Am I Taking Good Care Of My Red Ivy (Purple Waffle Plant)?

Did you placed your purple waffle plant in bright indirect light indoors, or partial shade outdoors?

Did you planted your red ivy in well-drained and fertile soil?

Did you provide a warm and humid environment for your plant?

Are you making sure that the soil is consistently moist?

Do you feed your red ivy regularly with a houseplant fertilizer?

Did you repot your plant when the roots started showing through the drainage holes?

Do you keep your red ivy free of pests and diseases?

The purple waffle plant does best in bright indirect light indoors, or partial shade outdoors. Direct sun can cause the edges of leaves to scorch, and the cool metallic sheen of the leaves may also fade in direct sun. Purple waffle plants will also thrive under artificial lights.

An all-purpose potting mix or commercial potting soil is adequate for purple waffle plants. If you chose to plant them directly in the ground as a garden annual, you should add compost or leaf mold to lighten and enrich the soil.

Warm temperatures and high humidity conditions are a must for cultivating healthy purple waffle plants. Bring plants indoors before frost, or preferably, before temperatures dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Increase the humidity around your waffle plants by misting the plants, or by growing them in a tray full of pebbles and water.

These plants need consistent moisture to grow well but they don't need to be soaking to the point of runoff. If your environment is exceedingly dry or you can't ensure regular irrigation, aren't around enough to provide proper irrigation, add water-absorbing crystals to the soil to help retain moisture.

In their native habitat, purple waffle plants grow in the understory of jungle areas, which is rich in nutrients from decaying leaves. You must replicate these nutritious growing conditions with plant fertilizers to achieve a lush plant. A slow-release 6-12-6 houseplant fertilizer will provide a steady diet of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash for healthy growth.

The purple waffle plant has a moderate to fast rate of growth, so if your plant is healthy, you will need to repot it when you notice roots coming out of the drainage holes. The stems of waffle plants break easily, so it's important not to pull the plant from its container by the stems. Instead, turn the plant over and gently tap on the bottom of the container. Use a butter knife to coax the rootball away from the container sides if it's particularly wedged in place. Use a good quality potting soil to fill in the additional space in the new, larger container.

God job! You are taking good care of your red ivy.

Healthy purple waffles can resist most pests. On rare occasions, whiteflies or scale insects may become an issue. If these appear, you may be able to blast them loose with a hard spray of water. If not, applying horticultural oil or insecticidal soap can dislodge them. Trim severely damaged leaves or stems to remove them.