Velvet Elvis Plant – A Comprehensive Guide to Growing

The Velvet Elvis, also known as Tradescantia spathacea or Rhoeo spathacea, is a stunning houseplant that is highly prized for its incredible foliage and ease of care. A native of Central America, the Velvet Elvis is awhiteflowered perennial that features deep green leaves with a fuzzy velvety texture and an iridescent underside of vibrant purple. A favourite among designers and plant enthusiasts, the Velvet Elvis is a great choice for bringing some verdant colour and texture into any space. In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about the Velvet Elvis, from its origins to what it takes to keep one alive in your home.

The Origins and Characteristics of the Velvet Elvis Plant

In its native habitat, a Velvet Elvis grows in the hot, tropical climates of Central America, particularly in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Here, the elongated plant thrives in humid conditions, often growing under larger plants and trees. Its adaptability to an array of conditions means it’s a flexible plant for indoor cultivation all over the world.

Unique Foliage and Growth Habit

The most noticeable feature of the Velvet Elvis is its leaves. The lance-shaped leaves can grow to about 6-12 inches in length. The green top of the leaves is a deep green with a hint of velvety texture, while its bottom consists of striking purple hue, making it aesthetically pleasing to look at from any angle.

And then there’s the way it grows. Without warning, the sedum sends out shoots from a central point. Later these develop into a rosette of leaves that arch outward from the early shoots. Later yet, small white, three-petalled flowers pop out from the leaves in clumps of three — not showy, but sweet.

How to Care for the Velvet Elvis Plant

Light Requirements

plant prefers bright, indirect light, but will tolerate low light if needed. Exposed to strong light, colours may fade. If the velvet elvis starts to lose its purple hue, it needs more light. The plant should not be placed in direct sunlight, which may scorch the leaves and cause them to lose their velvet texture.

Watering and Humidity

Your Velvet Elvis will need regular watering to stay strong and healthy. You need to keep it consistently moist but not waterlogged. If the top inch of soil feels drier than dry and you poke your finger in, it’s time to water the plant. Overwatering can cause root rot, which is another of this plant’s common problems, so be sure to provide it with well-drained soil.

Along with bright light, humidity is equally crucial in caring for a Velvet Elvis plant as it’s a tropical plant that thrives with higher humidity (around 50-60 per cent) – especially if you live in a dry climate or even better, an air-conditioning system that can drop indoor humidity. You can use a humidity tray or set a room humidifier nearby to generate enough humidity around your sliding jade plant.

Soil and Potting

Velvet Elvis prefers a fast-draining, moist, rich potting mix. Potted in just a regular houseplant potting soil for indoor plants mixed with a bit of perlite or sand, your Velvet Elvis should do well. Just be sure to put it in a container with drainage holes so the water can properly drain away from the roots.

Repot when necessary, ie every 1-2 years (or sooner if the plant has outgrown its pot) to change the soil mix and inspect the roots for rot or damage.

Fertilizing

Feed your Velvet Elvis with a standard, balanced, water-soluble fertiliser diluted to half strength every four to six weeks during spring and summer growing season to keep your plant healthy and encourage vibrant foliage. Do be mindful not to overdo it, since too much fertiliser can result in nutrient burn. Fall and winter are the slower growing seasons for the Velvet Elvis, so you may want to reduce or completely stop fertilising your plant during these times of years.

Pruning and Maintenance

If your Velvet Elvis gets too sparse or grows oddly, some pruning will keep it full and bushy. Pluck off yellowing or damaged leaves as required, and trim back leggy growth to keep the plant looking full. If your plant gets too overgrown or leggy, you can root the cuttings to make more plants (see the propagation below).

The leaves should be wiped over with a damp cloth on a regular basis, to remove dust, and consequently allow the plant to photosynthesise more productively, to its benefit.

Common Problems and Solutions

Pests

While the Velvet Elvis is relatively pest-resistant, it can also be attacked by common houseplant pests including spider mites, aphids and mealybugs. Checking your plant frequently for signs of infestation including webbing, sticky residues or tiny insects can catch an infestation before it becomes a big problem.

If you do notice pests, treat with an insecticidal soap or neem oil (following the directions on the container) and, in case of severe infestations, remove the affected plant from other plants so the pests cannot jump to other houseplants.

Yellowing Leaves

The presence of yellowing leaves should cause a mobile plant-owner to wonder: is my plant being overwatered? Or underwatered? Or perhaps it’s getting too little light? Notice yellowing leaves and see whether adjusting your watering schedule or the light conditions works for your plant.

Leggy Growth

A long, leggy stem is often a sign that your plant is reaching towards light that is too weak for it. A good solution is to move it to a brighter location or, if it’s too late and the stems are indeed very long, to cut back the longer ones to a few inches and let them re-root for a bushier base.

Root Rot

An individual from San Francisco letters in to say: ‘I have a succulent that I think has root rot. It was looking quite healthy until I saw the soft brown growth coming out of the bottom of the pot. I’m not quite sure how that happened but I think it was overwatering or poor drainage. There’s some mushiness around that area as well, if that helps. I’ve probably neglected the poor thing for ages. What can I do to save it and prevent this in the future, especially since my memory for these things is terrible?’ Root rot is indeed a very common problem for succulents.

Overwatering or poor drainage are indeed the culprits, but also planter’s amnesia for as long as we’re dishing out diagnoses. This is what happens when we try to talk to ourselves, incidentally. Stress responses are a sign that your succulent is suffering, either from overwatering, underwatering, or poor soil quality. Let’s say your plant is a Haworthia (an African succulent with oversized clusters of leaves and blooms that resemble oversized oyster mushrooms). Your plant leaves have begun to lose their propped-up position. Even the youngest, plump little leaves are turning towards the ground, or they’ve curled up into rosettes that all face a single direction, like the fingers of a tiny finger pointing. Leaves that have been upright for a couple years start to show signs of yellowing and eventually fall off, if you’re really tardy on watering. Sometimes, these older leaves turn to an unsettling red colour but you trim them away assuming they had enjoyed a long, full life. But then, to your horror, hundreds of new baby leaves develop. These intoxicating leaves can exclusively nourish you for the rest of your days, if you just attend to them. Learning how to identify if your succulent roots are suffering can place your plant firmly on the road to recovery. What can you do? Let’s dive in.

Propagating the Velvet Elvis Plant

Stem Cuttings

The Velvet Elvis plant is most easily and successfully propagated by stem cutting. Cutting and rooting a stem can be accomplished through a few simple steps.

Pick Healthy Stem: Select a healthy, non-blooming stem that has at least a couple of leaves still attached. The stem length should be 4-6 inches.

Snip the Stem: Use a super-sharp, sterilised knife or scissors to snip the stem as close as possible to a leaf node (the bump where a leaf meets the stem). Take off the lowest leaves so as to expose about a half-inch (10-15 cm) of stem.

Plant the Cutting: Once your cutting has developed roots you can plant it in water or soil. If the roots are in water, transfer the cutting into a glass, ensuring that only the stem is submerged. Change the water after a few days to be sure that it stays fresh. If the cuttings have been rooted in soil, plant them in a small pot full of well-draining potting mix.

Take Care: Put in a warm sunny area with indirect light; root in soil (water if%, keep soil damped, otherwise keep water level consistent, put in sunny windowsill) Discover roots in several weeks.

The transplant: From there, you can sprout a good set of roots and move the cutting to a pot with fresh soil to grow as you would any regular Velvet Elvis plant.