Tradescantia Fluminensis is a less common tradescantia varietal with beautiful pink pastel and green coloration. It tends to be a vigorous grower in both water and soil, making it a fun plant to grow. We love them because they are so easy to propagate and grow in water! The Fluminensis varietal has a thicker stock than the common Zubrina varietals, growing with less of the chaotic growth structure tradescantia are known for.
Native to South America and the Carribean
Commelinaceae
Common names include zebrina pendula (botanical name), inch plant, spiderwort, and tradescantia pendula.
Tradescantia come in a number of colors and varieties, ranging from white and green, pastel pink, and various shades of purple. A few of those includeTradescantia fluminensis, Tradescantia blossfeldiana, Tradescantia sillamontana, Tradescantia spathacea, Tradescantia virginiana, Tradescantia longipes, Tradescantia mollipila, Tradescantia pallida (“Purple Heart”), and Tradescantia Callisia.
Can be mildly toxic to pets and humans if consumed.
For healthy plants, we recommend that you add water to the glass every 1 - 2 weeks (or if you see that water levels have lowered) to replenish the water that evaporated or absorbed from the plants. Then, replace the water every 2-4 weeks.
Most tap water works great but distilled or filtered waters are recommended if available.
Tradescantia prefers bright, indirect light but grows well in partial direct light as well. In lower light settings, expect your tradescantia to be a bit more leggy as the plant stretches for brighter light.
On the other hand, Tradescantia one of the few that thrive in direct sunlight! The more sun it gets, the more the color starts to pop
Ideal temperatures are between 65 and 85 degrees but will continue to grow in somewhat warmer temperatures as well.
Tradescantia has no special humidity requirements.
Tradescantia tend to be an easy plant to propagate in water. Simply submerge a node in water with at least 3 leaves above it, and then place it in a warm space with good indirect sunlight. Nodes can easily be identified by finding any point at which a leaf is growing. Simply remove the leaves and your node is ready to grow roots.
See the video above for a full step by step walkthrough!
Identification: A lack of colored stripes on the leaves and/or dulling of color
Cause: Not enough Light
How to treat:Try moving your plant around a bit. Generally closer to windows is a good start, but also testing other walls and spaces helps.
Identification: Deep purples begin to fade in new leaf growth
Cause: Insufficient nutrients
How to treat:Track down a liquid nutrient solution that you can add to your water and begin adding drops once or twice a month
Identification: Dead or browning leaves
Cause: If the leaves are older (closer to the roots), this may be natural and part of the natural plant growth. Newer leaves growing in brown is likely a lack of oxygen in the water. Additionally, leaves which end up submerged in water will turn brown.
How to treat: For all of the scenarios above, removing the dying leaves is the first step. Then, if the issue is a lack of oxygen in the water, simply replace the water for the plant and then continue on a 2 week to monthly water replacement schedule.
