How to grow the red goldfish plant? Master these care points
The red goldfish plant is a perennial evergreen herbaceous vine. Its stems are slender, soft and drooping, and it branches easily. The flowers are solitary, with long tubular lipped flowers that closely resemble a goldfish, orange-red with a yellow tinge. It blooms in spring and summer. If the temperature is suitable, it can bloom all year round.
The red goldfish plant likes warmth and moisture, and must never be exposed to strong sunlight in summer. However, giving it appropriate light in autumn and winter helps it produce more flowers. The optimum growing temperature is 15~20°C. In winter, if the daytime temperature stays above 15°C and the nighttime temperature stays above 10°C, it can continue to grow and bloom. During the peak growing season, apply a dilute liquid fertilizer once every 2~3 weeks. During the flower bud differentiation period in autumn, apply 1~2 applications of a liquid fertilizer based mainly on phosphorus fertilizer to make the flower colors more vivid. Because it likes moisture, the potting soil must be kept moist at all times during the growing period (other management measures are basically the same as for the small-leaf goldfish plant). Propagation by cuttings is best done in late spring.
Care points for the foliage plant goldfish plant
The goldfish plant has dense branches and leaves, and its flowers are brightly colored like goldfish. Its stems and vines hang down naturally. At peak bloom, a larger plant can bear more than a hundred flowers at the same time, and the flowers are large and brightly colored, quite spectacular; it is also a very ideal shade-loving trailing foliage and flowering plant. It is very suitable as an epiphytic potted plant in greenhouses and indoor gardens, and can also be hung up at home for appreciation.Morphological characteristics: The goldfish plant, also known as Kolumne flower and whale flower, is a perennial evergreen leathery vine of the genus Nematanthus in the family Gesneriaceae. The stems of the goldfish plant climb and trail, the branches are slender and drooping, densely covered with brown fine hairs; the internodes are relatively short, bearing roots and opposite small leaves. The leaves are ovate, green, and mostly fleshy. The flowers grow in the leaf axils, growing flat or upright; the flowers are gamopetalous and tubular, relatively large, with deeply lobed tips, the upper lip 4-lobed and the lower lip curving downward, much like a goldfish, bright red, with yellow spots in the throat. The flowering period is from winter to the following spring.
Habits: It likes warm, humid environments with high air humidity.
Fertilizing: During the growing period, apply a liquid fertilizer once every 1-2 weeks; during the peak growing and flowering periods, additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizer must be applied.
Watering: During the high-temperature period in summer, water less and keep the potting soil appropriately dry.
Sunlight: It likes bright, indirect light environments, so when the light is too strong in summer it must be shaded; to promote the formation of flower buds, give it sunlight in autumn, and when placed indoors it must be moved to the brightest window to ensure vigorous growth and flowering.