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The lipstick plant is a trailing evergreen from the rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia, where it grows on tree branches. Its long, arching stems carry pairs of thick, leathery, dark green leaves and end in clusters of flowers. Each bright red, tubular flower pushes out of a dark burgundy cup, like a lipstick rising from its case, which gives the plant its name. It flowers on and off from spring to autumn and is nearly always grown in a hanging basket, where the stems can hang freely.
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As a precaution, keep it out of reach of children and pets.
Flowers come from light and from being left alone at the right moment. The buds form at the tips of the stems, so trim the plant straight after a flush of flowers, never in late winter or spring, and hang it in the brightest spot you have out of direct midday sun.
Almost always too little light. It needs bright, filtered light for most of the day. Other causes are pruning at the wrong time, which removes the stem tips where buds form, a pot that is much too large, and constant warmth with no slightly cooler, drier spell in winter.
Water freely in spring and summer whenever the top couple of centimetres of compost have dried, and let the surplus drain away. In winter water sparingly. The thick leaves store some water, so it tolerates drying a little far better than wet, airless compost.
Cold draughts, waterlogged compost or a long drought. Check that the pot drains, keep the plant above 15°C and water more evenly. Bare stems can be cut back after flowering to make them branch.
After flowering. Shorten the longest stems by up to a third to keep the plant full, and remove weak, bare shoots. Use the cut tips as cuttings.
It prefers humid air but copes with normal rooms better than many rainforest plants because of its thick leaves. Mist it in heated rooms or hang it in a bright bathroom or kitchen.
Take stem tip cuttings 8-10cm long in spring or summer, strip the lower leaves and root them in moist, open compost in a warm, humid place. Several cuttings in one pot make a full plant sooner.
Only every two to three years. It flowers best when slightly pot-bound. Move it into a pot one size larger in spring, using an open, free-draining mix.
