Pink Lady Inch Plant

Pink Lady Inch Plant (Callisia repens 'Pink Lady') is the trailing plant for people who want colour indoors without a routine. It stays about 15cm tall and spreads to 60cm, with tiny fleshy leaves striped in cream, green and pink that deepen in bright light. It grows fast, roots from any piece that touches soil, and forgives a missed watering.

Why you'll love it

• Pink that comes from the leaves. The colour is in the foliage rather than short lived flowers, so it holds all year. The brighter the indirect light, the stronger the pink.
• It trails and it spreads. Spill it over the rim of a pot, cascade it from a shelf, or run it as a low groundcover in a warm frost free garden.
• Fast and forgiving. It fills a 200mm pot within a season, and the fleshy leaves store enough water that a missed week does no harm.
• Free plants. Any stem laid on damp mix roots within a fortnight, so one plant becomes a whole shelf.

Where it works best

Indoors. Bright indirect light near a window, in a hanging pot or on a shelf where it can trail. This is where most of them end up, and where your climate stops mattering.

Pots and balconies. A shallow bowl or a hanging basket on a covered balcony suits it in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens.

Groundcover. In a frost free garden, plant 30cm apart in part shade for a dense low carpet under shrubs or between steppers.

Growing Pink Lady Inch Plant in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light indoors, part shade outdoors. Direct midday sun scorches the leaves and washes the pink out. Outdoors it is limited to tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and it is frost tender, so anywhere colder it lives inside or on a protected verandah.

Soil. A free draining premium potting mix. It is happier slightly dry than slightly wet, and a pot with a working drainage hole matters more than the mix itself.

Water and feed. Water when the top few centimetres of mix are dry, roughly weekly in summer and fortnightly in winter. Half strength liquid fertiliser once a month through spring and summer keeps growth dense and colour strong.

Pruning. Pinch the tips regularly. Left alone it runs long and goes bare through the middle, while trimming pushes new growth from the base. Push the cuttings back into the same pot to thicken it.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock, so the plant that arrives is small: a young rooted piece with a few trailing stems in a narrow pot. That is normal for this plant and no cause for concern, because it grows fast enough to fill a 200mm pot in one warm season.

Pot it up or plant it out within a few days rather than leaving it in the tube. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and a 30 day healthy plant guarantee on every plant.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the indoor plant range
• How to keep your indoor plants alive
• Compare other variegated plants
• Variegated plants explained

Common questions

Why has my plant gone green?

Not enough light. The pink and cream striping is strongest in bright indirect light, and a plant in a dim corner reverts to plain green. Move it closer to a window.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

We do not list it as a pet friendly plant, so keep it out of reach of animals that chew foliage. A hanging pot or a high shelf is the simplest answer.

Why is it bare in the middle?

Long unpinched stems shed their older leaves. Trim the runners back by a third, push the cuttings into the mix, and the pot fills out again within weeks.

Can it live outside all year?

Only in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, in part shade. It is frost tender, so in cooler districts it needs to come inside for winter.