Hi, I'm rather new here, just joined today, but have been reading for a week or so.
I noticed on page 4 or so a very short thread posted by a lady who was given a Waffle by her husband.

I purchased a Purple Waffle from Lowe's after reading on the Exotic Angel Plant website that they are one of the best indoor air purifying plants. Living in an old historic house, we definitely needed this!

I now have 4 Purple Waffles! One of them does not like me, and my friend is taking it. The other three are doing very nicely. There was a point in the past couple of weeks where the leaves started feeling brittle and was curling up around the edges. I didn't realize that they need a LOT of moisture, thrive on high humidity, and that their leaves should be misted at least every other day. High maintenance! (just kidding).

So I placed some pebbles in their drainage trays and keep them moist, water them from the top every 2 or 3 days, and mist their leaves every couple of days. I do the same with my Philodendrons, peperomias, dracaenea, Golden Pothos, and others.

Doing very well now! I've attached a couple of pics. The actual plant came out a bit dark.

Hi Peggy!
Great job! Pebble trays are a great way of keeping the humidity a bit higher for those that really need it…(high maintenance)!!!! I do this especially for my Orchids, and my Ficus benjamina …especially when the A/C is on 24/7!!!

Thanks Tara!

Those pebble trays will be especially important during the winter here in Ohio where the cold air is dry and the furnace makes it even drier. I'll probably be putting water in those trays every day!

The Waffle pictured above lives on my bedroom dresser next to a south-facing window. The Diffenbachia is on the other end of the same dresser.
They seem to like it there.

Have a great day!

Hi Peggy, Your Diff looks good! It will enjoy that pebble tray also! And a misting every now and then.
Between the A/C and the Heaters, I'm amazed that some of these plants even survive in the house! Takes a little more work to keep them looking good in the house, but in my opinion it's well worth it. Love having houseplants!

I had Hemigraphis in dry houses (heat pump) in OH for years, the same plant. It made tiny white flowers in the winter. It lived through moving to AL but finally died when I forgot to water it. So although I disagree that high humidity is necessary for this plant, I might suggest a terrarium or cloché. Less effort, mess, IMVHO.

This pic is from April '04, so would have been after being inside for about 6 months.


Been missing it so much, I got this one recently. They are 'happy' little things!


Generally, any indoor plants will help produce oxygen. As long as the roots don't rot from being too soggy too often, if 'they' are selling it in a pot, it should be quite happy at your house. Those that dry often, grow quickly, have lots of leaf surface area, have the fastest metabolisms, like heart-leaf Philodendron, Plectranthus, Cordyline fruticosa (Ti plant,) think thirsty, tropical jungle plants, opportunistic growers that know no seasons and actively grow whenever it's warm enough and they aren't too wet or dry, and the light is within acceptable range. It's not possible to keep every leaf alive forever, snip the ugly ones and appreciate the good ones (assuming plants are growing new leaves at least as fast as they are being lost. That's not bad for being taken (originally, not saying the house plants we buy are likely to be collected 'from the wild') from a tropical place and put in a pot, in a cold, dry house, with the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of shorter days.)

Is that where the plant not doing as well always sits? I would investigate the difference in light first (compared to the others that look better.)

terrafirma said:Hi Peggy, Your Diff looks good! It will enjoy that pebble tray also! And a misting every now and then.
Between the A/C and the Heaters, I'm amazed that some of these plants even survive in the house! Takes a little more work to keep them looking good in the house, but in my opinion it's well worth it. Love having houseplants!

Ohh I didn't know that. Well then a pebble tray it shall get!
I do mist the leaves every time I mist the Waffle. I just figured what good for the goose is good for the gander, as the saying goes.

Thanks again Terra.

Tiffany, all of the plants sit in the same south facing windows in my house. They're the only windows not covered by shade of trees. I have a covered porch outside these windows, but they still get good indirect morning light. Wouldn't you know, the morning I checked out my plants and noticed 2 new leaves on the waffle plant that I said wasn't doing so well! Maybe it doesn't hate me afterall. ha.

Thanks Tiffany.

purpleinopp said:I had Hemigraphis in dry houses (heat pump) in OH for years, the same plant. It made tiny white flowers in the winter. It lived through moving to AL but finally died when I forgot to water it. So although I disagree that high humidity is necessary for this plant, I might suggest a terrarium or cloché. Less effort, mess, IMVHO.

This pic is from April '04, so would have been after being inside for about 6 months.


Been missing it so much, I got this one recently. They are 'happy' little things!


Generally, any indoor plants will help produce oxygen. As long as the roots don't rot from being too soggy too often, if 'they' are selling it in a pot, it should be quite happy at your house. Those that dry often, grow quickly, have lots of leaf surface area, have the fastest metabolisms, like heart-leaf Philodendron, Plectranthus, Cordyline fruticosa (Ti plant,) think thirsty, tropical jungle plants, opportunistic growers that know no seasons and actively grow whenever it's warm enough and they aren't too wet or dry, and the light is within acceptable range. It's not possible to keep every leaf alive forever, snip the ugly ones and appreciate the good ones (assuming plants are growing new leaves at least as fast as they are being lost. That's not bad for being taken (originally, not saying the house plants we buy are likely to be collected 'from the wild') from a tropical place and put in a pot, in a cold, dry house, with the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of shorter days.)

Is that where the plant not doing as well always sits? I would investigate the difference in light first (compared to the others that look better.)

Your window sounds exactly like one that a lot of my plants use for winter here, south facing porch with a roof over it outside that window, but it's at the east end of the porch, so the AM sun shines in there for a couple hours. That sounds like a great place for these plants. I would be surprised if you didn't see some flowers on them over winter.

Common plants don't have to be boring either. The common heart-leaf Philodendron doesn't need to only dangle from a hanging basket. The vines will grow anywhere you guide them, like part of an old metal utility cart and oak stick - or something more attractive for an air-cleaning focal point inside. Easy to find, and make more interesting-looking.

Put this pot together last June and the aerial roots have already adhered to the white metal thing and oak stick. About once a week, I spend a few minutes guiding the vine ends where I want them to go. I started with cuttings about 3-5 feet long, so some are 3-4 times as long now, going up, down, in/out repeatedly, and this pot has donated many cuttings to share with others.


One can also guide vines up/down the hanging basket supports if the above seems a little too adventurous, or non-hanging plant space is already all taken. Very little light is needed to keep heart-leaf Philo happy, though the example below is Callisia (with Easter cactus.)

The south facing window does seem to be the perfect spot for them. They get about 2-3 or so hours of morning sun, and they are blocked from the afternoon sun because of a room that was built on our house. So it is perfect!

I have 3 philodendrons and 1 Golden pothos.
One philo was given to me, another is still a baby that I propagated off the one given to me. She's just now getting her first vine. The 3rd is one that I rescued from the garden cented at Walmart. It was on clearance for $3 and was half-dead. Not anymore! It is growing like crazy! Funny thing is, that one doesn't sit at any window. It actually sits in our foyer on a round bistro table and gets little light. But it sure does not seem to mind the lack of light, because it gets a LOT of attention when someone walks in the door.

The Pothos was looking rather weak when I picked it up at Walmart as well. Now the leaves and stems are standing straight up and it, too, is growing it's first vine.

I'm so proud.

Here's mine nestled down in a terrarium.

They were gifted to me by one of the coolest forum-ites I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

i am now going to get a purple waffle plant

teengardener1888 said:i am now going to get a purple waffle plant

You will love it! They are great air purifiers, and so pretty.

Mine are doing great. We have settled in to a routine, my waffles and I.
I water them through once per week, but almost daily I spray the leaves, and they sit in a pebble tray and I moisten the pebbles daily.
They sit near a window, but not in sunlight, as they are a low-light plant.

They are loving me now!

Found another one with leaves this color at WM last night, had to get it. One had blooms on it, but it wasn't as big.

I have never seen one with blooms!

Yeah, it was hard to leave the one with blooms at the store. I'm confident one of us here will get some to show the others though. If it can happen at WM, it can happen at "our" house. They're not very exciting, but anyone who has a plant that can bloom wants theirs to do it, I know.

Here's what I got, and the little aralia (Dizygotheca.)

Lovely!

I can't wait to not kill this one - LOL! The one I had before was such a trooper until I forgot about it one winter. Note to self, plants are much safer in a group.

And BTW, apparently the Dizygotheca is Schefflera now. So it's a Schefflera-used-to-be-Dizygotheca-used-to-be-Aralia. Easy peasy, yeah.

To purpleinop: i got the same plants from Walmart only it's 2018 now

Hi & welcome, Texasbell! I think you have awesome taste!

I think you'll be happy to hear, both plants are still doing great!

Hi Everyone! I've been coming here for info for quite a while, and recently joined so i could interact with all you wonderful people and get your input and advice. 😸
I also recently purchased a Purple Waffle plant from Wal-Mart and have a couple of questions ~ i have read they are a vining plant with time, is that true? I'm also wondering if, when you bring home a plant that actually has 4 or 5 separate plants in the little pot (such as the Acosta Farms plants usually do) do you take them out of their store pots immediately and put them all into their own separate pots? I went a little crazy and bought about 10 or so different plants over the course of 2 weeks and I'm wondering if I should re-pot them all? They all have more than one plant in the little nursery pot (Purple Waffle along with several different Peperomias, Pileas, and a couple Rex Begonias. Thanks!!