The candle plant may be new to you, too. It always puzzles visitors at our local show. Botanically it is Plectranthus oertendahlii—but don’t let that scare you—it is as easy to grow as a radish.
The dainty blossom spikes have tiny snapdragon-like flowers of the palest lavender. These are held gracefully above the silver-veined green leaves, which remind me of coleus.
Planting Requirements Of Candle Plant
Potting soil can be unique. Equal parts of garden soil, sand, and peat moss are fine.
The main requirements are water and plenty of light. I water my plant from the top of the pot almost daily, but I always keep the plant from standing in water.
Crushed eggshells in the bottom of the pot provide adequate drainage. And guess what kind of water I use—the water in which I boil the breakfast eggs. I let it cool first, of course.
To keep the plants shapely, I pinch them and hack, letting some plants grow tall and encouraging others to branch out bushily for variety. The pinched-oft stems root easily at any time of year.
Cut each slip with a sharp knife or razor blade below a node (leaf joint)—the cuttings mot readily in water or moist sand, sphagnum moss, or vermiculite. Young plants in ornamental pots make attractive gifts.
In summer, you can set plants right out in the open ground in your garden. They make an attractive edging around a perennial bed and do well in the rock garden or drywall built with soil between the stones.
Bring plants in again before frost, or take cuttings in August to start new plants to carry over winter.
44659 by Gladys H. Robinson