Home Garden

How to Repot a Lipstick Vine

Lipstick vine, or Aeschynanthus radicans, charms gardeners with its unusual flowers, which feature a scarlet, tubular petal emerging from a colorful calyx at the base. The species possesses a vining growth habit of 1- to 4-foot-long stems lined with leathery leaves, which grow well in hanging baskets or pots. Like many tropical plants, lipstick vine grows vigorously and requires yearly repotting to allow it room to grow. The plants respond well to repotting and will quickly resume normal growth, but only if provided with well-draining potting medium and plenty of bright light.

Things You'll Need

  • Peat moss or coir
  • Coarse sand
  • Potting soil
  • Planter
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Instructions

    • 1

      Water the lipstick vine thoroughly the day before repotting it. Pour water into the pot until the soil feels completely saturated.

    • 2

      Combine equal parts milled peat moss or coir, coarse sand and potting soil to create a potted mix appropriate for growing lipstick vines.

    • 3

      Fill the bottom two inches of the planter with the soil mixture.

    • 4

      Remove the lipstick vine from its original pot. Place your hand over the top of the pot. Tip the pot upside down. Jiggle the pot until the plant slides out and onto your hand.

    • 5

      Crumble off half the soil from around the roots of the lipstick vine. Untangle the roots and trim off a few inches if necessary.

    • 6

      Hold the lipstick vine inside the new planter so the roots rest on the surface of the soil inside. Make sure the base of the plant rests one inch below the edge of the planter.

    • 7

      Backfill around the roots of the lipstick vine with the soil mixture you created in Step 2. Shake the planter periodically to settle the soil amongst the roots. Keep adding soil until you fill the planter.

    • 8

      Water the lipstick vine to settle the soil, pouring water into the planter until it flows freely from the drainage holes. Add additional soil around the plant if it settles too much after watering.

    • 9

      Set the newly repotted lipstick vine where it will receive very bright, diffuse light and temperatures above 70 F. Watch for renewed growth in several weeks.