Purple Waffle Plant – The Little Purple Wonder for Your Colorful Garden

Are you searching truly wonderful plants for home, office desk, or your garden?

The purple waffle plant is all you are missing in the collection of plants.

You would agree with the fact that,

Houseplants need to be charming, colorful, easy to grow in shades, and keep in all parts of the home.

For instance, the peperomia with tiny leaves.

It is a beautiful succulent plant, that grows so well indoor and helps plant enthusiasts with small homes to have real plants around.

You can read a complete guide on how to grow peperomia on this blog.

Coming back to the discussion, purple waffle plant is not any different from other indoor houseplants because it grows so easily and very well indoor.

You can grow it in cute little pots, and cultivate them by just keeping hydrated and soaked in water and fertilizers.

Doesn’t it seem too easy?

It surely is easier enough only if you know the right conditions to grow it!

For your ease, here we’ve provided you with everything how to grow Purple Waffle Plant without drooping.

What Is A Purple Waffle Plant:

Purple waffle plant is a small delightful and famous houseplant with a colorful pink-purple foliage combined with green that gives it an amazing wrinkled/puckered texture.

It can be placed anywhere in the home.

Being a slow grower, it is also used as ground cover.

So, put them underneath taller houseplants like Ficus tree.

It is a good option for summers, just like Dahlias but you can’t store it for winters like Dahlia flowers.

Check this table for better detail:

Why is it called Waffle Plant?

Look at its leaves to get the answer, they have crinkly texture, similar to waffles.

The two-toned purple and green leaves, simply make it a wonderful addition to every succulent wall, office desk, or vertical garden.

Another evidence of them being called waffle plants is because they grow in similar conditions of waffle gardens.

In waffle gardens, squared shaped depressions hold the water to keep the plant hydrated and provide it enough humidity to grow.

That’s why, as purple waffles need humidity, dowse, and moisture, they are called as purple waffle plants.

Other Names for Purple Waffle?

Well, different natives have given plants their soul names.

Unlike scientific names, native names vary.

Its botanical classification or name is Hemigraphis alternata.

Hemigraphis alternata belongs to the Acanthaceae family, native to java. Hemigraphis alternata is a prostrate plant, and have leaves in purple color.

Other names people have given it are:

• Waffle plant
• Purple waffle
• Red Ivy
• Red Flame Ivy

So next time you go buying seeds, cuttings, or anything related to this plant, remember these names.

Buying the original purple Waffle Plant:

Thanks to the allogamy, we have got various plants, that look similar at first glance.

However, cross-fertilization is not the only cause as some naturally grown plants can also confuse viewers, such as Monstera Obliqua vs Monstera Adansonii.

Well, we don’t want you to get confused about hemigraphis alternata, while watching at the plants look similar to purple waffle, such as Snow White Plant.

Here are some plants similar to Hemigraphis Alternata exotica, or the purple waffle shrub.

1. Belgian Waffle:

With underside purple leaves, Belgian Waffle has light green foliage in a creamy yellow texture. It is also small in size and grows only 6 to 12 inches.

2. Dragon’s tongue:

Dragon’s tongue has purplish-green leaves, and it is a low growing plant.

It’s perfect for medium-light terrariums! Dragon’s tongue grows 6 inches tall and 12 inches wide.

3. Snow white plant:

Snow White Plant also is known as Chinese evergreen plant. Nasa Recommends it as the best indoor air purifying plant as it eliminates fresh contents of Benzene, Formaldehyde & even oxygen.

You can call it a natural humidifier due to this face.

Leaves of Snow White Plant are so decorative having white dots on it.

However, as Snow White leaves have white and pink edges that sometimes appear purple so people may confusingly consider it as a purple waffle.

Difference between both can be understood by their scientific names;

Aglaonema is also a small houseplant that doesn’t grow so wide and tall.

4. Aglaonema Pictum

The first three are varieties of waffle plant however, the fourth one is from a different botanical family.

Growing Waffle Purple Plant at Home:

This wonder for the garden is easy to grow, propagate, take care, and keep.

However, knowing the best growing conditions and requirements related to placement, soil, light, and water is necessary.

This section will give you deep insights into how to grow this waffle plant at home.

Remember this table when you start propagating this beautiful herb at home:

Once you know all these conditions, here is how you can grow the purple waffle at home. Check our latest innovative products 2022  to help you doing gardening at home, such as a weed brush, or grass mat, etc. 

1. Selecting the pot:

Pot selection is very important because the plant is planted to resemble and spread beauty.

Along with the beauty of your pot, its size matters too.

Why?

Sometimes, people select very tiny pots due to the tininess of this amazing beauty.

However, when it grows, it’s little root start popping out of the pothole.

At that moment, you will have to repot your plant.

How to repot your plant, find in the FAQ section coming ahead.

2. Maintaining the Sunshine:

Any window or corner of your home that receives direct sun rays, or a partially shaded area of outdoor, is the perfect place for your plant.

Remember, intense sunshine or a shaded place, both are harmful for your plant.

Sunburn can bleach the beautiful metallic sheen of the leaves and cause them to wither.

3. The Soil Condition:

Hot, humid, and damped soil gives the best growing conditions to this plant.

The soil condition can slightly differ in case of growing in a pot, or in the ground under the shade of taller plants.

For pots: get All Purpose Potting soil, also known as commercial potting soil

For ground: add leaf mold or compost to make the soil fertile.

4. Maintaining Needed Temperature:

Purple waffles are original lovers of humidity.

That means you must not deprive them of humidity or else they won’t do well.

If you are keeping them out, bring them in before the temperature goes below 55 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the best results, you can create humidity around your plant.

To find out how to do it, refer to our FAQ section.

5. Water Requirements:

That shows you need to keep it drained well but not run it off with water.

It means it should be drenched like a sponge but not as drained like a sink, lol.

Dry areas are recommended to use automatic watering solutions so that the plant doesn’t get deprived of vitality.

You can also use water soaking crystals. Water soaking crystals are also used in human water bottles to preserve energy and give original quality water.

6. Don’t forget the fertilizers:

Though plant makes their food through the process of photosynthesis, fertilizers are necessary supplements for staying healthy.

Another reason for fertilizing is that the container, pot, or soil, in which you are growing this plant doesn’t have enough nutrients the purple waffle plant is used to having.

So, you need to create the jungle-like rich soil with fertilizers.

For fertilizing, remember the quantity and time:

Quantity = 6x12x6 (nitrogen, phosphate, and potash)

Time:

• During spring and summer, once in a month, when the plant is indoor.
• In winters, plant growth gets slowed down naturally, so fertilizers are not necessarily recommended for your beautiful purple waffle.

Purple Waffle Plant Care:

Once your purple waffle plant starts sprouting, you need to take instant care for it.

Here is what you will do:

• Give them artificial or real bright light but keep them from direct sun rays.
• Lack of light can cause the loss of purple color from the corners of the leaves.
• Never let it get dried, keep the soil moist with regular watering.
• Use tera cotta pots, and let the water flow out of the drainage hole.

There is no hard and fast rule regarding caring for this plant.

It’s simple, easy, and even a fun activity for garden lovers, but only if they have great tools to aid.

Remember, purple waffle plants don’t require pruning because it is a small house plant.

However, sometimes pruning can be needed if the leaves and branches become too big and messy for the little pot.

Fertilize it well, however, only on recommended occasions of the year and see it growing healthy, happy, and colorful.

FAQS:

1. How to maintain humidity around the plant?

Well, it’s easy. All you have to do is to follow these steps:

1. Take a beaker in which your little pot of red ivy can be placed easily.
2. Now, place little pebbles in it.
3. Fill it up with water.
4. Place your plant pot in it.

Ta-Da, you are done.

Another remedy;

If you see your plant is feeling sick, and you find the corners of the leaves getting dried, all you have to do is,

Place the container in the window of your steamy bathroom – the little spa for your baby plant.

2. How to Repot Purple Waffle?

If you notice that roots are popping out of the drainage hole of your pot, you need to repot it.

Do not pull, do not push, or do not do anything that can hurt your plant.

Follow these steps:

1. Get a new larger sized pot,
2. Fill it with soil and fertilizers according to the aforementioned quantities.
3. Now, take your first pot
4. Instead of pulling the leaves or branches, turn it over
5. Tap on it slowly with your light hands to help it getting de-root.
6. If you see that your plant is so thickly attached to walls, and it surely will be, take a butter knife.
7. Coax the knife around the root ball, helping your plant an easy pop out.
8. Once the plants come out, root it in the new container.
9. Water it regularly.

Now, enjoy watching the beautiful purple propagation with sips of purple tea.

3. Where to place your purple waffle plant?

There are many corners of your home where you can keep this ivory colored miracle.

All you have to make sure is that the place receives enough amount of sunlight and is humid to an extent.

The best places to keep Purple waffle in the home are:

• In your vertical. (As it is tiny enough so fits so beautifully on little plates racks.)
• In an attractive pot to enhance your mood whenever you feel down due to hectic work.
• Keep it in your kitchen garden, along with some other attractive looking plants to complement purple waffle.

4. What about Toxicity of Purple Waffle Plants?

As per ASPCA, the purple waffle plant is not toxic for pets, like cats, dogs, and even horses.

Ivory red is also non-toxic to humans.

However, consuming or sampling it is not recommended.

You can place them in a home filled with pets, home with children, and oldies.

5. Why is My purple waffle plant dying?

Dry out, dropping, drying, there are many terms plant lovers use for their plants when they show unhealthy signs.

Drooping actually means wilting leaves, and it happens when a plant doesn’t receive enough water, light, or any required nutrient.

So, if you see that your purple waffle is drooping, water it deeply, until you see the water dripping from little holes of the tera cotta pots.

Also, During winters, monitor and examine the soil and water it only if you see it drying. However, the amount of water in winter will be less.

Bottom Line:

This is all about PWP, or purple Waffle Plant. An exotic houseplant, with rarest leaves patterns.

It can be placed anywhere at home and grows well with slight care.

Hope you would have got the answers. However, if there are still queries, do comment below and let us help you.

For more information, keep visiting our blog.