Inch plant
Refresh the plant with cuttings every year or two rather than expecting an old plant to stay attractive indefinitely — this genus naturally gets leggy and sparse with age, and cuttings root in water within a couple of weeks.
Care
Some direct sun helps keep leaf colour and striping vivid.
Prefers consistently moist compost, but not waterlogged.
Free-draining, peat-free houseplant compost.
Pinch out regularly to keep bushy, otherwise it quickly becomes leggy and sparse; propagates very easily from a cutting in water.
A weak balanced feed monthly in the growing season is plenty. Fed hard it grows long and sparse; the compact, strongly coloured plant is the slightly hungry one in good light.
Snap off a 10cm piece and put it in water or straight into compost — it roots within days. Since old plants go bare and straggly, restarting from cuttings every year or two is the normal way to keep one looking good.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchPinch or trim back leggy growth as light increases in spring, to encourage bushy regrowth. how ›
- AprilFeed as growth resumes. how ›
- SeptemberTake cuttings to refresh the plant before older stems get too leggy. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchPinch or trim back leggy growth as light increases in spring, to encourage bushy regrowth. how ›
- AprilFeed as growth resumes. how ›
- SeptemberTake cuttings to refresh the plant before older stems get too leggy. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchPinch or trim back leggy growth as light increases in spring, to encourage bushy regrowth. how ›
- AprilFeed as growth resumes. how ›
- SeptemberTake cuttings to refresh the plant before older stems get too leggy. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchPinch or trim back leggy growth as light increases in spring, to encourage bushy regrowth. how ›
- AprilFeed as growth resumes. how ›
- SeptemberTake cuttings to refresh the plant before older stems get too leggy. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Long bare stems with few leaves.
What to do. The classic issue, caused by insufficient light — move to a brighter spot and pinch out regularly.
How to spot it. Leaves reverting to plain green in low light.
What to do. Move to a brighter position.
How to spot it. In dry, centrally-heated air, especially in winter.
What to do. Increase humidity.
Questions
Inch plant: is it hardy?
H1c: Tender, needs above 5°C. It survives above 5 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
A classic trailing/hanging-basket houseplant.
Inch plant: when do you prune it?
Pinch out regularly to keep bushy, otherwise it quickly becomes leggy and sparse; propagates very easily from a cutting in water. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in March.
Inch plant: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in June–July.
When do you feed it?
A weak balanced feed monthly in the growing season is plenty. Fed hard it grows long and sparse; the compact, strongly coloured plant is the slightly hungry one in good light. Feeding months, UK: April–September.