Anyone able to ID this? Brushlike purple flowers, purple/green variegated leaves
sundaybest69
Posts: 3
in Plants
Hi everyone, I've searched the forum here and done a lot of Googling, and I just can't find this plant anywhere - I got it as a gift from work and since repotting it, I've lost the card with its name and info on it. Have any of you seen this plant before? I'm desperate to ID it because I have no idea how to care for it. The flowers seem to be dying off from the base upwards, and the newer leaves aren't variegated.
This is a photo of it when I first took it home - the flowers have grown significantly taller since then. The top side of the leaves looked almost like they'd been splashed with purple ink, it was really striking. I'm just kind of sad because I feel like I've let it go to ruin.
This is how it looks now. I just don't know what to do with it. Don't know if the flowers need deadheading, if the non-variegated leaves need chopping out, if it needs to go out in the garden (probably unlikely, as this photo was taken after it spent a night outdoors by accident and it's gone decidedly droopy as you can see).
If anyone knows what it's called or how I can restore it, I'd be really grateful - it's my first plant (all the others are my mum's) and I really want it to do well.
This is a photo of it when I first took it home - the flowers have grown significantly taller since then. The top side of the leaves looked almost like they'd been splashed with purple ink, it was really striking. I'm just kind of sad because I feel like I've let it go to ruin.This is how it looks now. I just don't know what to do with it. Don't know if the flowers need deadheading, if the non-variegated leaves need chopping out, if it needs to go out in the garden (probably unlikely, as this photo was taken after it spent a night outdoors by accident and it's gone decidedly droopy as you can see).
If anyone knows what it's called or how I can restore it, I'd be really grateful - it's my first plant (all the others are my mum's) and I really want it to do well.
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Welcome to the Forum!
It's a Celosia argentea (Spicata Group).
The common name 'bottlebrush' usually refers to Callistemon.
From what I've seen online it sounds like it requires deadheading once the flowers start to lose their colour, which is probably quite overdue for this plant. :V My mum is a more experienced gardener than me, so she'll likely know what to do about that.
Is there anything to be done about all of the new leaves growing in solid green? Will I have to prune them out? I can't see anything online and I'm afraid of butchering the thing.
It's a tropical plant but can go outdoors in the summer when it may regain the variegation.