How to Grow a Velvet Elvis
Grow a Velvet Elvis in bright indirect light, in a well-drained houseplant mix, in a pot only an inch or two larger than the root ball. Water once the top inch of soil feels dry. Pinch the growing tips every few weeks to keep the plant full instead of leggy, and root the pinched tips for new plants.
Where to put it
Velvet Elvis is a fast-growing soft-stemmed houseplant grown for the velvety purple-and-green leaves. The plant settles into a relaxed mound that gently trails over the rim of the pot.
Light
Bright indirect light is the sweet spot. A spot a few feet back from an east, west, or south window works well. The plant tolerates a few hours of gentle morning sun, but harsh afternoon sun scorches the velvety leaves and bleaches the color.
The hand-shadow test helps. Hold a hand over the spot at midday. A crisp dark shadow with sharp edges is too much direct sun. A blurry medium-gray shadow is right. No shadow at all is too dim and the plant will stretch and lose color.
Avoid drafts
Velvet Elvis is tender and dislikes cold air. Keep the plant away from drafty windows in winter, exterior doors, and the direct blast of an air conditioning vent. Temperatures below 50 degrees damage the leaves.
Soil and potting
Velvet Elvis grows fast and likes a pot only an inch or two larger than the root ball. A pot too large holds wet soil around the roots after watering, which leads to root rot. Repot in spring once a year while the plant is young, then every two years once mature.
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1Pick the right pot Use a pot with at least one drainage hole and only one to two inches wider than the current root ball. Terracotta works well because the porous walls help excess water evaporate. A plastic or glazed pot also works as long as it drains.
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2Mix a well-draining houseplant soil Use a quality indoor potting mix with a few handfuls of perlite added to improve drainage. The mix should feel light and fluffy, not dense and compacted. Avoid heavy garden soil, which stays too wet for the roots.
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3Lift the plant carefully Tip the old pot on its side and slide the root ball out, supporting the base of the stems with one hand. The stems are soft and easy to bruise, so handle from the soil level rather than pulling on the leaves.
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4Gently tease the roots If the roots are circling tightly inside the nursery pot, gently loosen them with a fingertip so they grow outward in the new pot. Roots that stay circling never spread into fresh soil.
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5Set the plant at the original soil line Add fresh soil to the bottom of the new pot, set the plant in so the surface of the old root ball sits about an inch below the rim, and fill in around the sides. Press the soil down gently with fingertips to remove air pockets.
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6Water and let drain Soak until water runs out the drainage hole, then let the pot drain fully before placing back on its saucer. Empty any standing water from the saucer so the roots are not sitting in puddles.
Watering and feeding
Watering
Water once the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Use the finger test rather than a calendar, since light, temperature, and pot size all change how fast the soil dries. In bright warm conditions that often means once a week, and in cooler dimmer conditions every 10 to 14 days.
Water at the base, soaking the soil rather than splashing the velvety leaves. Water sitting on the leaves leaves spots and can cause leaf rot. Empty any standing water from the saucer 15 minutes after watering so the roots are never in a puddle.
Feeding
Feed monthly during active growth from spring through early fall with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength. The plant grows fast and uses up nutrients quickly when light and water are good.
Stop feeding entirely from late fall through winter, when growth naturally slows. Feeding through the dormant months pushes weak leggy stems that struggle until light improves in spring.
Pruning and maintenance
Velvet Elvis grows fast and gets leggy without regular pinching. The plant looks best when pinched every few weeks during active growth, which encourages branching from below the cut and keeps the plant full and bushy instead of long and thin.
Pinching to stay full
Pinch the top inch off each long stem with your fingers every few weeks during spring and summer. The cut tells the plant to push out two new branches from the buds just below the cut, doubling the fullness over a season. Save the pinched tips for propagation.
Removing tired growth
Old lower leaves yellow and drop as the plant pushes new growth from the tips, which is normal. Pick yellow leaves off as they appear and clip any bare leggy stems back to where there are fresh leaves below the cut. The cut stem branches and refills.
Refreshing an old plant
After a couple of years, Velvet Elvis often gets woody at the base and stops looking lush. Rather than trying to revive the original plant, root a few stem cuttings in water and start over. Cuttings root in two to three weeks and grow into a new full plant within a few months.
Propagation
Velvet Elvis is one of the easiest houseplants to propagate. The pinched tips you remove during regular maintenance root in water within two to three weeks, which makes a single plant the source of many more.
Taking the cutting
Snip the top three to four inches off a healthy stem, just below a leaf node where two leaves meet the stem. The node is where the new roots will form. Strip the bottom set of leaves off so they are not sitting in water, since submerged leaves rot.
Rooting in water
Set the cutting in a small jar of room-temperature water in a spot with bright indirect light. Change the water every few days to keep it fresh. Tiny white root nubs appear within a week or two, and by week three the cutting has a small cluster of roots an inch or more long.
Once the roots are a couple of inches long, the cutting is ready to pot up. A cutting that sits too long in water gets soft and harder to transition to soil, so do not wait past a few weeks once roots appear.
Potting up the rooted cutting
Pot the rooted cutting in a small container of fresh houseplant mix with extra perlite, water gently, and keep the soil consistently moist for the first two weeks while the roots adjust from water to soil. Place the new pot in bright indirect light alongside the parent plant.
After the first two weeks, treat the new plant like any other Velvet Elvis. Pinch the tips a few weeks later to encourage the plant to branch, and the new plant fills out within a couple of months.
Common problems and pests
Velvet Elvis is forgiving, but a few common issues come up. Most trace back to either too much water or not enough light.
Long leggy stems with sparse leaves
Too little light is the cause. The plant stretches toward whatever light it can find and grows long bare stems with leaves only at the tips. Move to a brighter spot a few feet back from an east or south window, and pinch the leggy stems back to where there are fresh leaves to force fuller regrowth.
Yellow lower leaves
A few yellow leaves at the base of the plant is normal as the plant pushes new growth from the tips. Heavy yellowing across most of the plant usually means overwatering and soil that stays soggy. Let the top inch of soil dry between waterings and check the drainage in the pot.
Soft black stems at the base
Stem rot from soil that stays too wet. Remove the rotted plant from the pot, cut healthy stem tips above the rot, root the tips in water, and discard the parent plant and its soil. The next plant will do better with less frequent watering and better drainage.
Brown crispy leaf edges
Usually low humidity or harsh direct sun. Move away from direct afternoon sun and group the plant with other houseplants to raise the humidity around the leaves. A pebble tray under the pot also helps, since water evaporating from the tray raises local humidity.
Faded leaf color and pale purple
Not enough light is bleaching the color out. Move the plant closer to a bright window or a few feet from a south-facing window. New growth in better light comes in with stronger purple again.
Small flying insects in the soil
Fungus gnats, which breed in constantly damp soil. Let the top inch of soil dry between waterings to break the breeding cycle. Yellow sticky traps catch the adults, and a sprinkle of mosquito-bit granules (BTI) on the soil surface kills the larvae safely.
White cottony clumps in leaf joints
Mealybugs, which hide where the leaves meet the stem and suck sap. Wipe individual clumps off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. For heavier infestations, spray with insecticidal soap weekly until clear. Quarantine the plant away from other houseplants until clear, since mealybugs spread fast.
Tiny webs between leaves
Spider mites, common in dry indoor air. Rinse the plant in the shower with lukewarm water to knock the mites off, then spray with insecticidal soap weekly until clear. Raise humidity around the plant to discourage them from coming back.
Wilting even when soil is wet
Root rot from chronic overwatering. Slide the plant out of the pot and check the roots. Healthy roots are firm and white, rotted roots are soft and brown. Take healthy stem tips, root them in water, and start over with fresh soil and better drainage.
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