The goldfish plant is a houseplant with clusters of red-orange flowers that emerge in spring and summer and resemble leaping goldfish. Goldfish plants thrive in moist conditions, bright light, acidic, well-draining soil, and between 65 and 75°F. Here’s the care and growing guide.
The goldfish plant (Columnea gloriosa) is a striking tropical epiphyte native to the rainforests of Central and South America. Its name derives from its distinctive tubular flowers that remarkably resemble small, brightly colored goldfish swimming among the foliage.
These perennial plants feature dark green, glossy leaves growing in opposite pairs along slender stems that can reach lengths of up to 3 feet or more. The plant’s natural trailing growth habit makes it particularly well-suited for hanging baskets, where its unique blooms can be fully appreciated.
As members of the Gesneriaceae family, goldfish plants are related to African violets and gloxinias. In their natural habitat, they grow as epiphytes, anchoring themselves to trees and deriving moisture and nutrients from the air and rain rather than soil. Understanding this natural growth pattern is essential for successfully cultivating these plants indoors.
Goldfish Plant Care
Bloom Characteristics and Appeal
The most captivating feature of the goldfish plant is undoubtedly its flowers. These vibrant blooms typically appear in shades of orange or red, although some cultivars produce yellow or pink flowers. Under ideal conditions, a healthy goldfish plant can bloom prolifically, creating a stunning display that lasts for several weeks or even months. The blooming period generally occurs during spring and summer, though with proper care, some plants may produce flowers into the fall.
The following are the basic care guidelines for a goldfish plant:
- Keep your goldfish plant in a bright, but not directly sunlit area.
- Will grow in fast-draining, airy potting soil
- Summer: Water well , Winter: Cut back
- Provide the plant with moderate levels of humidity
- Fertilise weekly during the growing season to promote blossoms
Light
Goldfish plants like bright light, but not direct light. These plants also do better with hours of light, even more than 10 hours a day; this is suited for an east-facing window. (Nasturtiums, in particular, will thrive growing under grow lights indoors, even in winter.)
Secret Tip : Perfect Your Light
Goldfish plants thrive in bright, indirect light—a crucial factor for stimulating abundant blooming. While these plants need substantial light to produce flowers, direct sunlight can damage their leaves and inhibit flowering.
For optimal blooming results, place your goldfish plant near an east-facing window where it will receive bright morning light but be protected from harsh afternoon rays. These plants prefer long light periods, even up to 10 hours daily. During winter months or in locations with limited natural light, consider supplementing with grow lights to maintain the light levels necessary for bloom development
Remember that insufficient light is one of the most common reasons goldfish plants fail to bloom. If your plant has healthy foliage but produces few or no flowers, gradually increase its exposure to bright, filtered light and observe the response over two weeks.
Soil
A light, fast-draining potting soil — a succulent mix is great. You can use fortified soils. In nature, goldfish plants are epiphytes that grow on other plants. It will typically be growing on a tree.
Secret Tip : Use the Right Soil Mixture
The goldfish plant’s epiphytic nature means it requires a specialized soil environment to bloom successfully. Standard potting soil is too dense and retains too much moisture for these plants to thrive and flower.
Create an ideal growing medium by mixing:
2 parts quality orchid mix or succulent soil
1 part perlite or pumice
1 part peat moss or coconut coir
A small amount of horticultural charcoal to prevent soil souring
This light, airy mixture replicates the plant’s natural growing conditions, allowing roots to breathe while retaining just enough moisture. The slightly acidic pH preference of goldfish plants (around 5.5-6.5) can be addressed by using acidic components like peat moss in your soil mix.
When repotting, choose a container only slightly larger than the current one, as goldfish plants actually bloom better when slightly root-bound. This creates a mild stress that often triggers more abundant flowering.
Water
Water generously during summer and ensure the soil is kept evenly moist. In winter, reduce watering to let the soil dry out a little. This might promote better flowering. Note that it should never dry out completely, but overly wet soil leads to root rot.
Secret Tip : Master the Watering Balance
The goldfish plant requires a careful watering regimen to produce abundant blooms. During the active growing season in summer, water generously and maintain consistently moist soil. However, as an epiphyte, the goldfish plant is susceptible to root rot if its soil becomes waterlogged.
To encourage blooming, adjust your watering schedule seasonally. In winter, reduce watering frequency and allow the soil to become slightly drier between waterings. This mild stress can actually trigger more prolific flowering when the growing season returns.
Using room-temperature water is essential, as cold water can shock the plant’s roots and inhibit flower production. Additionally, develop a habit of checking soil moisture before watering—insert your finger about an inch into the soil, and only water when the top layer feels dry to the touch.
Temperature and Humidity
Goldfish houseplants perform best in room temperatures of 65 to 75°F. They need mild to moderate humidity and can be misted once a day with room-temperature water. Never mix with cold water; it can damage the foliage. In very dry situations, a humidifier near the plant can help.
Secret Tip : Create Tropical Humidity
As tropical natives, goldfish plants require moderate to high humidity levels to bloom abundantly. Standard household humidity, especially during winter when heating systems operate, is typically too low for optimal flowering.
There are several effective methods to increase humidity around your goldfish plant:
Place the plant on a pebble tray filled with water, ensuring the pot remains above the water line
Group it with other plants to create a naturally humid microclimate
Use a room humidifier near your plant collection
Mist the plant’s foliage regularly, particularly during drier months
Maintaining humidity levels between 40-60% will significantly increase your chances of achieving spectacular blooms within 30 days. Consistent humidity not only promotes flowering but also prevents common issues like leaf drop and brown leaf edges that can divert the plant’s energy away from bloom production.
Fertilizer
During the growing season, feed weekly with a weak liquid fertiliser containing micronutrients that promote blooming. It works great with controlled-release fertiliser pellets. Goldfish plant care.
Secret Tip : Implement a Strategic Fertilization Schedule
To achieve dramatic blooming results within 30 days, implementing a precise fertilization regimen is essential. During the active growing season, feed your goldfish plant weekly with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half the recommended strength.
For maximum bloom production, switch to a high-phosphorus fertilizer (indicated by the middle number in the N-P-K ratio) about 2-3 weeks before you want peak blooming to begin. Phosphorus specifically supports flower development and can significantly increase both the number and size of blooms.
Always apply fertilizer to slightly moist soil to prevent root burn, and flush the soil thoroughly with plain water monthly to prevent salt buildup that can inhibit flowering. During the plant’s dormant period in winter, reduce fertilization to once monthly or eliminate it completely.
Secret Tip : Master the Pruning Technique
Strategic pruning is perhaps the most overlooked yet powerful technique for stimulating abundant blooms on a goldfish plant. Regular pinching and pruning encourage branching, which creates more potential flowering sites.
For dramatic 30-day results, implement this pruning strategy:
Pinch the tips of stems after each flowering cycle
Remove any leggy or straggly growth to redirect energy to stronger stems
Prune back by up to one-third after the main flowering period
Make cuts just above leaf nodes to stimulate branching
The goldfish plant blooms on new growth, so this pruning approach creates more potential flowering points. Additionally, remove any dead or yellowing leaves promptly, as these drain energy that could otherwise be directed toward bloom production.
Pruning Tip
Best Pruners For Your Goldfish Plant? To ensure your plant is happy and healthy, we tested 10 top-rated pruners in our Lab.
Secret Tip : Maintain Optimal Temperature Range
Temperature stability plays a crucial role in triggering and sustaining bloom production in goldfish plants. These tropical natives thrive in temperatures between 65-75°F (18-24°C). Temperatures outside this range can significantly inhibit flowering.
Pay particular attention to nighttime temperature drops, which should not fall below 60°F (15°C). Paradoxically, providing a slight temperature differential between day and night—approximately 5-7 degrees cooler at night—can actually stimulate more abundant blooming. This mimics natural rainforest conditions and serves as a flowering trigger.
Equally important is protecting your goldfish plant from sudden temperature fluctuations, cold drafts, or heat sources like radiators and vents. These environmental stresses force the plant to focus on survival rather than flower production.
Secret Tip : Perfect Your Pot Selection and Positioning
The goldfish plant’s natural trailing habit and epiphytic nature make pot selection and positioning critical factors in stimulating abundant blooms. For maximum flowering within 30 days, consider these specialized approaches:
Choose a container that is slightly wider than it is deep, as goldfish plants have relatively shallow root systems. Ensure excellent drainage by selecting pots with multiple drainage holes or using orchid baskets that provide exceptional aeration.
Hanging the plant at eye level not only showcases its cascading flowers effectively but also provides the plant with more consistent air circulation—a factor that reduces disease risk and promotes stronger blooms. Positioning several plants together increases humidity and creates a more stable microclimate that encourages flowering.
For plants that have been reluctant to bloom, try elevating them closer to ceiling height where temperatures are slightly warmer, stimulating the plant’s natural blooming response.
Secret Tip : Implement Growth Cycle Manipulation
Professional growers use specific techniques to manipulate the goldfish plant’s natural growth cycles and force blooming on demand. You can adapt these methods for home use to achieve stunning results within 30 days.
First, induce a brief rest period by reducing water and fertilizer for 2-3 weeks. During this time, maintain bright light but allow the soil to dry more than usual between waterings. This mimics the plant’s natural dry season and prepares it for vigorous blooming.
After this rest period, resume normal care but with slightly increased humidity and fertilization. This sudden return to optimal conditions triggers the plant to produce a flush of blooms as a survival response—similar to how desert plants burst into flower after rainfall.
For even more dramatic results, extend the plant’s daylight exposure to 14 hours using grow lights about three weeks before you want peak blooming to occur.
Types of Goldfish Plants
The goldfish plant is split between two genera, Columnea and Nematanthus, which in turn contain cultivars and hybrids. There are varieties with red or yellow flowers.
- Nematanthus ‘Tropicana‘ — This cultivar features flowers with red and orange stripes. black goldfish plant.
- Nematanthus ‘Green Magic’: It has bright orange flowers.
- Nematanthus ’Black Gold’: This cultivar is characterised by its red-glossy leaves and orange-yellow flowers.
- Columnea ‘Light Prince’: This cultivar produces bright orange and yellow flowers.
- Columnea ‘Aladdin’s Lamp’: This variety has blackish foliage with red flowers.
- Columnea ‘Chanticleer’: This goldfish plant produces tubular, yellow flowers tipped in red.
- Nematanthus with orange and yellow flowersNehring / Getty Images
Pruning
You’ll need to prune your goldfish plant to encourage it to create more flowers and new growth, as well as to help it maintain its shape. Prune in early spring, just before the growing season. You can also trim the long branches and remove dead and yellow leaves, in addition to doing so. To prune, make an angled cut just beneath a node at the end of the stem.
Pruning Tip
Best Pruners For Your Goldfish Plant? To ensure your plant is happy and healthy, we tested 10 top-rated pruners in our Lab.
Propagating Goldfish Plant
Seeds are discouraged for propagation of goldfish plants, and it is very hard to do so without them in their natural environment. However, goldfish plants are more easily propagated with stem-tip cuttings stuck first in water, then in soil. Here’s how:
- Pick stems: Select stem tips that lack flower buds and are two to three inches long. Remove the bottom leaves.
- Dip into rooting hormone: If you are using a woody plant–type cutting, dip the tips of the cuttings in rooting hormone to increase the odds of success.
- Set the cuttings: Set the cuttings in a glass or jar of clean water and put the cuttings in a warm area with some light.
- How to take care of the cutting: Pour fresh water into the container weekly.
- Look out: The roots will come out in two weeks.
- Step 5 — Pot the cuttings: After they have grown a few more inches, the cuttings can be put into a pot filled with potting soil.
- Caring for the new plant: After planting cuttings in fresh soil, put them in a warm, bright spot and mist frequently until you see new growth. It takes from propagation to the following summer to flower the new plants to flower.
Potting and Repotting
Like many tropicals, goldfish plants prefer to be a little pot-bound, and they reportedly respond by growing more vigorously and producing better flower displays. Thus, only repot the plant every two to three years. When you repot, you can also give the parent plant a gentle root pruning to stimulate new root growth. They are rooted in air and space with succulent potting mix.
Overwintering
When winter comes, you’d want to cut back on watering your goldfish plant and let the soil dry completely between waterings. You’ll also want to try to maintain high humidity, so keeping your plant in the bathroom can be a good idea for this, as well. It can be kept outside during freezing temperatures. Goldfish plant propagation.
Pests and Common Plant Diseases
Keep an eye out for aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs on your goldfish plants, as they are frequent pests on this tropical plant. The solution to the problem: to use insecticidal soap.Goldfish plant for sale.
The goldfish plant is also susceptible to mould and fungus growth. Similar to its cousin, the African violet, do not wet the leaves of the goldfish plant, as this could cause fungal issues.
Secret Tip : Address Pests and Problems Proactively
Even minor pest issues or environmental stresses can divert a goldfish plant’s energy away from flower production. For maximum blooming within 30 days, implement a proactive monitoring and maintenance routine.
Inspect your plant weekly for common pests like aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites, which are particularly attracted to the tender growing tips where flowers form. Treat any infestations immediately with insecticidal soap or neem oil, applied in the evening when beneficial insects are less active.
Yellowing leaves often indicate overwatering, while brown leaf tips suggest insufficient humidity. Addressing these issues promptly redirects the plant’s resources toward bloom production rather than recovery efforts.
Additionally, isolate any newly purchased goldfish plants for two weeks before placing them near your existing collection to prevent potential pest introduction that could compromise blooming.
Goldfish Plant Blooming: How to Get Your Goldfish Plant to Bloom
Bloom Months
Goldfish plants flower in spring, summer, and autumn. These plants go dormant in the winter, though they also sometimes continue blooming in winter.
Goldfish Plant Flowers Look Smell Like?
In bloom, small tubular flowers resemble animated goldfish doing the leaping in midair. Older, larger stems will go over the edges of a pot and create a very pretty display when they flower, particularly in hanging baskets. These perky little blooms are fragrance-free. Goldfish plant varieties.
How to Encourage More Blooms
Pinch off the new stems to promote bushy growth and more flowering. Fertilise with dilute fertiliser once a week or every other week during the active growing season to stimulate flowering.
What to a Goldfish Plant After Flowers
Just deadhead any spent flowers when you notice them. It will promote even more growth and blooms.
Common Issues With Goldfish Plant
Goldfish plants are a little fussy, but the plant’s issues usually come from overwatering. Look out for these signs.
Pest to Watch
Spider mites are a common pest of houseplants and can cause a lot of damage to your plants if left uncontrolled. Be sure to inspect your plants for webbing on the undersides of the leaves, which is possible evidence of spider mites, as well as small spider-like insects or tiny white dots (their eggs). Brown wilted leaves on your goldfish plant may be a symptom of spider mites, which can be treated with neem oil or an insecticidal soap.
Leggy Growth
Jerky leggy growth is most often due to overwatering. The other scenario that can cause leggy growth is if the plant is in an environment where the humidity is too high.
Browning Leaves or Leaf Drop
These plants are somewhat sensitive to high temperatures and moisture on their leaves, so if you start seeing browning or leaf drop, it may be that the temperatures are too high or the leaves are getting wet.
Conclusion
Successfully coaxing abundant blooms from a goldfish plant requires understanding and replicating its native tropical conditions. By implementing these ten specialized techniques—optimizing light exposure, creating proper humidity levels, using well-draining soil, following strategic fertilization, mastering pruning techniques, maintaining ideal temperatures, selecting appropriate pots, manipulating growth cycles, and preventing pest problems—you can transform a reluctant bloomer into a cascading display of colorful “swimming” flowers within just 30 days.
Remember that consistency is key when implementing these techniques. While each tip is valuable individually, the dramatic 30-day transformation comes from their combined and consistent application. With patience and attention to these specialized care requirements, your goldfish plant will reward you with the vibrant, fish-shaped blooms that make this houseplant a beloved favorite among indoor gardeners.
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