Neomortonia rosea Care
Neomortonia rosea isn’t the most common name to hear in the houseplant world, nor is it one that you can find much in the way of care information about. It is in the Gesneriaceae family, which consists of other plants such as Saintpaulia, Streptocarpus, and Sinningia. This specific little flowering, vining gesneriad ranges from Costa Rica to Ecuador, but it can also be found in Colombia and Panama.
I’ll be honest, I bought one from Ecuagenera on a whim because I thought that it would add more color to my vivariums. I tried to do research beforehand, but found that it was severely lacking, or that people talked about having accidentally killed theirs, the inability to get it to bloom, and not much else. So this care sheet is my experience and how I have gotten mine to thrive.
Potting & Water
When mine came it was in shock due to shipping and lost all of its leaves, which was what I had expected so I wasn’t upset. I then mounted mine in sphagnum moss and put it on a fairly large piece of cork bark, then placed it into a vivarium. It will occasionally dry out mostly, but never fully and the humidity levels are higher, maybe around 80-90%. To water I just use a pressure sprayer to make sure that the sphagnum is completely moistened. In my house I probably mist the tank every day to every three days depending on the ambient humidity in the house.
Fertilizer & Lighting
For fertilizer I will sometimes spray the sphagnum around the roots and the rest of the plant with a very diluted fertilizer mix, but honestly that is very rarely done. Mine is in a vivarium so it has a constant supply of millipede, springtail, and isopod frass. Frass is insect poop (even though isopods aren’t insects but crustaceans, and springtails are hexapods). Anyway, this acts as a fertilizer.
The only lighting that it has been exposed to has been T8, 6500k, LED lights, which has allowed my N. rosea to absolutely thrive. In fact, it has spread over the entire vivarium, which has produced a beautiful effect, especially when it is blooming!
I have no clue how these aren’t more out there in the house plant world with their cute little fuzzy leafed vines and delicately fringed pink flowers. They make amazing vivarium or terrarium plants and are sturdy enough to stand up to some day geckos perching on them. If you want more tips and tricks, or personalized advice, come find us on Mesh or on Facebook to connect with other plant lovers from around the world!
