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Cryptanthus: My Latest Plant Crush

ByNell Foster Published on

I’ve been loving and using bromeliads in my garden for two years now but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered those cute little Cryptanthus’ or Earth Stars.  What horticultural rock have I been hiding under?  They are now my latest plant crush.

However, just a few weeks ago I purchased some new succulents so Purple Split Rock and Graptoveria “Bashful” are close behind.  Cryptanthus was given its common name because the showy, wavy leaves grow in the form of a star.

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This Red Earth Star has a lot of babies emerging.

The foliage of this plant is much more the draw than the small, insignificant white flowers.

Unlike many other bromeliads, the flowers don’t appear on a long stalk. I know this because mine have already bloomed in the short time I’ve had them. They grow low and are very effective when planted in mass. As far as light goes, their ideal seems to be bright shade. If they get too much sun, they burn. Not enough and the foliage reverts to a yucky green.

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As you can see, they make a striking ground cover when planted in quantity. Seen at Sherman Library & Gardens. Be sure to check out the link at the end because this garden has a lot of bromeliads & succulents.

The majority of Bromeliads are epiphytes, meaning they grow on other plants and get their moisture from the air.

This is not the case with these Earth Stars as they are terrestrial. In nature, they grow in soil in moist conditions under other plants which means you water them differently than their other bromeliad relatives. You keep the soil of the plant evenly moist rather than keeping water in the cup.

When planting them, use a mix that has ground bark, coir (or peat), sand and perlite – it needs to be well-drained. Or, you can make it easy and buy a bromeliad planting mix.

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There are a few Cryptanthus’ in this bromeliad “wall hanging”

They are very easy to propagate. Wait until the pups (babies) reach a good size, about 1/3 that of the mother. I heal them off for a few days and then stick them into a pot with that loose soil mixture. These I water in after planting.

Be sure to watch the video below to see how easy the pups are to take off the mother plant.

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Me in a sea of Earth Stars at a grower’s greenhouse!

They are considered easy as houseplants but I have no experience with this because mine grow outdoors. Reportedly they like bright light with at least 4 hours of sun (not all day scorching) to bring out the color in the leaves.

Water them on a regular basis but don’t keep them soggy. They do like humidity, not found all year long in the average home, so a spot in the kitchen or bathroom would be set.

As soon as the pups on my plants get bigger I plan on taking them off and potting them up.  I plan to plant them en masse under my Loquat Tree. I’d love to hear what your plant crush is these days!

Update: Read about my worm compost/compost feeding right here.

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14 Comments

  1. My latest plant crush is succulents. I have a question. Can I plant earth stars in with my succulents? Would love to hear from you. Thanks!

  2. Hi Vicky – Warning: Your crush on succulents will turn into a love affair! Earth Stars don’t like to be too wet, yet they don’t like to be too dry either. To answer your question, Yes you can. I have an Earth Star planted in a bowl with succulents & I water it more often simply by using a watering can with a long narrow spout so I “hit the target”. They also like a bit of moisture on their leaves so splash the foliage every once in a while. Hope that helps! Nell

  3. I’m new to keeping plants and I am curious. What do you mean by healing off the pup

  4. Hi Kat – Certain types of plants, when a pup is removed or a cutting is taken, needs to or does best when healed off for a couple of days up to a couple of months. Healing off is letting the cut end heal or harden over (like a scab) so that water doesn’t get in & immediately rot it out or a infection set in. It’s best done in bright light but not in direct sunlight. I heal my plants over in my laundry room. Hope that helps, Nell

  5. nell love all ur videos and ur articles easy to understand thanks

  6. Oh thank you Joanne. I try to explain things as simply as I can so I glad the info is easy for you to understand. All the best, Nell

  7. Hi, mine has lost its pink, from your post, I understand it’s due to insufficient sunlight. Will the pink come back if I bring it out to a brighter place? Or it’s permanently green now on? Thanks!

  8. Hi – Yes, that’s true, a pink or red Cryptanthus will turn green if the light levels are too low. They need good, strong light when grown indoors. Also, they tend to be more pink or red when they’re about to flower. Yes, the color should start to come back but never put it in direct hot sun. Nell

  9. Hi Nell,
    I just found one of these but it looked pretty rough. Can these be brought back to life? Right now I currently have it in water therapy. Is that good for this plant?

  10. Hi Tanisha – Cryptanthus like to be kept fairly moist but don’t like to sit in water. Sounds like the mother plant is looking bad so hopefully babies will appear & you can remove & plant those. Nell

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