Green leaf with red veins are wondered what type it could be placed around the house or would give a splash of vibrancy around.
This article will tell you the varieties since they are many, where they grow, and how people use these types of plants. Read about these beautiful plants in the list below.
Contents
List of Green Leaf with Red Veins
1. Red-veined Sorrel
The red-veined sorrel is commonly found in Northern Africa and Europe. The plant is referred to by various names, such as bloody sorrel, bloody dock, and wood dock.
– Growth Requirements
The red-veined sorrel can be planted as an annual or a perennial. It requires full light in partial shade to grow. It grows well in hardiness zones three to eight. Furthermore, it requires moist soil of any type to grow and to thrive.
Not only that, but it takes 40 days to sprout in full sun and partial shade when growing it as an annual, which is what makes it a fast growing one. In 40 days, the leaves are small with heart shapes; however, after 55 days, the leaves grow longer, and the heart shape disappears to take an elongated one.
As perennials, these plants are allowed to grow to big sizes and can be planted in pots or as border plants. They usually grow to 15 inches tall and 12 inches wide. When mature, these plants are not invasive and do not have control issues, instead of spreading, the red vein plant grows into thick batches.
– Uses
The baby red-veined sorrels for making salads, because they aren’t as bitter as the matured ones are.
The plant has a sweet and sour taste and is classified in the spinach family, as you would see from the width of the plant. However, when the leaves lose their heart shapes, they become tough and bitter, making them unsuitable for salads as they would mature.
The perennials are used as ornamental plants in the garden. Their small flowers and distinctive colored leaves create a visually attractive garden for anyone to resist.
– Toxicity
Although salad enthusiasts find the bloody sorrel amazing, it contains a toxic acid called oxalis. It is particularly harmful to people suffering from gout. To avoid being affected by the toxicity, it is prudent to eat the red-veined sorrel in small quantities.
2. Nerve Plant
Fittonia albivenis is a perennial plant native to South America. It has many names, such as nerve plant, mosaic plant, jewel plant, silver threads, silver nerve, and silver nerve plant. The plant looks very vibrant as the leaves are green and the veins that are popping are red in their color.
– Growth Requirements
The nerve plant thrives in hardiness zone 11, in addition, it does well when planted as a pot plant rather than outdoors. The plant enjoys a good water feed but can go a few days without watering.
Note that lighting is also important for its growth, but the nerve plant does not like exposure to too much brightness, furthermore, fluorescent and medium brightness is perfect for its growth.
As a native to South America, fittonia albiveins grow well in well-drained soil and medium-humid environments. Since the silver nerve is a spreading plant, it can be quite invasive. To prevent it from growing uncontrollably wild, consider pinching it, the latter would help prevent it from spreading while making it grow fuller and bulkier.
Even though they would be a great addition to your garden, but what you must note its that these beauties are susceptible to pest attacks, and they will get harmed if you don’t take it into action.
The most common are spider mites, aphids, mealy bugs, mites, and scales. The simplest way to get rid of them would be using neem oil or any other insecticidal oil and handpicking.
– Uses
The plant has beautiful foliage that makes it suitable for use as an in-house ornamental plant. Although it produces some flowers, they are not that appealing and can ruin the show. Consider pinching the buds to prevent flowering from taking place.
3. Polka Dot
Polka dot is native to the warm climates of Madagascar, South Africa, and Southeast Asia, as its scientific name is Hypoestes Phyllostachya.
The plant comes in different varieties, each having a different color for its foliage. The polka-dotted plant has oval leaves that are softly downy, and their bases can have white, purple, pink, or red hues. It makes an excellent indoor plant.
– Growth Requirements
These plants are often planted as annuals and thrive in hardiness zones 10 and 11. For optimum growth, they require mimicking their native environment, which is warm and humid.
Polka dots grow well in filtered sunlight, especially when the light is too dim or too bright, the beautiful color of the foliage begins to fade. It is best planted during the spring season.
The soil requirements are easy to meet, you can always use moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil to keep your plants’ foliage vibrant. For potting, ensure that it meets these conditions to avoid dehydrating or creating a wet environment for your plant.
These non-toxic plants are short-stature; even after maturity, they do not grow past two feet in height and width. They are easy to plant as you do not need to buy seedlings if you already have the plants in your pots or garden.
Make cuttings that are at least four inches, and remove the leaves, and you have a new plant from the cutting, in this case the cuttings quickly grow roots after watering.
– Invasion
The polka dot plant does not cause invasion problems, although it does well as an indoor plant, this quality makes it great for growing outdoors. You can pinch this plant’s tips if you want thicker foliage.
Pinching also prevents the budding of their not-so-stunning flowers. Instead, the energy the plant uses in producing the flowers is redirected to creating fuller and more colorful foliage.
– Challenges
Some of the common challenges that affect polka dots is attack by pests such as whiteflies, mealy bugs, and aphids. They are also prone to attack by root rot, powdery mildew, and leaf spot. Pests leave holes in the leaves, while root rot and fungal infections cause the turning of the leaf color.
To get rid of them, you can always use of pesticides and insecticidal oils can help in the control of pests. In cases of root rot, repotting can help with the challenge. When dealing with mildew and leaf spot, pruning the infected leaves and using fungicides can help control the problem.
4. Beetroot
Beta vulgaris has many names, and some of them would include beet, garden beet, beets, beetroot, Roman kale, red beet, Swiss chard, and sugar beet.
The plant has green leaves adorned by a network of red veins. The roots are bulb-like and have pinkish-red stems, but both of them are edible.
It is commonly used in culinary and for medical reasons because of its numerous health benefits due to its properties, especially it is used in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Europe, because it is native to these regions.
Beetroots are often used in culinary. They are consumed as salads, for coloring foods, and others. Its leaves are also used for making salads when tender. Some parts of Asia also use leaves as herbs.
– Growth Requirements
Beet is grown as an annual and is best planted in the mid-spring, as the beautiful leaves would start to show because they are rooting plants. On the other hand, the plant is easy to care for and does well in partial shade; however, you can accelerate the plant’s growth by exposing it to full sun for a few hours daily.
These plants love moist and slightly acidic soil, as the latter should also be rich in nutrients and drains well. Harvesting can be done anywhere between 50 and 80 days. These days are after germination or when the root’s diameter has reached one inch.
– Challenges
Like most vegetables, beet is susceptible to bacterial and pest attacks. The major culprits are aphids, Japanese beetle, wire worm, slugs, snails, and bacterial infections.
The bacterial infections can be managed by avoiding crop rotation of the beets with potatoes. Another way to control bacterial infection is to use healthy seedlings when sowing. Pests can be controlled by picking and smashing or by using recommended pesticides.
5. Caladium
Caladiums are tropical perennials that are native to Central and South America. They are showy houseplants with arrow-shaped leaves. They have colorful foliage that has explosive green, red, white, and pink hues and are affected by frostbites.
These showy plants are used to create an aesthetic value for indoor and outdoor spaces. Plant it in clusters with other plants to get the best results.
– Growth Requirements
Caladiums thrive in hardiness zones nine to 11. As tropical plants, they are best sowed during spring season when frost threat has passed.
These leaves are available in two varieties: dwarf and large variety. Under optimum conditions, the large variety grows up to 30 inches tall, while the dwarf variety only reaches 12 inches. These plants require hot temperatures under full or partial shades, as they also love high humidity levels to thrive just like any other tropical plant.
If you wish to see the gorgeous leaves thrive, then you must plant them in slightly acidic soil that is well-drained and with rich organic matter. Regular feeding with quality fertilizer and water is necessary since these plants are heavy feeders.
After reaching the flowering stage, caladiums start producing spathes. These are arum-type flowers produced by the plant but do not add value to the foliage aesthetics. The best way of handling them is pruning their buds before they bloom. Pruning allows the plant to produce more showy foliage instead of focusing on producing unappealing flowers.
– Toxicity
The whole of the caladium plant is known to be toxic, and this is one of their characteristics. Chewing can cause symptoms such as severe gastric irritation, excessive salivation, and swollen tongue and face.
Its sap is also toxic and can lead to dermatitis. Which means that whether you have visitors, children, or pets, you must be cautious that no one would ingest them so that they won’t be intoxicated.
– Challenges
The plant is not a favorite option for pests and insects. However, some still find it an invaluable source of food. Caterpillars and grasshoppers are the main predators, and when they infest your caladium garden, you will not like the results. Sap-sucking pests such as spider mites are other recognizable culprits.
Insecticidal soaps and pesticides are some of the effective methods of eliminating these pests. Grasshoppers can be a bit intimidating to eliminate because they easily hop from plant to plant, and would eat the leaves as you would observe empty patches. Getting professional help is a more strategic move to get rid of the hoppers.
6. Red Prayer Plant
The red prayer plant is native to Brazil, and in botany it is called the Maranta Leuconeura. It is a tropical plant that is also referred to as cathedral windows, rabbit tracks, herringbone plant, and red-veined prayer plant.
The showy plant has variegated ovate leaves and derives its ‘prayer plant’ name from its nighttime characteristics, where it folds the leaves, resembling praying hands. Red prayer plant has beautiful foliage, as the color of the under leaves is often gray-green to purple-green, adorned by the red network of veins.
– Growth Requirements
This tropical plant requires a lot of fertilizer feeding, moist and well-drained soil, exposure to indirect sunlight, and neutral to acidic soil.
It grows incredibly well in hardiness zones 11 to 12 and an environment with high humidity. However, as you provide the right conditions, the red prayer plant grows up to 12 inches tall and 12 inches wide.
Spring is the blooming time for this plant. However, its flowers do not help improve the vibrancy of its foliage.
The best approach to deal with the bloom is pinching the buds to ensure they do not produce ugly-looking flowers. Pinching the buds helps increase the volume of the foliage and its visual appeal.
Keep the plant away from direct sunlight as it makes the leaves fade. The plant is also not resistant to frost, as they tend to get leaf burns when exposed to freezing temperatures.
– Challenges
The prayer plant does not have many predators, which makes it an easy-to-maintain plant. However, be on the lookout for the sap-sucking spider mites and the mealy bugs, because these two would be the ones to harm it, if you don’t tackle them.
The plants do not like being submerged in wet soils for long periods, and root rot is common when exposed to such environments.
Eliminating these bubs is easy since neem oil, pesticides, and other insecticidal soaps help manage them. Avoid overwatering the plants to avoid having to deal with root rot.
Conclusion
Growing any plant with green leaf with red veins can be an exciting experience when its beautiful foliage begins to become showy.
Here is a summary for planting these colorful plants:
- Some plants, such as beets, are edible and can also be used for medical and aesthetic purposes.
- You should be careful when handling some of the plants, such as the caladiums, as all parts of these plants are toxic when chewed.
- The blooming plants on this list do not have pretty flowers, and pinching their buds can help maintain the aesthetic appeal of their foliage.
- Green leaf plants with red veins are prone to root rot when overwatered.
Have you always wanted to plant plants with green leaves and red veins because of their attractive foliage in your garden?
This detailed information can help you choose an excellent variety for your garden depending on where you live and if you can meet most of the growth requirements.
References
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rumex-sanguineus/
- https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/bloody-dock-rumex-sanguineus/
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/fittonia-albivenis/
- https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/polka-dot-plant-hypoestes-phyllostachya/
- https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/poisonous-plant-angels-wings-caladium/#:~:text=Symptoms%3A%20All%20parts%20of%20the,dermatitis%2C%20intense%20itching%20and%20burning.
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