Lipstick Plant Care: 7 Tips for Growing Lipstick Plants

Lipstick plants (Aeschynanthus radicans) are flowering houseplants with red or maroon tubular flowers resembling an individual tube of lipstick. They’re members of the Gesneriaceae flower family.

In their native Southeast Asian homeland, lipstick plants often grow as epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants). If you keep them as indoor houseplants, you can mimic their preferred tropical climate through temperature control and misting. They grow like vines, so they make good hanging basket plants.

There are a variety of different lipstick plants in the Gesneriad flower family. Here are three to consider:

1. 1. Aeschynanthus radicans 'Mona Lisa': This lipstick plant boasts deep-green leaves and brilliant red flowers that bloom all year round.
2. 2. Aeschynanthus ‘Rasta’: Known for their long, twisting leaves, these lipstick plants have bright red or dark crimson flowers. Some growers also call this plant the twisted lipstick plant.
3. 3. Aeschynanthus longicaulis ‘Black pagoda’: These lipstick plants are more famous for their multi-shade foliage than for their flowers.

Taking care of a lipstick plant is simple. Here are seven tips for tending to these indoor houseplants:

1. 1. Expose them to bright light. Lipstick plants need enough light to thrive, but direct sunlight can overwhelm them. Too little light for these indoor plants can lead to leaf drop, while too much can scorch the plants. Put them in a place where they’ll receive plenty of bright indirect light offset by a little shade to mitigate direct sun exposure. If your lipstick plant flower buds aren’t blooming very well, that’s a sign you should move them to a brighter location.
2. 2. Avoid overwatering. Too much water can lead to big problems for lipstick vines. You could undercut their ability to grow and encourage root rot or fungal problems if you water them too much. Make sure you have ample drainage holes in your potting soil before you introduce your new plants. Use perlite to aerate your soil and help it drain. Once the new growth begins—whether in a hanging basket filled with potting mix or in your garden—water the plant moderately.
3. 3. Give them humidity. These tropical plants do best in a climate with high humidity, similar to their native regions in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. Duplicating this indoors is simple. So long as you keep the temperature in your house around 75–85 degrees Fahrenheit and take to misting these flowering plants regularly, they’ll feel right at home. You can also place them near a humidifier if you think you’ll forget to mist them.
4. 4. Keep an eye out for pests. These hanging plants don’t attract as many pests as others, but you should still be on the defense for a few of the usual suspects. Aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites can all pose a problem to your lipstick plant leaves and flowers. If you catch them early and treat the problem with a homemade or store-bought insecticide, like neem oil, your lipstick plants will survive just fine.
5. 5. Fertilize occasionally. Once every season or so, you should apply some slow-release liquid fertilizer to your lipstick plants. Fertilizing can help ensure their bright red flowers and vibrant green leaves get the boost they need to flourish. Using houseplant fertilizer every now and then can help them thrive during the growing season and prevent the red lipstick flowers from dropping during the winter months, so long as you keep your plants indoors.
6. 6. Consider pruning and propagating. You can prune your lipstick plants if you’d like to propagate them in another indoor pot or section of your garden. Simply take the stem cuttings and place them in new soil. They could benefit from some rooting hormone to get a headstart on their new growth.
7. 7. Repot when necessary. Lipstick plants will just keep growing if you let them, so repotting them occasionally can be helpful. Gather up the roots, separate them into smaller portions, and place the individual plants in new soil to gain greater control over their occasionally unwieldy, vine-like foliage.

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