How to Grow and Care for Waffle Plants | Gardener's Path

How to Grow and Care for Waffle Plants Strobilanthes alternata

In the case of many plants, crinkled leaves are a sign that something’s wrong. But for the waffle plant, it’s just par for the course, and delightfully so.

Flaunting colorful leaves with a waffle-like texture, Strobilanthes alternata is a wonderful option for when you want something different from the standard green, smooth foliage of many other houseplants.

And while it doesn’t taste all that great – even with berries, whipped cream, and syrup – a waffle plant can definitely make you smile like a warm plate of homestyle Eggos does.

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Beautiful, compact, and easy to care for, the waffle plant is a worthy addition to your houseplant collection. And with the proper TLC, they’ll look their absolute best for a good long while.

With this guide, you’ll know exactly what to do to make this happen. Propagation, cultivation, health care – all the know-how you need can be found right here.

Here are the specifics:

Also known as the purple waffle, red ivy, metal leaf, metallic, or cemetery plant, the waffle plant is an herbaceous tropical perennial from the Acanthus family.

It’s commonly found growing in dense carpets underneath the canopies of larger trees.

Hardy in USDA Zones 10 to 11 and originating from Indonesia, India, and Malaysia, the waffle plant is also known by its older name Hemigraphis alternata in some botanical circles, although it has technically been reclassified as Strobilanthes alternata.

This species is used to growing in the damp and shady understories of tropical forests, where they receive dappled light that