I had tough time figuring this one out, mistaken for a tradescantia species only found out that it is actually a Callisia. And because it is - the plus point about it is that this one is quite hardy.
This one requires some bright light for it's growing condition, placing it in even in bright shade seemed to make it unattractive, become green and leggy.
However this one loves direct sun - the more the better. I guess it's known as Dragon Tail for that burning reason - the colored features only appear when it is planted in good light position.
Propagation is fairly easy:
Just cut and poke 1-2 leaf nodes into the soil (removing the bottom leaves) and the leaving the tip at the top. They do tend to grow leggy and messy and so constant pruning is required to keep them neat and tidy.
The plant do tend to branch out new stem from the sides which can be an ideal place to trim and poke them into a new potting mix. However they do tend to grow long and leggy and may appear messy.
These do well in dry conditions however they can rot easily when water logged. Also the faded dry leaves tend to stick together with the stem making it look unsightly and therefore pruning the dried leaves can be tedious if you are keeping a big bunch.
I had not seen any pest on them so far and I would say this one truly a hardy plant and would recommend for new plant beginners. I had not yet seen these sold widely in any nursery making me to think whether it had really not hit strong in the plant market or perhaps it is now considered as a pass me down plants and so lost the popularity like most Callisia common species.
These grow carelessly by the side of the kerb bordering my garden space. Getting good bright sunlight is a challenge in my garden area.
Just to show how it appear to be when planted in shade - the leaves appear greener and fragile looking. It can snap easily when mishandled. The plant had sort of expanded in search of light - hence not an ideal plant to grow in shaded area.
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For other basic information of plant Care and Different Types of Callisia Species:
Different Types of Callisia Species
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