Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Basket Vine

Description:

This attractive plant gets its name from its cylindrical blooms that resemble tubes of lipstick; fuchsia-red blooms are featured on this upright but also trailing cultivar; great for patio pots or hanging baskets where blooms are viewed up close

Ornamental Features

Purple Star Lipstick Plant has red tubular flowers with fuchsia overtones at the ends of the stems from mid winter to late fall, which are interesting on close inspection. Its oval leaves emerge light green in spring, turning dark green in colour the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Purple Star Lipstick Plant is an herbaceous evergreen tropical plant with a trailing habit of growth, eventually spilling over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and may require the occasional pruning to look its best. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Purple Star Lipstick Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

This plant is native to the tropics and prefers growing in moist environments with evenly warm conditions all year round. In our climate, it is usually grown as an outdoor annual in the garden or in a container. If you want it to survive the winter, it can be brought in to the house and provided with special care, and then returned to the garden the following season. In its preferred tropical habitat, it can grow to be around 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. However, when grown as an annual or when overwintered indoors, it can be expected to perform differently, and its exact height and spread will depend on many factors; you may wish to consult with our experts as to how it might perform in your specific application and growing conditions.

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant will benefit from a regular feeding with a general-purpose fertilizer with every second or third watering. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Purple Star Lipstick Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its trailing habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

-- THIS IS A TROPICAL PLANT AND SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO SURVIVE THE WINTER OUTDOORS IN OUR CLIMATE --