
The fear usually comes down to those lipstick-red flowers, which just look like they'd be trouble, don't they? But they aren't. The ASPCA lists the plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, so it's a genuinely pet-safe houseplant you can hang right where they can reach.