My top three purple houseplants
Want to channel your inner Prince? Look no further than my top three houseplants honouring Prince's Purple Rain era. Yes, it's a houseplant Prince-off!
Velvet plant
So the small orange-yellow flowers of the velvet plant, Gynura aurantiaca, smell of BO. Just cut them off and enjoy the gorgeously purple foliage, as plush as any Prince jacket. This one is one of those 'shortlived' types, meaning it gets leggy, and quickly, so take lots of cuttings. Pruning and removing the flowers will help it stay compact longer.
Purple oxalis
Oxalis triangularis is a multipurpose wonder: indoor gem, outdoor summer bedder, and if you kill it, the scaly rhizomes sprout right back. And it's edible too: the leaves taste like lemon sherbet (only eat untreated plants you have had for a few months to avoid imbibing pesticides).
Persian shield
You want a gorgeously glowy purple foliage with a metallic look, you say? Try Strobilanthes dyerianus. Stick it outside for the summer and it'll grow so big you'll be wondering where to put it come autumn. Luckily, like Gynura it needs regular pruning to stay compact.
This blogpost was taken from The Plant Ledger, my email newsletter about the houseplant scene. Subscribe here and get my free in-depth guide to fungus gnats.