Houseplant · Gesneriaceae
Lipstick Plant
Aeschynanthus radicans
Give it warmth, gentle bright light, and a little humidity, and this forgiving lipstick plant will reward you with red trailing flowers for much of the year.
Bright indirect
Every 5–10 days
55–81°F · 13–27°C
USDA 10–11
Overview
The name comes straight from the flowers, where a bright red bloom slides out of a dark tube just the way a lipstick rises from its case. This is a trailing tropical in the gesneriad family, cousins to the African violets you may already love, and out in the wild it grows as an epiphyte hugging tree branches across Southeast Asia. At home it tumbles happily from a hanging basket, its glossy leaves running down stems that stretch 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) long.
The look may seem demanding, but this is a kind plant that asks for very little once you know its three wishes. It wants to stay warm, it enjoys humid air, and it flowers best when its roots feel a bit snug in the pot. Give it those and it will bloom in waves from spring right into the cooler months, and small missteps are easy to recover from.
It is also a wonderfully safe pick for a home with pets or little ones. The ASPCA lists it as non-toxic, so you can hang it wherever a curious cat or a toddler might reach and feel completely at ease.
Care
The short version: give it bright indirect light, warmth above 55°F (13°C), and humid air, and you are most of the way there. Let the top of the mix dry between drinks, ease back on water in winter to coax out buds, and feed lightly through spring and summer.
Light
Set it in bright, indirect light by a window but shielded from harsh midday sun, which can scorch the leaves. It gets along fine in medium light and partial shade, so do not fret about the perfect spot, though the brighter the corner, the more flowers you will enjoy.
Water
Let the top inch (3 cm) of mix dry before you water again, usually every 5 to 10 days, and simply never leave it standing in water. Hanging baskets dry quicker, so give them a peek more often. Ease off through winter, since cooler, drier roots are exactly what nudge the flower buds along.
Soil
Pot it in a light, fast-draining mix, like African violet soil loosened with sphagnum moss and a pinch of crushed charcoal. It grows on tree bark in the wild, so the roots crave air far more than they want to stay damp.
Temperature
Keep it cozy between 55°F and 81°F (13°C to 27°C) and away from chilly glass. Once it dips into the mid-50s it starts shedding leaves, and a genuine cold snap can set it back, so a warm indoor room is all it really needs.
Humidity
It truly loves high humidity to look its best. Cluster it with other plants, rest it on a pebble tray, or run a humidifier nearby, just pair that moisture with a gentle bit of airflow so mold never gets a foothold.
Feeding
Feed it every two weeks through spring and summer with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer at half strength. Let it rest in fall and winter by pausing the feeding, and it will thank you.
Pruning
Once a flush of flowers fades, trim the stems back to about 6 inches (15 cm) to invite bushy new growth. Snip any straggly stems back to roughly 2 inches (5 cm), and the plant stays full and lovely rather than leggy.
Repotting
There is no rush to repot, only every 2 to 3 years or when roots crowd the drainage holes. It flowers best a little pot-bound, so happily resist moving it into a much larger 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 all the room they need to cascade.
Troubleshooting
Almost every lipstick plant hiccup comes down to the air it lives in, be it a cold draft, dry still air, or watering that never settles into a rhythm. Catch the early clues and you can usually put things right before it sheds much, so there is no need to worry. Find your symptom below, then simply tweak its spot or its routine.
Lower leaves letting go and dropping
Try not to panic if leaves start falling, because this plant almost always sheds after a chill, so look for a cold draft, a frosty winter window, or an air conditioning vent aimed its way. Watering that swings from bone dry to soggy adds to the stress. Settle it into a warm spot above 55°F (13°C) and water on a gentle, steady rhythm, and it will bounce back.
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 patches or dark spotting appearing
Soft gray fuzz means botrytis blight has moved in, and crisp dark patches point to leaf spot, and both take hold when damp air hangs still around the plant. Gently clip away the marked leaves and open up the air flow. Keep water off the foliage and lift the leaves clear of the soil so those spores find nowhere to land, and you have this well in hand.
Fix:
- Remove affected foliage
- Improve air circulation
- Keep leaves dry and off the potting medium
Something sticky, webby, or crawling on the plant
That tackiness and webbing usually mean aphids, mealybugs, scale, or spider mites have found your plant, and finding them early makes them easy to handle. Turn the leaves over and scan the stems where they tuck themselves away, then wipe or rinse them off. A round of insecticidal soap or horticultural oil finishes the job, and keeping the plant on its own for a while stops any spread.
Fix:
- Wipe off or wash off pests
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Isolate the plant until controlled
Toxicity
Here is some reassuring news for pet owners and parents: the lipstick plant is safe. The ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and nothing in its leaves or those cheerful red flowers will poison an animal or a child. Hang it wherever makes you happy.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
You can relax with a cat in the house, because the ASPCA marks this plant non-toxic to cats. A stray nibble might bring a touch of tummy upset, the way any greenery can, but there is nothing here that will poison your cat.
Dogs None
Dogs are welcome to share the room with it, since the ASPCA counts it as safe for them. If a curious pup takes a chew, expect nothing worse than a little passing indigestion from the fibrous bit.
Horses None
Horses are covered by the ASPCA listing as well, so rest easy on that front. A horse is unlikely to meet a houseplant anyway, and none of it is toxic to them.
Rabbits Safe
There is nothing poisonous in the lipstick plant for a rabbit, so if one sneaks a bite it is truly no cause for worry.
Livestock Safe
Grazing animals face no toxic risk from it at all, and as a tender tropical it will almost never end up somewhere they can reach.
Birds Safe
A pet bird can happily share its space, because the leaves hold no known toxins that would do it any harm.
People Safe
It is gentle to have around children. No one grows it for the table, yet a curious little taste will not poison anybody.
Varieties
A handful of named forms show up in the houseplant trade, mostly parting ways in their leaves or their flower color. These are the ones you are most likely to come across.
'Variegatus' (variegated lipstick plant)
Instead of plain green, this friendly form carries leaves washed with cream to soft yellow markings.
Aeschynanthus radicans var. lobbianus
You will meet this one as the red bugle vine, showing deep red calyces over a red corolla, though botanists now tuck it in under A. pulcher.
How to propagate
Making more of this plant is genuinely easy, so one healthy basket can turn into several with a little confidence. Take your cuttings in the warm growing months and they will root the fastest.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer during active growth · Roots in about two weeks
This is a lovely plant to multiply, so take heart and give it a go in spring or summer while it is actively growing for the smoothest results. Snip a soft stem holding three nodes, gently remove all but the top 2 to 4 leaves, and dip the cut end in rooting hormone. Nestle it into equal parts vermiculite and perlite kept just barely moist, and you should see roots in about two weeks.
Myths
The lipstick plant is poisonous and dangerous to keep near cats and dogs.
It is easy to see why people worry, since those lipstick-red flowers look like they must be trouble. Happily, they simply are not. The ASPCA counts the plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, so this is a truly pet-safe houseplant you can hang right where they can reach.