Question
Okay so i am doing a project for AP biology and using the purple passion plant(gynura aurantiaca). I bought it at home depot about three weeks, and it doesn't it seem to grow at all. On the tags it mentioned that it grew fast however i am shocked to see it the same, maybe it takes longer for it to grow? .I water it once every three days( i am sure that its not getting over watered) and it is inside my house with a temperature average of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. what can i do so it grow? Oh and it receives an adequate amount of sunlight, the only thing i am worried about is that it is in a pot and maybe that has some relation to its lack of growth( it has a bit of vines and someone suggested me to get out of the flower pot and place it an container where the vines can grow freely)? i also haven't changed the potting soil of anything in relation since i bought it =/
please help.. if you need a picture please let me know

Answer
Evelyn,

Most houseplants grow relatively slow even if they are described as growing fast. Vegetables are fast growing plants, green beans and tomato plants grow visibly fast, growing from a seed to producing huge amounts of food in 1 growing season.

Houseplants on the other hand growing twice as large in a year is growing very fast. So you are not going to see a lot of visible growth in 3 weeks. Have you used any fertilizer on the plant? Feed every 2-3 weeks with half-strength house plant food when the plant shows active growth.

Purple Passion Plants need bright light near a south, east or west window for the brightest coloring and best growtn but they must be protected from hot afternoon sun.

Keep the soil evenly moist. Never let it sit with water in the drain tray as that will cause root rot and the plant will stop growing. If you repot it do not move it to a pot with a diameter more than 2 inches larger than the diameter of the pot it is in now. Larger would be overpotting it and would tend to cause it to put out root growth but not top growth for a long period. They prefer a slightly acidic soil mixture, so the addition of 50% peat moss to the potting mix when you repot is helpful.

The fertilizer will probably help trigger growth the most. Good luck.

Darlene