Tradescantia 002
General:
Prefers bright indirect light
Prefers aerated and well-draining potting mix
Slightly toxic to humans and pets
Watering:
Water when first inch of potting mix is dry
Water thoroughly from the bottom until potting mix is saturated
Fully drain excess water
Other:
Fertilize monthly in spring, summer, and early fall
Pinch back new growth to encourage fullness
Re-pot every year or two in spring or summer
Timeline
Aug 9/20: Tradescantia 002 joins our family! Hubby and I picked out a couple of these plants today, and I re-potted them together in a 6-inch pot. This variety is called Tradescantia zebrina. I’m excited to see how this plant grows in comparison to Tradescantia 001.
Aug 9/20: Hubby and I picked up two small (but still pretty full) Tradescantia zebrina plants.
Aug 9/20: The roots on one of the plants — nice and healthy. There were some dry and shriveled leaves near the soil, which I plucked out and composted.
Aug 9/20: The roots on the other plant were also lovely.
Aug 9/20: Such a big, full plant when combined into one pot! The cachepot is a beautiful one that I got from my friend. She had bought us a beautiful orchid as a housewarming gift over a decade ago. The orchid didn’t survive but I’m so glad I kept the cachepot.
Aug 9/20: These leaves are beautiful — shades of purple and green with shimmering silver streaks. This plant is stunning in bright light.
Aug 20/20: When we initially brought home Tradescantia 002, there was a set of broken leaves, which I decided to pop into an old mini olive oil bottle. I later pinched back a couple of stems and I popped them in with the other leaves. The result was this cute little mini plant. It looks like a tiny sculptural bouquet.
Aug 20/20: Cutting from Tradescantia 002.
Sep 20/20: Tradescantia 002 seems to have grown a lot in the past month or so! I now have two mini bouquets of cuttings from this plant (see below). The mother plant is looking rather wild, so I’m going to prune it some more the next time I water it and potentially propagate some of the cuttings in soil.
Sep 20/20: Mini bouquet from cuttings.
Sep 20/20: Another mini-bouquet from cuttings.
Sep 18/21: It’s been almost a year since I last posted an update on Tradescantia 002. I have mixed feelings about this plant. Admittedly, I haven’t been great at pinching off new growth so it has lost a lot of its fullness at the top. In order to mask that, I basically pile the long trailing vines onto the top of the pot. The vines grow very quickly so that’s definitely plus. Overall, I think this plant looks better in photos than in real life.
Sep 18/21: Tradescantia 002 has grown so much, you can barely see its pot!