Overwatering can also cause a nutrient imbalance in the soil, so wait until the top few inches of soil are dry and ensure plenty of drainage holes in containers. The easiest and most accessible way to propagate wandering dudes is via cuttings. By clicking the button you are agreeing to receive our email newsletter. Purple heart plants need rich, moist, well-draining soil to grow. Purple heart is native to the Gulf Coast region of Mexico and can grow to heights of one and a half feet tall and wide. Seeds can be sown outdoors in either fall or early spring and should be lightly covered. Other common names include Purple Queen Plant and Purple Inch Plant. But you may also be able to find the much more rare variegated purple heart, which features pink striping along the leaves. You might also try simply wiping them away with a damp paper towel. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says the name is because, "The angular leaf arrangement suggests a squatting spider." . Miruna is a versatile writer and, as you might have guessed, her favorite topic is gardening. The spreading nature of purple queen plants makes pruning a necessary part of their care, both indoors and outdoors. The plant is native to the Tamaulipas and Yucatan regions of Mexico and is characterized by dark purple stems with leaves that grow up to 7" long. Mealybugs can be wiped away with a damp paper towel, or they can be killed with an application of neem oil. And although theyre fairly adaptable, these spiderwort species do have preferred care routines so Ill fill you in on the best way to keep them looking gorgeous, and meanwhile, our inch plants can keep busy filling our homes with new foliage. Plants growing in partial shade will appear more green than purple. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. And if you are reluctant to take any chances with your curious kids or fur babies, consider choosing a confirmed nontoxic houseplant instead. The foliage may die back after a light freeze, but can regrow in the spring as long as the ground doesnt freeze. If you fail to prune them, they will become leggy, shaggy and they will cover up your room in an inappropriate way. If you want to be successful maintaining any indoor plant that you want, then you need a copy of my Winter Houseplant Care eBook. Let me know below in the comments section below! Propagation in water works very well for a thick-stemmed plant as Tradescantia Purpurea. Once they grow, you need to pinch the tips of the stems to encourage blooming and the spreading of bushes. Rubbing alcohol can also be used to remove aphids, mealybugs, and scale, but it should be tested on a single leaf before trying wider application, as it can burn the leaves on these plants. Tradescantia Purpurea pallida can be propagated easily by rooting cuttings in water or directly in the soil. Please note that this story is merely that a story. After about a month, when you see new growth appearing on the stems, you can safely remove the plastic. Under a brown shell, theres an insect attached to your plant, greedily sucking away. Some species are variegated, while others are solid green or solid purple in color. Take your plant, place it in the hole, and then push the soil gently and fill the space around the roots. It is native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. Is the purple heart plant indoor or outdoor? Although these plants do well with moist soil, they also require good drainage. In the landscape, the plant has an upright, branching . Roots will take one to four weeks to appear and all you have to do is to make sure they always have enough water. During the pruning process, use sharp scissors, wear a pair of protective gloves. These species grow to about one to one and a half feet tall and wide. Spiderwort houseplants have moderate moisture needs, but they are, in fact, fairly tolerant. Simply apply the product according to the manufacturers instructions. But if you have planted your plant in a garden, use sprinkle watering methods and do it in the morning so that your plant can have enough time to dry up. But the roots can put out new growth when it warms up in the spring as long as the ground doesnt freeze. Wrap your pot in a clear plastic bag that you can secure with an elastic rubber and place the pot in a bright place, away from direct sunlight. Purple heart plants (aka purple queen) are easy to care for, and can grow both indoors or outside. We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from the entertainment industry. Be sure to choose a less rambling type and be an attentive gardener to keep it corralled in your yard. (If you can, let me know in the comments! At maturity, it will reach a height of 1 foot. As they feed, they excrete honeydew, a sticky substance that can provide a foothold for sooty mold. The plant offers blade-shaped leaves in a standout shade of gleaming deep purple that meander around companions in containers, garden beds, and window boxes, adding eye-catching contrast. Hello Mariah! You can make your own insecticidal spray with 1 teaspoon of gentle liquid soap and 1 liter of water. This is done by placing the cuttings in a glass container filled with lukewarm water. She is a Certified Permaculture Designer, holds a Certificate in Native Plant Studies from the University of North Carolina Botanical Gardens, a Landscape for Life certificate through the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Find out where you fall in the USDA Hardiness Zones database. In their native habitat and in areas where they have naturalized they grow in moist soil in woodlands, rainforests, and riparian areas. You can plant more than one cutting as long as they dont overlap. Download your copy today! Every plant has its suggested way of spacingthat information you can find that information on the label of your plant pack. These are mostly green but highly fringed with the shades of purple or red. Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart' (Purple Spiderwort) - This popular trailing house plant is also a pretty durable groundcover or accent plant to about 18 inches tall in the garden. To an untrained eye, these pests may be hard to spot they look like tiny brown bumps and can be mistaken for bits of dirt. Tradescantia pallida Purpurea is a tender and attractive plant of outstanding colors. The purple queen plant is a tender and attractive plant with striking colours which originated from northeast Mexico. Outdoors, snails and caterpillars can be an issue. You cant resist admiring them once you come across them planted either in hanging baskets or home gardens. This long-jointed, sprawling plant is an ideal groundcover for anyone who loves a purple garden. Find more information on controlling scale insects here. When grown as houseplants, that spreading growth habit translates into long, trailing vines. However, as allTradescantiaplants are toxic topeopleandpets, be mindful of where you grow this trailing plantjuice from the leaves or stems can cause skin irritation for some people and even some dogs. Purple heart plants thrive in humid climates, so if growing as a houseplant, use a humidifier to mimic tropical conditions. If the white spots look like cotton, then its likely mealybugs. In colder regions theyre often grown in containers and wintered indoors, or kept exclusively as houseplants. Its also proven to survive freezes and comes back strong in the Spring! Before we talk about how to care for a purple heart plant, first we should discuss the best location to grow it. Cut the stem just below a segment node. Keep it somewhere warm and bright for 1-2 weeks. Shipping Information. Much like the hairs found on tomato stems, these hairs are able to grow into roots as spiderworts spread. No matter where you grow them, theyll need good drainage to thrive. Avoiding wetting the whole plant is that moist foliage brings diseases and mold that evens or damages the plant. For more of a full-sized plant, you can root several cuttings and plant them in one pot. Read More Why is my purple heart getting white spots on the leaves? Spiderwort is not an especially alluring name, and different sources give varying reasons for this plant's unusual common name. Dip the cutting in a rooting hormone and place it directly into a container filled with potting soil or water. Spiderworts are fairly flexible about their growing conditions, and that includes their exposure to light. Drainage is essential for the purple heart, but these plants are relatively adaptable to soil pH, ranging from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. I honestly cant think of any other houseplant that grows this quickly and is so easy to propagate can you? Move the entire container into indirect sunlight for one to two weeks and keep the cutting moist. In addition to T. virginiana, this genus includes many species that are native to the US, but those that are used as houseplants originate in tropical areas of Central and South America. Potting and Repotting Purple Heart Plants, How to Grow And Care For Nerve Plant (Fittonia), How To Grow And Care For Variegated Vinca, How to Grow and Care for 'Sunshine' Privet, How To Grow And Care For 'Autumn Joy' Stonecrop, How To Grow And Care For Sweet Potato Vines, Purple Heart, Purple Queen, Purple Secretia. The 'Purple Heart' (Tradescantia pallida) is a hardy plant with a stunning color payoff. Add manure or garden compost to your soil and mix it well until the ground becomes loose. I'm an author and expert gardener who loves growing ALL of the plants. They need full sun, or 8+ hours of bright light indoors every day in order to maintain the deep purple color. The purple queen plant is a species of spiderwort (a genus of new world plants) and looks like T. Zebrina. Its all a bit of clever camouflage. A fast-growing member of the spiderwort family with dark purple leaves and long purple stems is the purple heart plant (Tradescantia pallida), also known as purple secretia or purple queen. During watering, you should only water the roots, not the whole plant. Fashion never stops. Give it a hard prune to rejuvenate it. Learn more about how to manage aphids in this guide. Know which pests might affect your spiderworts so that you can nip them in their pesky little buds. These species can handle hard pruning, so feel free to cut your spiderwort back fairly drastically, leaving only a few inches of stem intact if thats what you need to do. To remove these pests, you can pick them off by hand, or treat the plant with neem oil, such as this product from Monterey, available at Arbico Organics. That common name is on the out as far as this writer and this publication goes. Grow to approximately 1' in height and are great for ground cover or in pots. And to me at least, these seem to grow an inch per day another possible inspiration for this name! Share your purple heart plant care tips in the comments section below. in a glass container filled with lukewarm water. It is also excellent in containers and ideal for gardening beginners. Purple queen plants are so adorable. Find a good watering schedule and stick to it. Before using them, do thorough research. This variety has solid purple foliage and delicate pink flowers. Imagine when you visit your friend, and she gives you some beautiful purple queen plants to go and plant, but you dont know how to do it. But the University of Wisconsin notes that sap from cut or broken stems can occasionally cause skin irritation for people or pets. However, before you decide to take advantage of any species of spiderwort for its ground covering properties, do be forewarned that they can be quite invasive. But then I decided to move overseas, and every houseplant I owned needed to be rehomed. To get the correct measurements, read the guidelines provided in the package and follow them keenly. Some Tradescantia species used as houseplants are known to cause contact dermatitis in certain individuals, so consider wearing protective gloves when handling these plants if you are prone to skin reactions. Reduce watering somewhat during the winter since they dont need quite as much water during the cooler weather. Read full disclosure. Christia Obcordata Guide: How to Grow & Care for Butterfly Plant, ZZ Plants Guide: How to Grow & Care for Zamioculcas zamiifolia, Calamagrostis Guide: How to Grow & Care for Reed Grass, Schefflera Amate Guide: How to Grow & Care for Dwarf Umbrella Tree, Dracaena Reflexa Guide: How to Grow & Care for Song of India, 5 cuttings (stems) that you plant and become a new plant. Indoors, keep them evenly moist, and always drain off the excess to avoid overwatering. Foliage will die back to ground level once temperatures begin falling below freezing. Its purple leaves are long and oval-shaped, producing small purple flowers in summer. To encourage branching and to ensure that your plant grows nicely, remove the new stem tips. The leaves of these plants are fleshy, feeling almost like the leaves of succulents. Its purple leaves are long and oval-shaped, producing small purple flowers in summer. It's a beautiful perennial with long, trailing stems that resemble rambling vines. T. zebrina Silvery Inch Plant in 2.5-inch pot. Other members of this family you may be familiar with include Tahitian bridal veil (Gibasis geniculate), and Asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis). This plant is surprisingly drought tolerant for such a tropical looking variety, but it also thrives with regular watering so it is easy to pair with many other types of medium vigor annuals in both sun and shade. Miruna is an experienced content writer with a passion for gardening. Other common names include purple secretia, purple-heart, and purple queen. My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening for most of my life. They will not usually respond too poorly if you overwater them once in a blue moon, and they also have some built-in resistance to being underwatered, thanks to their fleshy leaves. As for pets, the ASPCA does not provide safety information for all species of Tradescantia, but lists T. fluminensis as toxic to dogs and cats. While certainly not as fussy about relative humidity as prayer plants or orchids, a daily misting is a good idea, particularly if you live in a drier climate like I do, or if your indoor air is particularly dry during winter. Required fields are marked *. The Tradescantia genus is made up of 75 species, many of which have a wandering or vining growth habit. To repot your spiderwort, choose a pot that is only one to two inches larger than the current pot, and make sure it has drainage holes. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Common names include purple secretia, purple-heart, and purple queen. Spiderwort is a common name that refers to many species in the genus Tradescantia, pronounced trad-es-KAN-tee-uh or trad-es-KAN-shuh.. The purple queen plant is a famous beautiful evergreen perennial with long trailing stems and pointed purple leaves. It is best to water your Tradescantia Purpurea plants thoroughly. There are around 75 different types of plants in Tradescantia genus and some are called inch plants, spiderwort, striped wandering Jew, Boat Lily, Purple Queen, or flowering inch plant. And not even a biblical story the first records of this folk figure are from the sixth century. The blossoms have no scent, appear at the end of a stem, and are small, rarely exceeding more than 1.5 wide. Grow as an annual low maintenance groundcover in cold winter climates or as a perennial groundcover that is root hardy in zones 8 or warmer. Here are a few top picks. Tradescantia Zebrina: Spiderwort Inchplant Zebrina pendula Is Wandering Jew Toxic for Cats? Like aphids and mealybugs, scale insects can also damage your inch plants by sucking away valuable nutrients. They are certainly proving to be excellent for me. Tradescantia houseplants are tender perennials, and as such, they do well when kept at average household temperatures that is to say, ideally around 70F, or at least somewhere in the range of 50 to 80F. What do you love the most about this plant how easy it is to care for, how fast it puts out new foliage, or how supremely simple it is to propagate? Weekly waterings should suffice for established plants, but more during the blooming season or periods of extreme heat. Full Shade to Full Sun (Can Grow In Most Sunlight Conditions) Mature Height 12 - 18 Inches. Be sure to check individual cultivars for information about recommended growing zones. It also makes an interesting groundcover for rock gardens and spills beautifully over retaining walls. Use As A Spiller In Containers. Type above and press Enter to search. There are two different stories about how this father and son team became associated with the genus that bears their name. Where you make your pinch or cut, the stem may branch. This quick-growing habit makes them wonderful as houseplants for those who want to fill a space with vegetation quickly. However, a few pests love to make purple heart plants their home. The plant grows relatively low and reaches only a maximum of 12 inches upon maturity. Solving this problem is easy because all you need to do is water the plant to increase humidity. Thanks to its downward trailing stem it stands out the most when used in rock gardens, border fronts, and wall plantings. Its also easy to care for, making it ideal for beginners wanting to learn how to grow a Tradescantia pallida plant. Too much fertilization can cause leaf burn, so reduce feedings to once a month during the winter. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. deep and 8 to 12 inches (20.5-30.5 cm.) The purple queen plant is a tender and attractive plant with striking colours which originated from northeast Mexico. The lance-shaped leaves can reach up to 7 long on delicate, thin stems. If you don't trim the plant back, it will have a more trailing habit. Oxygen starved roots can rot, preventing the foliage from receiving the water it needs. Undoubtedly, if you follow the above steps of caring for your purple queen plant, you will have an excellent plant that brings joy to your home and garden at all times and seasons, including holiday seasons. Once established, Tradescantia pallida is fairly drought tolerant, but wont do well in extended periods of dryness. These species originate in the Americas, spanning a distance as far north as Canada, and as far south as Argentina. 19 Apple Tree Varieties Thatll Knock Your Socks Off, 19 Apple Tree Varieties Thatll Knock Your Socks Off, .slick-slider#wpsp-83657 {margin-left: 0px; }.slick-slider#wpsp-83657 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; }#wpsp-83657.wpsp-card .wp-show-posts-single {margin-bottom: 2em; }.slick-slider#wpsp-83657 .wp-show-posts-single {margin-bottom: 0px; }#wpsp-83657 .wp-show-posts-inner {background-color: #ffffff; }#wpsp-83657.wp-show-posts .wp-show-posts-entry-title {font-size: .9em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-83657 {margin-left: -2em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-83657 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin: 0 0 2em 2em; } And as with succulents, those fleshy leaves indicate spiderwort's ability to store water. Find more tips on identifying and controlling mealybugs here. The best location to grow purple queen plants is somewhere that will provide lots of sun. Space them at least two feet apart. According to Richard G. Hawks, Plant Evaluations Manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the common name spiderwort was most likely inspired by the web-like threads that form from the plants sap and harden after stems are severed. There are many other gorgeous cultivars to discover, so be sure to read our article on some of the most intriguing varieties of spiderwort houseplants. While adaptable to a range of temperatures, frost can cause permanent damage to plants. Insignificant 3-petaled deep pink flowers last for only a day but bloom continuously on the stiff stems above the foliage for several weeks in spring. When the top few inches of soil are dry, water deeply to encourage hardier roots, but avoid making it sodden. Most when used in rock gardens, border fronts, and purple queen is... Growing as a houseplant, use sharp scissors, wear a pair of protective.... 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