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Purple Passion Plant Care

Purple passion plants are immediately identifiable by their dark green, serrated leaves completely covered in dense, violet hair. Because of their unique color, purple passion plants are a popular accent indoors and on patios. Despite their exotic appearance, these plants are fairly easy to care for, making them an excellent choice for novice plant parents.

How to care for your Purple Passion Plant

Use these instructions to care for a Purple Passion Plant. This guide will tell you how to water a Purple Passion Plant; its light, temperature, humidity preferences and any additional care it might need to help it grow.

Purple Passion Plant
LIGHT

Your purple passion plant prefers moderate to bright indirect light.

WATER

You allow 25% of the soil volume to dry before watering. When watering, try not to get the leaves wet as the hairs can trap moisture and cause the leaves to become waterlogged.

HUMIDITY

Your purple passion plant prefers a fairly humid environment. Avoid misting though, as it does not like to get water on the leaves. Instead, add a humidifier nearby or create a pebble tray.

TEMPERATURE

Your purple passion plant prefers average indoor temperatures of 60–70°F.

FOOD

Fertilize your plant once a month during spring and summer with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength.

TOXICITY

Purple passion plants are considered non-toxic for pets and humans.

ADDITIONAL CARE

If the plant starts to flower, that’s a sign it has reached maturity and you may want to start collecting cuttings.

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What's a Purple Passion Plant?

Botanical Classification: Gynura aurantiaca

About

Few plants mirror the gorgeous purple haze that defines Gynura aurantiaca, AKA the purple passion plant. These unique species are native to South-East Asia, and have dark green, serrated leaves covered in thick violet hair. Hence the purple aura. As the plant ages, the usually coarse hair begins to thin out, minimizing its saturation and vibrancy.

Purple passion plants usually live about 3–5 years. In its later years, a healthy plant will bloom a beautiful, burnt orange flower. While very attractive, the purple passion plant’s flower tends to exude an unpleasant aroma that can be off putting in tight spaces. Many gardeners will remove the flower to prevent the smell. Flowering is a sign of maturity, and the plant will begin to lose its vibrancy thereafter.

When grown indoors, it’s best to keep your purple passion plant in bright, indirect sunlight.

Fun Fact

Despite being purple, the Latin name for the plant “aurantiaca” means orange! This is because the flowers of the plant are bright orange – though the plants may often take a while to actually bloom.

Pictured Left: Purple Passion Plant

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