Wandering jew – Indoor House Plants

Wandering jew (Tradescantia pallida) is an evergreen perennial plant. It has the Fleshy oval or lance-shaped leaves are created from the pendant stems. These small leaves have a shiny appearance and grow to around 2 – 4 inches long with pointed tips. The underside of a leaf is purple in color on the zebrina and new leaves appear purple at first, then turn green. It produces small white, pink, or purple flowers.

Scientific Name: Tradescantia pallida
Common Name: wandering jew, purple secretia, purple-heart and purple queen.

 

 

 

 

 

How to grow and maintain wandering jew plant:

Light:
wandering jew Plants like bright indirect light. The better the light, the more flowers and colorful leaves the plant produces. The direct sun causes the purple and cream colors in the leaves of the plant to fade.

Soil:
The soil for a wandering jew Plant should be well- aerated soil that drains quickly. If the soil in the pot of your Wandering Jew plant appears too heavy and clay-like, include some peat moss and perlite.

Temperature:
A Tradescantia pallida Plant grows well in temperatures between 65-75ºF (18-24ºC) and no lower than 50ºF (10ºC).

Water:
Water the Tradescantia pallida Plant well and then allow the top 2 or 3 inches of soil to dry out before watering the plant once more. If the soil of your wandering jew plant stays too dry and the plant is in bright light, the leaves of your plant become stunted the leaves lose color.

Fertilizer:
Feed purple-heart from April – October with a balanced diluted fertilizer every 2 weeks.

Humidity:
Average indoor humidity should be fine. On the off chance that the air is too dry, the leaf tips burn and turn brown. You can put your plant on a tray of wet pebbles to increase the humidity around it.

Pests and diseases:
Albeit purple-heart Plants are fairly pest resistant, Aphids, scale, and Mealy Bugs can be a problem.
The high humidity wandering jew plants prefer encourages fungal and bacterial infections.