Plants with Pink Leaves (Including Plants with Pink and Green Leaves) – Pictures and Identification

Pink leaf plants are beautiful plants to brighten up interiors with shades of salmon pink, fuchsia, cerise, magenta, and rose pink. Whether the pink leaves are striped, speckled, variegated, mottled, or pure pastel pink, pink plants create a warm, tropical touch in any room. In addition, houseplants with pink and green leaves create exciting color combinations that can be an eye-catching talking piece or the focal point. Of course, if you live in warm climates, pink-leaved plants look stunning in a tropical garden landscape.

Some types of pink and green plants like caladiums, arrowhead vines, Ti plants, and begonias have dramatic foliage and colorful leaves. Other indoor pink plants like nerve plants, polka dot plants, pink jelly bean plants, and calico kittens have small pinkish or pink and green leaves.

Plants with pink leaves don’t only have to be foliage plants. For example, many types of succulents have pink-colored fleshy leaves or bluish-green leaves with tinges of light pink shading.

This article is a guide to identifying some of the most spectacular pink houseplants. You will also find out about suitable outdoor pink plants for your yard if you live in USDA zones 9 to 11.

Plants with Pink Leaves (Including Pictures)

Some pink houseplants have green, white and pink leaves, and others just have pink and green foliage. A few tropical plants have large leaves that are entirely pink. Let’s look at the many varieties of indoor and outdoor plants with pink leaves.

Pink Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum)

The Syngonium ‘Pink Robusta’ and ‘Neon Robusta’ are varieties of tropical climbing plants with dusty pink leaves. The pink Syngonium has large, light pink arrow-shaped leaves on the ends of arching stems. As the characteristic arrowhead leaves grow, they develop into multi-lobed ‘goosefoot’ leaves.

Part of the appeal of pink arrowhead Syngonium plants is the combination of dusty pink and green leaves. The clumping pink houseplant will brighten up any modern interior, growing in a pot or climbing up a moss pole. A pink Syngonium grows well in a hanging basket. Its trailing rosy pink and green leaves create a beautiful vertical effect.

Related reading: How to care for arrowhead plants.

Philodendron Pink Princess (Philodendron erubescens)

The Philodendron ‘Pink Princess’ is a spectacular variegated indoor plant with large pink and green waxy leaves.  The pink variegation on the thick, leathery leaves can almost fill one-half of the leaf. The large pink patches can also have light green patterns. Additionally, pink dots are also typical on the dark green leaf part.

A type of philodendron with pure pink leaves is called the Philodendron ‘Pink Congo.’ However, unlike the ‘Pink Princess,’ which has natural pink variegation, the ‘Pink Congo’ bright pink leaves are obtained by injecting a chemical to turn the philodendron leaves pink. Usually, the leaves on Pink Congo Philodendrons revert to green six to twelve months after buying them.

Related reading: How to care for the philodendron pink princess.

Pink-Leaved Caladiums

Caladium is a group of tropical plants with spectacular pink, green, and white fancy leaves or strap leaves. Also called ‘angel wings,’ many caladium varieties have bright pink veins contrasting with green, white-spotted leaves. Some caladium plants have pink leaves with dark red veins and green margins. Other caladiums have green leaves with pink and white spots.

Dark red or pink patterns are typical traits of caladium plants. Due to the leaves’ dramatic colors and heart shape, caladiums are also called the ‘heart of Jesus’ plant.

Here are some descriptions of caladium cultivars to help identify the pink and green houseplants:

• Caladium ‘Carolyn Whorton’ (Caladium bicolor ‘Carolyn Whorton’) – The sun tolerant ‘Carolyn Whorton’ caladium has large, heart-shaped leaves with pink, red, and green colors. Dark-green margins surround pink leaves that feature red veins in the center.

• Caladium ‘Florida Red Ruffles’—The colorful ‘Florida Red Ruffles’ has large arrowhead leaves with dark pink leaves, blood-red veins, and green margins with white speckles.

• Caladium ‘Strawberry Star’—The fancy-leaf caladium has large pointed white leaves with green veining and pink blotches on them.

• Caladium bicolor ‘Thai Beauty’—This strap-leaf caladium has stunning pink and green leaves with intricate pink, green, and white network patterns.

• Angel Wings ‘White Queen’—The caladium leaves are white and green with deep pink to light pink veining.

Related reading: Caladium Plant Care.

Pink Aglaonema (Aglaonema costatum)

Pink Aglaonema plants are easy-to-care houseplants with broad, ovate leaves and pink and green patterns. Also called Chinese evergreen plants, the bushy foliage and light pink colors look spectacular in any home interior. Aglaonema cultivars and hybrids come in various shades of red and pink, so you can choose one to match your color scheme.

Here are some stunning types of pink-leaved aglaonema varieties to consider growing indoors:

• Aglaonema ‘Pink Dalmatian’—Pictures of this pink and green houseplant show it has shiny green, ovate leaves with splotches of pink colors that look like splashes of paint.

• Aglaonema ‘Super Pink’—The Chinese evergreen has vibrantly colored bright pink leaves with hints of green around the margins.

• Aglaonema ‘Pink Splash’ – This Aglaonema cultivar has broad, glossy green pointed leaves with pink splashes. The level of pink variegation on the leaves depends on the amount of sunlight it gets.

• Aglaonema ‘Two-Tone Moonstone’ – The beautiful green leaves have pink central ribs and masses of pink speckles.

Related reading: Aglaonema Care Guide.

Calico Kitten (Crassula pellucida marginalis Variegata)

The calico kitten plant is a beautiful type of succulent with small heart-shaped pink and green leaves. The best way to ensure pink leaves grow on a calico kitten plant is to put it on a bright windowsill. Sunlight will cause the white and green variegated leaves to develop pink blushing. Eventually, the leaves turn deep pink.

Crassula succulents are also called jade plants. Other types of crassula have green leaves with tinges of pink. Here are two green and pink-leaved Crassula varieties:

• Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’—This succulent has green tubular fleshy leaves with pink ends.

• Silver jade plant (Crassula arborescens)—Silvery-gray round leaves with reddish-pink margins help identify this ‘money plant.’ When it flowers, the silver jade plant produces pink star-shaped flowers.

Pink-Leaved Ti Plants (Cordyline spp.)

Ti plants are tropical indoor plants with stunning bright pink pointed leaves. The evergreen shrub-like plant has spiky-looking foliage that grows in a rosette pattern. Depending on the species, some pink Ti plants can have strap-like long leaves, whereas other varieties have broad, pointed pink leaves. Cordyline fruticosa plants also produce pink, lavender, or white flowers.

Here are a few Cordyline cultivars with stunning pink foliage:

• Cordyline ‘Electric Pink’—The spectacular dark pink plant has maroon-purple long leaves with bold pink stripes.

• Cordyline fruticosa ‘Firebrand’—Identify this pink plant by its large arching pointed leaves that are dark pink to dark red growing on bright pink stems.

• Cordyline fruticosa ‘Rubra’—The subtropical Cordyline ‘Rubra’ is suitable for indoor planting. The broad leaves emerge a pink russet-red and gradually darken to dark magenta-red.

• Cordyline ‘Pink Integrity’ – The dark oval green leaves have pink margins.

Pink Coleus

Pink coleus indoor plants have colorful leaves consisting of deep pink, yellow, red, and green colors. In addition, coleus plants have serrated edges and ovate shapes. The coleus varieties with pink and green leaves generally have lime green margins with vibrantly-colored light pink to deep pink centers.

An example of pink coleus is the Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Pink Chaos.’ This attractive houseplant has narrow pink leaves with bright green margins. You can plant pink and green coleus plants in the garden as annuals in gardens in temperate climates. The plants’ colorful pink and green foliage creates attractive borders, container plantings, or hanging baskets.

Further reading: Coleus Care Guide.

Pink Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)

The pink polka dot plant is a colorful houseplant with green leaves and splashes of light pink coloring. On some plants, the mottled pink coloring is so much that it almost turns the small oval leaves pure pink. However, as an indoor plant, pink polka dot plants are easy to care for and suitable for closed terrariums.

Here are a few beautiful examples of pink polka dot plants:

• Pink Splash Plant—The small evergreen plant has dark purple leaves with bright splashes of vibrant pink.

• ‘Pink Splash Select’—The pink ovate-shaped leaves have wavy margins. The leaf color is almost entirely pink, apart from a green midrib.

Pink Nerve Plant (Fittonia)

Nerve plants get their name from the pink vein-like patterning on green leaves. These compact, easy-grow indoor plants have rich green leaves with pretty pink, red, or lime green mosaic-like patterns. Nerve plants need minimal care at home and are also suitable terrarium plants.

Here are a few cute pink plants with nerve-like or mosaic leaf patterns:

• Fittonia ‘Pink Star’—The compact pink nerve plant has wavy leaves with broad pink lines creating a veined pattern.
• Fittonia ‘Pink Angel’—The attractive feature of this pink nerve plant is its small leaves, compact growth, and intense pink mosaic patterns.
• Fittonia ‘Frankie’—The exceptional pink coloring on this nerve plant makes the leaves look more pink than green.
• Fittonia ‘Pink Vein’—This large-leaved nerve plant has larger leaves than are characteristic of the species. Dark pinkish-red veins are the identifying trait of this nerve plant.

Related reading: How to care for nerve plants.

Rex Begonias (Begonia rex cultorum) with Pink Leaves

Many varieties of rex begonias are pink, pointy-leaved tropical plants that make excellent houseplants. Rex begonias typically have heart-shaped leaves with various shades of pink, purple, and green. You will also notice that the leaves of many begonia varieties have red undersides.

Rex begonias grow well in containers, and their long, thickened stems create beautiful hanging basket plants. You can also grow pink rex begonias outdoors during the summer or throughout the year in USDA zones 10 through 12.

Here are a few examples with pictures of rex begonias with pink and green leaves:

Rex begonia ‘Red Tango’—The pointed heart-shaped leaves have silvery green and pink coloring in the center with a purple-black base and serrated black margins.

Rex begonia ‘Zurich’—The eye-catching begonia leaves have reddish-pink and green leaves with a dramatic dark brown jaggy-looking pattern in the center.

Rex begonia ‘Paul Gibory’—The green leaves of this rex begonia have pink, dark purple and white patterns.

Earth Star (Cryptanthus ‘Pink Star’)

The earth star is a type of bromeliad with pink striped leaves that taper to a point. The vibrant pink leaves of this short plant grow in a flat rosette pattern. Pictures of the pink leaves show that they have wavy margins with small spikes. The earth star doesn’t grow tall, but its leaves grow up to 2 ft. (0.6 m) wide.

The earth star plant is not tolerant of the cold, so the tropical bromeliad is best grown indoors. Like many bromeliad plants, the mother plant dies after flowering. However, you can propagate more earth star plants by collecting the pups and growing them in soil.

Echeveria ‘Perle von Nurnberg’

The Echeveria variety ‘Perle von Nurnberg’ is a succulent plant with leaves shaped like a rose flower and light hues of pink-purple colors. In low-light conditions, the succulent is a gray plant. However, under full sun, the leaf-like stems become a pinkish-purple color. Also, the dainty pink flowers appear in summer.

To ensure healthy growth, keep this Echeveria succulent in full sun and only water it occasionally. You can easily propagate the plant by using leaf cuttings.

Rose Painted Calathea (Calathea roseopicta)

The rose-painted calathea is a spectacular broad-leaved tropical plant that grows exceptionally well indoors. The attractive feature of this Calalthea cultivar is its dark purple, almost black leaves, and painted lines of bright pink or fuchsia brush strokes. In addition, you’ll notice that the leaf undersides are a dark purple—characteristic of many Calathea plants.

The pinstripe calathea (Calathea ornata) is another leafy plant in the family Marantaceae with pink patterns on its leaves. Pinstripe plants have oblong, lance-shaped glossy green leaves with light pink or white stripes. Pairs of thin pink or white lines form diagonal patterns from the midrib to the smooth edge.

Related reading: How to care for calathea plants.

Pink Jelly Bean (Sedum rubrotinctum ‘Aurora’)

The pink jelly is an unusual type of pink-stemmed succulent in the genus Sedum. The pink ornamental jelly-bean plant forms soft, fleshy pink bean-like leaves in a spiral pattern along its short stems. Like most succulents, the vibrant pinks and reds display better when the plant grows in full sun.

Other types of succulents with pink leaves include the following plants:

• Sedum versadense—The identifying feature of this pink sedum is its raspberry-pink stems with leaves in a rosette shape.

• ‘Sunrise’ succulent (Anacampseros telephiastrum ‘Variegata’)—The green leaves turn various shades of pink when the plant grows in the sun.
• ‘Moonstone’ succulent (Pachyphytum oviferum)—The plump stone-like leaves of this small succulent turn a light pink when growing in the shade.

Related reading: How to care for succulents.

Stromanthe sanguinea

The Stromanthe sanguinea is a large tropical plant with thin, long leaves with a green topside and reddish-pink underside. The green leaves have a faint creamy white fishbone patterning on the top. Because the leaves generally appear half-rolled up, the dark pink undersides create a spectacular combination of colors.

Another attractive characteristic of the Stromanthe sanguinea is its reddish-pink stems. Even though the Stramanthe rarely blooms, its colorful green, white, and pink foliage make up for any lack of flowers.

The Stromanthe sanguinea ‘Tricolor’ is a spectacular variegated pink and green tropical houseplant. The stunning broad, oblong leaves have green and vibrant creamy-white patterns on the upper side. With some leaves, the white variegation covers the leaves, leaving only a few small green patches. The leaf undersides have deep pink and dark red coloring, creating a stunning visual effect.

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