Purple Houseplants

To avoid brown spots, keep water from splashing leaves of African violets.

Purple houseplants can brighten a home and provide accents for the decor. They may have purple foliage or purple flowers. Many low-maintenance purple houseplants thrive and bloom throughout the year.

African Violet

African violets, Saintpaulia, come in many shades of purple. They prefer room temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees. African violets require indirect light. They can be placed in a north- or east-facing window but should be removed to a warmer area of the house at night.

Wandering Jew

Wandering Jew, Tradescantia zebrina, is a trailing houseplant that displays leaves with two silver stripes and a purple underside. It is native to southern Mexico. Wandering Jew prefers a moderately moist soil and full sun. Purple and lavender flowers appear intermittently all year long.

Purple Shamrock

Purple shamrock, Oxalis triangularis, is native to Brazil and is also known as the love plant. It has purple leaflets and pink flowers. The leaflets close up at night. The purple shamrock thrives in bright light, cool temperatures and moderately moist soil.

References

• Iowa State University Extension: Growing African Violets
• Fine Gardening: Tradescantia zebrina (Wandering Jew)
• Fine Gardening: Oxalis triangularis (Love plant, Purple shamrock)