Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’

Origin of Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’

Cryptanthus bivittatus is native to Brazil. ‘Super Pink’ is a horticultural selection of this species.

How to care for Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’

Keep Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’ in bright indirect or filtered light. Its intense pink colour can fade in dimmer conditions, while strong midday sun can scorch the leaves.

Keep it at about 18–28 °C and avoid prolonged temperatures below 15 °C. Keep the surrounding air near 60–80% humidity. Avoid cold draughts and direct heat from radiators or heaters. A bright bathroom can provide humid conditions if there is enough light.

Choose an organic potting mix that stays lightly moist around the roots but lets surplus water escape, such as fine bark mixed with peat-free multipurpose compost. Water when the surface feels dry to the touch while the deeper mix is still moist. Let the pot drain fully, empty the saucer or outer pot and keep water from sitting in the rosette centre. If growth slows, the mix will take longer to reach this point.

Feed at half strength with a balanced liquid fertiliser about monthly while the plant is actively growing, then pause when growth stops.

Attached offsets can remain with the parent and form a cluster. Move the cluster into a slightly larger pot at the same depth once the rosettes crowd the container.

For a separate plant, wait until an offset is around one-third the size of the parent and releases without force after a gentle twist and tug. Use a small pot with drainage holes and freely draining mix. Preserve any roots it already has; for a rootless offset, place the short stem in a shallow depression and firm the mix around it.

Keep the lowest leaf base at or just above the surface and stake the offset lightly if it rocks, until the roots hold it in place. Keep it warm in bright indirect light while it establishes. During establishment, water when the surface feels dry while the deeper mix remains moist.

Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’: signs of trouble and what to do

• The intense pink colour fades or the leaves develop bleached brown areas: If the pink colour fades in a dim position, move the plant into brighter indirect light. If the leaves bleach or brown after intense direct sun, shield the plant from direct exposure and return it to filtered light.
• The rosette wilts while the mix stays saturated: Drain the container immediately and empty any water beneath it. If the plant remains wilted while the mix is still wet, inspect the roots. Soft brown roots may be rotting. When enough firm healthy roots remain, cut the decayed sections back to healthy tissue with clean tools, discard them and repot in fresh organic mix that holds some moisture while draining freely. Resume watering when the surface feels dry to the touch and deeper mix is still moist.
• Leaf tips turn brown: Check whether the mix has dried too far or stayed waterlogged. Rewet a dry mix thoroughly and drain it. If the mix is waterlogged, remove standing water and wait for the surface to feel dry to the touch before watering again, while moisture remains deeper in the pot. When the mix around the roots is already moist, dry moving air can also contribute; move the plant away from heating or cooling vents and raise humidity if needed.
• Cottony white insects or deposits appear in the rosette: Inspect the leaf bases and undersides for mealybugs and isolate the plant while infestation is suspected. Hand-remove visible insects when only a few are present. If a labelled indoor mealybug treatment is needed, test a small area and wait at least 48 hours to check for leaf injury before wider use. Follow the label for application and repeat treatments, and keep the plant isolated until the infestation is controlled.

Cryptanthus bivittatus ‘Super Pink’ is non-toxic to cats and dogs

• This plant is non-toxic to cats and dogs.
• Its effects on people are unclear, so keep it away from young children who may chew it.
• Eating a large amount can still cause an upset stomach. Seek medical or veterinary advice if symptoms continue.

The meaning and history of Cryptanthus bivittatus

Cryptanthus combines Greek kryptos, meaning hidden, with anthos, meaning flower. Bivittatus means two-banded or two-striped, from the Latin bi, two, and vitta, band.

Christoph Friedrich Otto and Albert Gottfried Dietrich established the genus Cryptanthus in 1836 in Allgemeine Gartenzeitung, volume 4, page 298.

William Jackson Hooker first described it as Billbergia bivittata in 1861 in Botanical Magazine, volume 87, plate 5270. Eduard August von Regel later placed it in Cryptanthus as Cryptanthus bivittatus in 1865 in Index Seminum (LE, Petropolitanus), volume 1864, issue supplement, page 15.