TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE TIPS, TRICKS & PROPAGATING

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SOURCES https://www.thespruce.com/tradescantia-care-overview-1902775 https://plantcaretoday.com/wandering-jew-plant.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradescantia TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE This plant is growing as a ‘ground cover’ for a pot of Caladiums in my Greenhouse. THE BASICS INCH PLANT | WANDERING ‘DUDE’ (JEW) | BOLIVIAN JEW | SPIDERWORT PURPLE HEART | MOSES-IN-A-BOAT | SPIDER LILY | OYSTER PLANT

TRADESCANTIEAE Herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants in the genus Commelinaceae. Considered a noxious weed in many parts of the world because it is so easily propagated from stem fragments. *Grows in a scrambling fashion, in clumps, semi upright.

*Some of the below family members may grow in slightly different ways.

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE: Some are often misidentified as Tradescantia or Callisia. Some are beautiful in their own right and should be more popular in the house plant trade.

Tinantia, Weldenia, Thysanthemum, Elasis, Gibasis, Tripogandra, Amischotolype, Coleotrype, Cyanotis, Belosynapsis, Dichorisandra, Siderasis, Cochliostema, Plowmanianthus, Geogenanthus, Palisota & Spatholirion This is a Cyanotis kewensis, also called the Teddy Bear Vine. It is often mislabeled as a Tradescantia or fuzzy Wandering Jew. SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE Callisia repens

PROVIDING THE BEST CARE CARE IS MOSTLY THE SAME FOR THE COMMONLY FOUND TRADESCANTIA VARIETIES

MATURE SIZE: 6 to 9 inches in height, 12 to 24 inches in spread. Pinching back the tips of new growth promotes a bushier plant. Callisia repens SUN EXPOSURE: Bright, indirect sun. Can become scraggly & leggy with lower sunlight levels. Also without enough light, the plants may lose their purple or red colors and variegation. With too much light, leaves will become pale and may scorch.

SOIL TYPE: Moderately moist potting soil, but not soggy. Needs a well draining soil.

FLOWERS: Flowers freely, small 3-petaled pink, white or purple flowers. The purple speckling on the top of leaves is a common indicator the plant is HARDINESS ZONES: 9 to 12 (USDA); grown as a houseplant everywhere receiving a ton of light! - be aware, these are listed an invasive weed in many places.

TEMPERATURE: Prefers temps between 55° & 75° F. BRIGHT, INDIRECT LIGHT FERTILIZE: Feed with a diluted general plant fertilizer every LET DRY BETWEEN WATERING few weeks during the growing season. TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE Tradescantia fluminensis ‘tricolor’ This plant in particular would probably prefer a lower light spot - you can tell because of how pale the greens of the leaves are. A lower light location would also slow down how fast old leaves die & fall off. TIPS & TRICKS THESE ARE A VERY EASY AND FORGIVING GROUP OF PLANTS

It’s easy to get discouraged with these plants - they may not grow how you like, leaves may brown and die off quickly. But remember! These plants will grow from only stem fragments.

If your plant is too leggy, cut it back and put the growing tip in soil. This will make your plant bushier and get rid of the leggyness. Do this as often as you like.

The same goes for bare stems, clip them, get rid of them These plants shed - a lot! and put the portion with leaves in soil to grow anew. They grow, drop and grow new leaves so fast that they are constantly dropping old leaves. Also if they are flowering the flowers fade fast. It’s nothing to worry about if there’s also plenty of new growth. TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE

DISPLAY IDEAS NORMALLY GROWN IN HANGING BASKETS, THERE ARE A FEW UNUSUAL WAYS TO DISPLAY THESE QUICK GROWING PLANTS.

The growing habit of most Tradescantia makes a hanging basket an attractive option to show of a full pot with long vining tendrils. Another option is to plant many varieties together to show off their different colors and variegation patterns. Because of their creeping growth habit and tendency to root wherever they touch dirt, these plants make great candidates for planting as ground cover in large pots. These plants are planted as ground cover underneath larger trees.

This technique keeps pets or children away from open dirt, acts as mulch for The short internodes are a sign this plant is receiving a the larger plant and allows for more plants in fewer pots! good amount of light. A more unusual way to display these plants is to pin the tendrils Here Tradescantia zebrina to a wall as they grow - this creates a graphic centerpiece that ‘burgundy’ is growing as a ground cover type plant in a large pot of shows off the plant’s variegation and contrast. Monstera deliciosa. TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE Tradescantia fluminensis ‘variegata’

DISPLAY Tradescantia pallida ‘fuzzy purpurea’ IDEAS

THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS!

The longer internodes indicate this plant is receiving lower light.

Tradescantia pallida ‘green’ If you live in zones 11 - 9b don’t plant these plants into the ground outside! If used in container gardening be aware that this family is considered a noxious weed in many places because of how easy they root. TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE

These yellowing leaves are a normal in cuttings that are still rooting. Until there is enough roots to support new leaves, old ones PROPAGATION are dropped to conserve energy. PROCESS THESE ARE QUICK GROWING & REPRODUCING - DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHOP & POP-IN-SOIL TO FILL OUT OR RESTART A BASKET

The Tradescantia family is one of the easiest plants to propagate, so easy in fact its commonly considered an invasive weed in zones 9b - 11.

The first step is to locate a node, strip the leaf growing at that node and put in your favorite propagating medium: soil, water, moss etc. Cuttings will usually root in 1 - 2 weeks (or less) depending on temperature & humidity.

This is a node

This is a node Purple backs & purple speckling on the top of leaves are common indicators the plant is A group of freshly potted cuttings of receiving a ton of light! This is a node Tradescantia fluminensis ‘tricolor’ and Callisia repens ‘tricolor,’ rooting in the greenhouse. Tradescantia fluminensis ‘tricolor’ Tradescantia pallida ‘fuzzy purpurea’ Callisia repens ‘tricolor’ TRADESCANTIEAE TRIBE

Tradescantia fluminensis ‘variegata’

This is a node

Step 1 - Find a strand you want to trim Step 2 - Cut the strand Step 3 - Locate the nodes Step 4 - Strip the leaves from those nodes

Step 5 - Plant those strands so the nodes are under soil. They should root within a few weeks!

If you prefer to root in water - go for it!