Easy-to-care-for and low-maintenance and fast-growing, tradescantia houseplants are great for hanging and shelving.
Tradescantia houseplant, or spiderwort, might sound like something out of the 70s, but it’s still one of the most popular houseplants or groundcover plants. It’s a hardy tropical plant that can have either a trailing or upright stem and lots of colorful leaves. Depending on what kind you’re growing, it’s usually purple and often has shades of silver, green, cream, pink, gold, and more.
Some light-colored varieties even have dark purple undertones, which adds a really cool touch.
This guide will show you how to take care of your tradescantia, including how to water it, its light preferences, temperature preferences, humidity preferences, and any extra care it needs to help it grow.
If you’re looking for a way to take care of your Tradescantia, here’s the guide you need to know. We’ll cover how to water it, its light preferences, temperature preferences, humidity preferences, and any extra care it needs. We won’t tell you to fertilize it, but it’s worth it if you want to see better growth.
Just make sure to fertilize it in the spring or summer with a semi-permanent liquid fertilizer or a controlled release fertilizer. Tradescanteens don’t care much for soil, but they’ll tolerate it if it’s all-purpose. If you want to keep them moist, you could mix in moisture retainer stuff like vermiculites and peat moss.
They like bright indirect light, so if they don’t get enough, you’ll notice their leaf markings start to fade. Outside, they like mild climates that don’t go below 50 degrees, but direct sun will burn their leaves.
Tradescantia is named for its vining nature, so it needs to be pruned regularly to keep it looking nice and bushy. Pinching back about a quarter of the plant can help encourage branching and make it more full. One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how well you take care of it, it’ll start to dry out and get leggy after a year or two. But it’s easy to spread, so you just have to plant cuttings to keep it going.
If you have a Pinched-Off Leaf Cuttings, you can pass them down from one friend to another and have a full-blown houseplant in no time. It’s also a great way to “refresh” your plant when it’s getting old. There are a few different ways to do this. You can just pinch off a branch or few branches and soak them in some fresh soil.
After a few weeks, you’ll start to see some new growth. You can also root them in water, if you want. Or, you could lay a stem of about an inch across the soil and it’ll start to grow where the roots touch.
It’s hard to tell the difference between different types, like most plants, so you might know them by other names like inch plants, Purple Heart, etc. There are a bunch of different types of Tradescantsia, like the ones that look green or silver with purple undertones, and they can even come in pink.
Tradescantia needs to be potted in a container with drainage holes. If you’re planting in a pot, make sure it’s fresh and use a potting mix. Tradescantia doesn’t need to be repotted too often, but it’s a good idea to move it into a slightly bigger container if you see roots sticking out of the drainage holes. Spring is the best time to do the repotting.
Tradescantia doesn’t have a lot of pests to worry about. Aphids are the biggest problem, but they can be easily killed with a good amount of water. You should keep an eye out for bugs on their leaves, but diseases aren’t common for this species.
If you accidentally overwater your plant, you might notice some signs that it’s in trouble. It might be hard to tell right away, but the leaves may start to turn yellow or wilt and the new growth may look stunted. More importantly, if the roots start to rot, you’ll know it’s root rot. You’ll also know if the soil smells funky.
Signs of underwatering are usually more visible than those from overwatering. These include drooping or withering leaves, brown or pale spots on the leaves.
Burned spots and faded leaves are some of the signs that your plant is getting too much sun. Too much sun can cause the leaves to turn yellow, brown or whitish, and the stems and leaves to dry out quickly since they can’t hold on to moisture. Signs of too little sun are slow or slow growth, and the leaves may be pale or yellow.
The plant can also become weak and limp because the leaves can’t photosynthesise properly, which means they can’t produce the energy they need to grow and thrive.
If you want your plant to thrive, the best place to put it is near a sunny window. That way, it can get plenty of bright, indirect light and stay warm and moist. It should also have a consistent temperature throughout the day, no hot or cold air coming in from the vents or air conditioners, as these can cause damage to the plant’s leaves.
If you’re looking for a fun houseplant to add a splash of color to your home, you might have come across the Tradescanticia houseplant. It’s a colorful houseplant with tiny purple leaves that grow up the side of the house. It’s a great way to add texture and interest to your home, and with the right care, it can really make a statement.
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.