5 Facts You Didn't Know About the Red Sister Plant

The Red Sister plant is a brightly-colored plant that’s gaining popularity in landscaping. From Southeast Asia, the Red Sister plant can add a tropical touch to your backyard, or brighten up a corner in your kitchen with its distinctive maroon colored leaves. Here’s a few facts we bet you didn’t know about Red Sister:

1. The Red Sister Plant is highly adaptable and low-maintenance.

The Red Sister plant is sure to start easily sprouting in your backyard, nursery, or garden.. Thriving in tropical climates, the Red Sister plant can adapt to both cool and warm climates. This plant can double up as an indoor or outdoor garden addition. . During the warmer seasons, the Red Sister plant only needs consistently moist soil. During cooler seasons, you can hold off on feedings and continue watering it until the first 2 inches of its soil dries out. If temperatures drop below 50℉, make sure to bring your Red Sister plant indoors! You need only to prune their leaves when they become large enough to inhibit smaller leaves below from growing.

2. The Red Sister Plant is a Cordyline plant, NOT a Dracaena plant.

The Red Sister Plant is often mislabeled as a Dracaena plant– plants whose roots appear yellowish orange. However, if you take a matured Red Sister plant out of the soil, you will see it has white roots. This key feature makes it a Cordyline (TI) plant. The Red Sister Plant’s leaves are distinctively spear-shaped, not oval. What makes the Red Sister plant unique in the Cordyline family is its popular dark purple and hot pink-striped leaves.

3. The Red Sister Plant is particular with its water preference–just like us!

The Red Sister plant does not like tap water. Tap water can contain large amounts of fluoride. Fluoride stops photosynthesis and other crucial processes for your beautiful new plant. Fluoride toxicity in tap water can cause the leaves and roots of a Red Sister plant to deteriorate. The Red Sister plant is widely admired for its colorful leaves, so make sure to nurture them by watering it with distilled or rainwater.

4. Throw your Red Sister plant in a hot tea. .

Not only is the Red Sister plant aesthetically pleasing to look at, but the leaves are also edible. In Hawaii, the leaves are more commonly used to brew teas that help relieve muscle tension and chest congestion. They can also be used in lue of banana leaves to steam fish. A great way to re-purposed pruned leaves is by drying them out and adding them to your bedtime tea.

5. The Red Sister Plant can make the perfect houseplant.

If you are looking to add colorful foliage inside your home, the Red Sister plant grows well indoors. Place it on an east or west-facing window under indirect sunlight so it does not burn. It will grow slower than if situated outdoors, but it makes it easier for you to control over watering from excessive rain or overexposure from harsh sunlight. Too much direct sunlight and the leaves will darken in color and in hot seasons, even burn. You will notice during autumn and winter the Red Sister’s leaves are brighter in color than during the spring and summer. If cared for properly, The Red Sister’s leaves add the perfect pop of color to any nursery or landscape. The Red Sister Plant will make the perfect addition to any home or commercially owned landscape. If you are looking to purchase quality Red Sister plants, Innovative Farms ensures optimal care when growing, transporting, and installing these uniquely beautiful plants. Add one to your cart now to add a beautiful pop to your garden.