Tradescantia root very easily in water or soil, and a handful of cuttings will quickly grow to fill in a 4' pot. In that case, your best bet is to start fresh with cuttings.

Some may also be considered invasive outside in certain areas, so please plant responsibly! Indoors, however, they'll all bring you beauty and joy no matter what zone you live in.Īn example of one of our past mystery boxes rooting in water.Īs your plant ages, you may find, with some species, that they become 'leggy' or look less than stellar. The following plants are only hardy outside in zones 9-11, so be sure to protect them from frost and cold temperatures. As long as they're getting plenty of very bright light, and regular watering (without letting them sit in wet soil for too long), they'll reward you with gorgeous foliage and infrequent flowers that are as much a surprise as they are a delight. Some cultivars or species require slightly different care than others, but for the most part, tradescantia are a very easy plant to grow, either as houseplants or outdoors in the summer or in warmer climates. I hope this photo and the others included in this guide help you identify which variety you have! The photo above shows the difference between four of the most popular tradescantia varieties we carry - top is Callisia repens Bianca, bottom row from left is Lilac, Lavender, and Rainbow. This is a work in progress-and, I've come to realize, always will be! Some information may not be complete, so check back periodically to see if it's been updated! Thank you for your patience and understanding! ~Diana With hundreds of species and cultivars in the world, it's nearly impossible to cover them all, but I'll do my best to keep this updated to reflect any that we have in our collection. This post aims to cover care for all of the varieties we carry, including some that are currently not for sale (see the end for a complete list of what's in our collection). It helps avoid the confusion that can arise over common names shared by different plants, among other benefits. I'm also a firm believer in trying to learn and use the botanical names for plants. A movement is gaining traction to change or stop the use of that common name, due to its sensitive connotations, so we refer to it here by its scientific name. Tradescantia, commonly known as Wandering Jew, are some of the most popular and commonly grown houseplants in the world. Tradescantia varieties cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow-you'll even find blue among the flowers of some species.

Rainbow striped zebra gum