Syngonium owes its popularity, among other things, to its easy cultivation. It is an extraordinarily beautiful plant that grows at an express pace and is undemanding. It surprises with its multitude and variety of varieties in a huge range of colours. As a result, everyone is sure to find their favourite.

Tradescantia - plant characteristics

The Wandering Jew (Tradescantia) is a representative of the comelina family. In the wild, it is found in the lands of the Americas. The plant grows impressively fast. It produces long overhanging stems and is therefore very often grown in suspended containers. Wandering Jew are among the plants that have a positive effect on the air quality in the surroundings. But beware: their sap can be poisonous to animals.

The most popular varieties of Tradescantia

The genus includes more than 70 species. Among them, there are a huge number of interesting varieties of Tradescantia: with trout leaves, coloured, green or striped. It is impossible to list them all. Some of them can be found in Polish homes and gardens. Of the Tradescantia plants recommended for cultivation at home, the following are worthy of note: Virginia (Tradescantia virginiana), snake-leaved (Tradescantia fluminesis), white (Tradescantia albiflora), striped  (Tradescantia zebrina), and purple (Tradescantia pallida). In gardens, on the other hand, the most commonly grown is the Anderson's (Tradescantia x andersoniana), which has sufficient frost hardiness to overwinter outdoors.

Tradescantia - how to care for it?

Tradescantia one of the most maintenance-free plants. It is ideal for the popular vertical gardens. All you need to do is provide it with the right position and apply a few growing rules and it will be a long time delight to the eye and will repay you with lush growths.

✔️ position

Tradescantia likes a bright, sunny position, but not in direct sunlight. We do not recommend placing it on a south-facing windowsill so as not to burn the delicate leaves of the plant. Varieties with dark, pigmented and mottled leaves require more sun than those with uniform green leaves.

✔️ temperature

Temperature and humidity are of little importance to threecrops. In summer, they can be put out on the balcony or in the garden, but be careful not to stand in direct sunlight.

✔️ substrate

It is best to use a permeable and nutrient-rich substrate for the Tradescantia. A mixture of compost soil or a good quality all-purpose substrate and perlite or sand will work well.

✔️ watering

Tradescantia does not like drought. The most important rule on how to water Tradescantia is: Tradescantia are not watered after the leaves! Water that gets on the leaves or stem can cause them to turn brown. To make sure that water doesn't get in where it shouldn't, larger specimens should be watered into a saucer. Smaller Tradescantia can be watered directly into the ground, but moving the leaves and stems away. A way of watering Tradescantia is also to give them a bath in a bowl of distilled water. Tradescantia plants do not spray!

✔️ fertilisation

Because of their rapid growth, Tradescantia need a lot of nutrients. They are also quite 'voracious' plants. It is therefore advisable to support them with fertilisers intended for green plants or houseplants with ornamental foliage. Biohumus can also be used.

When to replant the Tradescantia?

The best way to find out if a Tradescantia should be repotted is to pull it out of its pot. Young, small seedlings may need repotting up to twice a year. If its root system is overgrown, i.e. protruding through holes, this should be a signal to repot the threepod. How big should the pot be? First of all, it should not be too big, then the plant will expand its root system instead of growing beautifully outwards. Optimally, the pot should be about 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the one it was in before.

How do you propagate the Tradescantia?

The breeding of Tradescantia is very easy. Simply pinch off the stem so that it has at least one node (the place from which the leaves grow) and then place in water. Before placing in the water, remove the lower leaves so that they do not start to rot. After a few days you can see the roots coming out. After about two weeks, the roots will have reached a few centimetres and the plant can then be planted into the substrate. The cut shoots can also be put directly into the ground without rooting in water first.

Tradescantia- how to cut?

A common question regarding the cultivation of threecrops concerns the pruning of the threecrop. Should it be pruned and how should it be done? Daisy is a plant that needs to be pruned regularly. This promotes, above all, its bushiness. The method of pruning is up to you. For example, you can cut the daisy into a ball shape.