Description | Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphs colorata) A spreading, mounding plant that has very ornamental dark purple almost black wrinkled leaves. A bit touchy about its light and moisture requirements. |
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Plant Type | Indoor Foliage, Site author's observations |
Hardiness Zone | 10-11 |
Sunlight | Since this plant is native to the floors of tropical forests it doesn't like full sun. In full sun it will burn or the leaves will curl inward and in to little light the foliage turns green. Moderate to bright is the questimate best. Experiment until you find the proper conditions. |
Moisture | quick to wilt. keep evenly moist, never dry. It will have a plant tantrum if allowed to get to dry and the foliage will turn crispy. |
Growing Media | average house to well drained |
Temperature | average house to average house plus |
Flowers | small, white to a very light pink, contrast with the foliage. |
Leaves | puckered, simple, alternate, metallic dark purple above and dark red-purple below. |
Dimensions | will trail over the side of a container |
Maintenance | A very fast growing plant and may need to be repotted on a regular basis. |
Propagation | easy from cuttings |
Native Site | Native to India, Java, New Guinea, southeast Asia and Australia. |
Misc Facts | AKA: Hemigraphis alternata |
Author's Notes | I grow this plant as a patio plant in less than 1/2 day of sun, east exposure and it thrives. |
Notes & Reference | #02-Exotic Plant Manual (Alfred Byrd Graf) , #18-House Plant Encyclopedia (Nico Vermeulen) , #21-Indoor Gardening (Chicago Botanical Gardens Staff) |