Purple Waffle Plant
Sunday, July 26, 2009Here is one plant that is very easy to propagate and look very nice in a planter or as ground cover. Purple Waffle plants do very well in the open, even under the hot sun!
Although the flowers do not show up plentifully in my hot-weathered garden, I find that the leaves tend to curl up and look attractive with its unique colours and texture. And remember to keep the soil moist all the time!
This plant, botanically known as Hemigraphis Exotica, can be grown in shaded areas too. It is native to India and Java, New Guinea, Southeast Asia and Australia.
The leaves are dark green on the top and purple underneath while the flowers are white and small. As the plant gets lusher, the more attractive it becomes.
Purple Waffle plant survives very well here in our tropical climate. Hence, propagation is easy. Just cut one shoot and pin it into the soil and it will just grow and grow. When overgrown, just keep trimming and propagating!
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22 comments
Love those colours! I've never grown this but now that I've seen it here.....y'know...!!! Why does every new plant have to be so tempting?!!! Great shots!
ReplyDeleteAnother cool plant I've not heard of! Looks like a great groundcover! There's a form of ajuga that's similiar looking...? Have a great day, Steph!
ReplyDeleteThis plant look YUMMY! It looks like some purple lettuce ^o^
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing Steph!
Steph, I have this plant. It is growing wild in my garden. I love the tiny purple flowers that open in the mornings. This plant can survive any condition, light or shade, moist or dry. Very hardy but now I'm having some hard time pulling them off when they overwhelm certain areas of my garden. However, a neightbour also loves this plant and requested some from me.
ReplyDeleteWe dont have exactly like these.. something similar, distant cousins maybe. At a glance, they look like lettuce now sold in supermarket of red purplish colour. They are not edible steph?..
ReplyDeleteCuti-cuti, jalan-jalan.
~ bangchik
Bangchik, not that I know of. Should be not edible. Today is Sunday... so good to go jalan-jalan he he.
ReplyDeleteAutumnbelle, my neighbour also requested some from me! I think the plant tend to look quite attractive from far. That's why they requested ;-)
Sandy, I agree! It does look like those purple lettuce ;-)
Lynn, ajuga grows very well here too. Once I saw ajuga covering about one third of a garden ground... it was awesome... bronzy purple... so unique also.
Kanak, at one time I was only eyeing for plants that have purple or red leaves. That's how I ended up with this plant ;-) But I didn't realise that it is so easy to propagate and fast growing. If I knew that, I would have only purchase one plant instead of two for this planter.
Here I wrote a long comment and then I managed to push some buttom. Urk!! I know Ajuga but this one i special. With that little innocent white flower, magnificent. Red-green colours and shape, perhaps in a pot?? inside?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting looking plant! Never noticed something like that before. The first thing that comes to mind when I see this plant is that it looks 'crispy' :)
ReplyDeleteVery unique purple plant with white flowers
ReplyDeletevery strange plant... makes me think it looks like dinner...!
ReplyDeletePurple Waffle! I don't know this one, Steph. Does it have the potential to be invasive (since it roots so easily)?
ReplyDeleteDebborah, Vuejardin, Sarah, Mia, by right this plant should have plenty of white flowers. Then, it would make the planter/pot look prettier. I think my garden is just too hot for the plant to be in full bloom :-(
ReplyDeleteProspero, it is not like Dollarweed that will grow onto the next pot. Purple waffle will just grow lusher and overflow the pot. But I am not sure if the behaviour would change if this plant would to be planted onto the ground.
It's very attractive, and I can see why it's called "waffle" plant. I've seen something similar before, though maybe not the exact plant. The white flower is quite a nice contrast against the purple leaf. How's your sweet potato vine?
ReplyDeleteAvis, my sweet potato vine is growing fast ;-) The colour of the leaves is light green with red veins.
ReplyDeleteIt's the first time I heard of Purple Warfle plant. Their crinkled leaves remind me of lettuce! Love their colour.
ReplyDeleteHi, was wondering about this warfle plant, very similar to the red flame ivy (hemigraphis alternata)
ReplyDeleteIt died due to lack of water. Its very unforgiving as the moment it dries up - it totally dies. Do let me know how you take care of the water - are they the hardy type?
Hello, I wanted to let you know a great use for purple waffle. I use it in my aquariums as a temporary decorative plan. It will last about a month under water. It wont bloom underwater but it will remain attractive for a long time. Fish dont seem to like the taste of it so they tend to leave it alone, sometimes my larger fish will swim by and grab in their mouth and pull it out of the gravel. No harm done, just replant. I have alot growing in a big planter in my kitchen window. I love this plant. It looks good under water, really adds some color to a tank. If you have a bunch and you have a tank or a friend with a tank, they would think it was awesome if you gave them a few snippings to plant in their fish tank.
ReplyDeleteI have two hemigraphis, one as pictured and one which is much lighter in color. The darker one is happy but right next to it the one which is pale purple and mottled green is turning brown and "crispy" or becoming limp and wilting and dying. Do you have any advice what could be the problem? Also, no evidence of fungal or pests.
ReplyDeleteHi, I find hemigraphis requires lots of water and sun to grow in full vigour. After the soil has dried out and not watered quick enough, the plant will go limp and not able to recover. Sorry.
DeleteThe good news is that the soil has not dried out ever. It may be my fault since the leaves looked "burnt" I removed it away from the sun, do you see these growing in full sun or indirect light? Since the one which is colored the same as the one you have pictured, this lighter one which is mottled lavender to white and pale green, may simply not be as hardy as the classic "purple waffle". Thank you for your reply, glad to have found this site!
DeleteI meant to write "since the classic colored one is still growing well..."
ReplyDeleteI have been growing mine in full sun and never in indirect light. It could be the frost that made that one mottled to lavender, white and pale green, and also lack of sunlight. Keeping fingers crossed for you for that classic coloured one :-)
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