Colorful leaves with an interesting pattern and at the same time low-maintenance: the colored nettle is one of those pot flowers that also thrives excellently on people without the proverbial green thumb. It does get flowers, but these are rather inconspicuous. The special feature is the foliage, which shines in bright colors. We give you valuable tips on the care, pruning and breeding of this houseplant.
The colored nettle needs a light location
location
In order for colored nettles to develop their full blaze of colour, the plant needs the brightest possible place on the windowsill. However, you should not permanently expose the leaves to the sun, which burn easily.
Water and fertilize
In the summer months, colored nettles need a lot of moisture. Therefore, water regularly with lime-free water. These houseplants also do extremely well in hydroponics. Here the maintenance effort is minimized to a minimum, since you have to water much less often.
Fertilize every two weeks with a commercial liquid fertilizer.
pruning
You can cut out old and bare shoots all year round. If the plant gets too big, it also tolerates a complete pruning well.
propagation
After about two years, colored nettles sometimes begin to grow sparsely and no longer look so pretty. However, you don't have to do without the colorful room decorations, because the plants can be easily propagated by cuttings:
- Cut off shoots 10 cm long.
- Place in a glass filled with water.
- Roots form after a short time.
- Now you can put the plants in the ground and care for them as usual.
Sowing of colored nettles
You can obtain suitable seeds from specialist retailers. You can sow this directly in pots, preferably in spring:
- Fill small pots with potting soil and sprinkle on seeds.
- Do not cover this with substrate, as colored nettles germinate in the light.
- Place the growing pots in a place where the temperature does not fall below 22 degrees and water regularly.
- If the plantlets are about five centimeters tall, they are isolated.
tips
So that the colored nettle grows nice and bushy, you should pinch off fresh shoot tips. The flowers are also removed, otherwise the plant will no longer form new leaves.