The Fallopia Multiflora Variegated, also known as the "Chinese Knotweed", is a beautiful and fast-growing vining plant that is notorious for being finicky even in ideal conditions. It often requires some nuanced care in order to truly thrive.
It's a popular vining plant due to its aggressive growth and its striking variegation of cream, pink, and green. Other variations, such as the Aurea Fallopia Multiflora, have vibrant yellow and lime-green variegation.
In regards to its growth, the Fallopia is a joy to check up on daily because once it starts vining, that vine grows fast, and if the plant is large enough, will usually put out multiple vines.
Lighting Requirements
Bright indirect light, though it can tolerate some shade. The Fallopia Multifora does best beneath a grow light, but be mindful of how quickly your vines are growing- they can reach the grow light in a matter of a days and wrap themselves around it!
You don't want your plant too close to a grow light or in direct line of the sun, or you will risk burning the leaves due to their high variegation.
Under bright light, the leaves will often burn in as a vibrant pink hue that gradually fades into a creamy white. This also is true of Aurea Fallopia, where the leaves may burn in pink over yellow variegation, and take a little longer to fade.
Humidity & Temperature Requirements
I like to keep my vining plants in relatively ambient humidity (averaging between 45-55%) but Fallopia Multiflora can tolerate, and enjoy, higher humidity between 60-75%. Ensure that you have good ventilation and airflow within plant cabinets if your humidity is higher than 60%.
It tends to vary on what the Fallopia Multiflora enjoys most between different people and their environments. My Fallopia thrive in ambient, but some other close friends of mine have their Fallopia in high humidity cabinets and the plant grows nicely- though it seems the leaves are more prone to melting, leaving the base of the plant leggy.
Personally, I recommend keeping your Fallopia accustomed to ambient humidity, but keep a watchful eye on it to ensure it isn't struggling. If it is, you might just need to keep it near a humidifier or in a cabinet.
For temperatures, 65° F - 75° F is the ideal range to keep them in. Any higher, and you risk melting the leaves.
Soil Medium
Almost all of my plants are kept in a soilless medium of: coco coir husks (or chips), perlite, and tree fern. The benefits of a vining plant is that they can acclimate to almost any medium that you put them in! Ensure that your medium can retain moisture, as the Fallopia Multiflora is incredibly thirsty, but keep it chunky enough that there's adequate drainage so that the roots won't rot.
Additions such as leca, worm castings, and charcoal are also great additions. You can also use a semihydro medium such as fluval + perlite or pure pon, and these vining plants often adapt quite well to it.
Regardless of your medium, I highly encourage the use of a self-watering pot. If you use coco coir, I find it can dry out rather quickly, so I like to add tree fern to the mix and make it self-watering. You do not want your medium to dry out with the Fallopia Multiflora- they can be very dramatic and will wilt and die very quickly.
Watering & Feeding Schedule
The Fallopia Multiflora is INCREDIBLY THIRSTY. I often find myself having to water them every two-four days (and that's with a full reservoir).
Your watering schedule will depend on your environment and the soil medium that your plant is in, but once or twice a week is usually adequate. You want to ensure your soil remains moist at all times, but not too soggy or waterlogged. While the Fallopia can absolutely handle overwatering, the leaves may get edema.
I highly encourage that you place your Fallopia Multiflora in a self-watering pot so that you can easily top off the water when necessary. You do not want to underwater this plant, because it will wilt and die on you faster than you can blink.
Since these are fast growing plants, they enjoy a good boost in nutrients, and I feed mine weekly. Be sure to flush out the excess nutrients and salt once a month. If you are using a soilless medium or a semihydro, be sure to feed the appropriate amount of nutrients often, as this plant will need it.
Propagation
Fallopia Multiflora are very easy to propagate. They can be cut anywhere along the stem and will develop roots along the stem. Simply place your cuttings in your desired medium (I prefer fluval + perlite) and they usually begin to root anywhere from 7-14 days. In another two weeks, those cuttings will begin to grow rapidly.
Trimming your mother plant encourages it to push out new (and usually multiple) vines, resulting in a fuller, bushier plant. You should also trim any vines with leaves that are pure white/pink (or pure green) back down to the last nicely variegated leaf (even amounts of green and white) so that your plant might push out vines with more stable variegation.
Vines with white/pink leaves do not last long and will crisp up fast. I have tried to propagate them many times, but they usually will die off before they can get rooted and growing. Sometimes, if there's small splashes of green, the prop can be successful.
Troubleshooting + Tips
The Fallopia Multiflora is incredibly dramatic, even if you meet all the right conditions, so here are some troubleshooting tips that might help reduce the drama:
- Avoid extreme environmental changes, as this can cause your Fallopia Multiflora to go into shock and wilt (usually they bounce back in a few days, sometimes a week).
- If your plant wilts and droops, mimic its original environment and temperatures as best you can and/or introduce it to some higher humidity. The higher humidity will provide a boost, and Fallopia Multiflora can generally bounce back within a few days under a dome.
- It is common for these plants to wilt and be dramatic if they have recently been repotted or moved. Humidity boosts will help it bounce back.
- Avoid burns and ugly spotting on your leaves by ensuring your plant space has adequate airflow and lighting. Don't keep your plants too close to the light and be sure to feed your plants weekly to ensure they get enough nutrients to maintain their variegation.
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