Columnea 'Parrot' is the trailing gesneriad that arrived in the most vivid, most tropical colorway the genus has produced—those tubular flowers in brilliant red-orange with yellow striping emerge along cascading dark green vines in a color combination so precisely tropical and so vividly parrot-like it looks less like a houseplant blooming and more like someone trained an exotic bird to perch along a trailing vine and then gave the whole arrangement the ability to grow. She blooms with the characteristic Columnea generosity that makes the genus so rewarding, and those vivid striped tubular flowers against the dense dark glossy foliage create a display so warm and so precisely tropical it makes every other flowering trailing plant look like it's not quite committing to the color. Vivid, striped, tropical, and entirely committed to the parrot mythology.
Care Card
🌿 Light — Bright indirect to some direct morning sun. Those vivid red-orange and yellow striped blooms require good light to appear and keep appearing with the tropical generosity that makes the Parrot so rewarding; low light produces lush dark trailing foliage and significantly fewer of the dramatically striped flowers that are the whole vibrant point.
💧 Water — Let the top inch dry between waterings, then water thoroughly and drain. Consistently moist but never waterlogged; more moisture-tolerant than many trailing gesneriads but still unforgiving of consistently soggy conditions that shut down the vivid striped bloom production faster than anything else.
💨 Humidity — 50–70% preferred. Gesneriad family member with predictably consistent humidity expectations; a humidifier or pebble tray keeps those glossy trailing leaves looking most lush and supports the generous vivid bloom production that makes the Parrot so consistently and tropically rewarding.
🌡️ Temperature — 60–80°F. Never below 55°F. A slight temperature drop in winter can trigger a spectacular striped bloom flush that makes the whole patient growing season feel like it was building toward exactly this tropical payoff—one of the Columnea's most cooperative and most colorfully welcome seasonal traits.
🌱 Fertilizer — High-phosphorus bloom booster every 2–3 weeks in spring and summer. Consistent feeding directly supports those vivid red-orange and yellow striped blooms; skip the feeding and the parrot stops performing and the whole tropical color story loses its most vivid chapter.
⚠️ Toxicity — Non-toxic to cats, dogs, and humans. Pet-safe and tropically floriferous—hang her anywhere the vivid striped tropical bloom display works, which is everywhere that needs more color and more tropical energy.
🐣 Beginner Friendly? — Getting there. Humidity preferences and bloom-triggering temperature drop require some understanding—but she's one of the most vivid and most tropically rewarding trailing plants for intermediate growers who want something that consistently delivers the most colorful and most dramatically striped blooming performance in the genus.
HOW OUR SHIPPING WORKS
For more details, please see our Shipping Policy to support your plants for a healthy journey in all seasons.
PLEASE NOTE: What you see is the vibe — not the exact plant. 🌿 Each plant has its own personality (some a little more dramatic than others). Leaf shape, size, and variegation will vary, but pot size is consistent.
