Iresine (Bloodleaf): A Colourful Foliage Plant for Home and Garden

Iresine is grown for its leaves: crimson, burgundy with bright veins, or yellow-green. It looks equally good on a windowsill and in a summer bed, grows fast and roots easily from cuttings. Here is how to keep the foliage colour rich and the plant bushy.

Colourful greenery for your home: potted plants.

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What kind of plant it is

Iresine belongs to the amaranth family and comes from South and Central America. The two usually grown are Iresine herbstii, with rounded leaves that look notched at the tip, and Iresine lindenii, with narrow pointed leaves. The flowers are tiny and insignificant and rarely appear indoors.

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Care in a pot

• Light. Bright, with some morning or evening sun. In shade the leaves fade and the stems stretch.
• Watering. Regularly in spring and summer so the soil stays lightly moist; less in winter.
• Temperature. 16–24 °C; not below 15 °C in winter.
• Feeding. Every 2 weeks from spring to autumn with a foliage-plant fertiliser.
• Pinching. Pinch out the tips regularly for a dense, bushy plant.

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Iresine in summer beds

In summer iresine can be planted outside once the frosts are over: its bright leaves look great in carpet bedding, edging and containers alongside coleus and silver or green plants. Choose a sunny spot with fertile, moist soil. It will not survive winter outdoors, so take cuttings in late summer and overwinter them indoors.

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Propagating from cuttings

• Cut an 8–10 cm tip and strip the lower leaves.
• Stand it in water or insert it into a moist, light mix.
• Roots appear in about 1–2 weeks; then plant several cuttings per pot for a fuller look.

Common problems

• Pale leaves and long gaps between them: too little light.
• Lower leaves dropping: the soil dried out or the plant got cold.
• Aphids and spider mites: check the tips and the undersides of the leaves.

More plants grown for their leaf colour: “Foliage houseplants” and “Purple houseplants”.

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FAQ

Why has my iresine lost its colour?

Most likely it lacks light. Move it to a sunnier window.

How long does iresine live?

It is a perennial, but older plants lose their looks, so renew them from cuttings every 1–2 years.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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