Cape leadwort
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Cape plumbago.
Cape leadwort is toxic
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Toxic to people. Irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sunRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Crisp margins that appear in winter
The cape leadwort shows browning on many leaves at once, all at the margin, with no spots or soft patches anywhere.
The edges fail first because they are the end of the plumbing. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and winter heating regularly takes a room under it.
Telling it apart: Whether the damage advances. Dry air marks a leaf and stops; rot keeps going.
Penn State ExtensionCape leadwort brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Dry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
The damage on the cape leadwort faces one way. Turn the pot round and the other side is clean.
Nothing here disputes the full sun its source names. The damage comes from the change: foliage formed in lower light is thin, and a sudden move into direct sun bleaches it faster than tougher growth can replace it.
Telling it apart: Whether it appeared after a move. Scorch follows a change in position within days.
RHSDiagnose spots on the leaves on this Cape leadwort- Leaves but no flowers
The cape leadwort flowered well at first, then less each season, while its leaves stayed healthy and new stems grew longer.
Its source places it in full sun. Flowers cost more than leaves, and a plant kept darker than that keeps growing leaves while it builds few buds or none.
Telling it apart: The spacing of the newest leaves. Stretched growth means the light is short; normal spacing points at timing or feeding.
RHSDiagnose no flowers or dropped buds on this Cape leadwort- Wrinkling rather than yellowing
The plant droops as a whole rather than losing particular leaves, and the soil surface has gone pale and hard.
Water held in the cells keeps a leaf rigid. With the compost dry beyond what its source describes as well-drained, that water is used and not replaced.
Telling it apart: Whether the soil has pulled from the pot wall. That gap is the mark of soil taken properly dry.
RHSCape leadwort leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Cape leadwort.
Routine care
- Watering
- Give container plants little water in winter.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Under glass, give full light and use a peat-free compost that is loam-based; water generously during growth and feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Under glass, keep in full light in a loam-based, peat-free compost; water generously during growth and give a balanced liquid fertiliser each month.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- While dormant, keep only just moist; in spring, top-dress or repot.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- SeedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In spring sow seed at 13-18°C, or in mid-summer take semi-hardwood cuttings with bottom heat.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- In early spring, pruning group 12.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Plumbago auriculata, the Cape leadwort, blue plumbago or Cape plumbago, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to South Africa and Mozambique.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Mozambique to S. AfricaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Mozambique to South AfricaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026S AfricaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- scrambling shrubWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Annual, Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial, Shrub, Vine; habit arching, mounding, roundedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Climbing, Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 72–180 in; width 72–96 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 2.5-4 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers blue, pink, white; blooms in fall, summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers blue in summer and autumnRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Cape leadwort
Plants with similar care
African violetBrown tips on the newest leaves first
Bigleaf hydrangeaA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Bird of paradiseCrisp margins that appear in winter
Busy LizzieBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
CamelliaBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.