Plant Library

Other Names:  Bloodleaf, Beefsteak Plant, Chicken Gizzard

Features & Attributes

Blood Leaf's attractive textured oval leaves remain dark red in color with distinctive pink veins and tinges of fuchsia throughout the year on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth.

This is an herbaceous evergreen houseplant with an upright spreading habit of growth. This plant may benefit from an occasional pruning to look its best.

Planting & Growing

When grown indoors, Blood Leaf can be expected to grow to be about 16 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. This houseplant should be situated in a location that that gets indirect sunlight at most, although it will usually require a more brightly-lit environment than what artificial indoor lighting alone can provide. It prefers to grow in moist to almost wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. As such, the surface of the soil should be kept consistently moist to the touch, and you can expect to water this plant two or more times each week, especially if it's growing in a lower-humidity environment. Be aware that your particular watering schedule may vary depending on its location in the room, the pot size, plant size and other conditions; if in doubt, ask one of our experts in the store for advice. It is not particular as to soil type or pH; an average potting soil should work just fine.

There are many factors that will affect the ultimate height, spread and overall performance of a plant when grown indoors; among them, the size of the pot it's growing in, the amount of light it receives, watering frequency, the pruning regimen and repotting schedule. Use the information described here as a guideline only; individual performance can and will vary. Please contact the store to speak with one of our experts if you are interested in further details concerning recommendations on pot size, watering, pruning, repotting, etc.