Light and Temperature
Tradescantia likes bright, indirect light. They need a good amount of light; if they don’t get it, you’ll notice that their leaf markings begin to fade. Direct sun, however, will scorch their leaves (with the exception being the purple queen variety, which loves full sun).
Tradescantia plants thrive in temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees and do very well in typical indoor temperatures. Outdoors, they prefer a mild climate that doesn’t drop below 50 degrees. Frost will kill them.
Watering and Fertilizer Schedule
Tradescantia plants love moisture. Depending on the humidity around your plant, weekly misting of fresh water will keep your plant happy! You will want to water the plant regularly anytime the soil becomes fully dry, or you can keep things easy and have grow them hydroponically. We have found our Tradescantias do their best and have their best color when grown hydroponically.
If you notice your leaf tips becoming brown, then up the duration in between misting your little ladies. You can also place them on a tray of clay pebbles sitting in water.
To ensure the best growth, we recommend fertilizing your Tradescantia every other week or monthly. They don’t require much, but this will ensure they are happy, healthy and have the most vibrant color they can produce. We rotate our fertilizers schedules between Stump Tea, Miracle Grow, Cal-Mag and a few others we will share in future posts.
Pruning
Due to the vining nature they’re named for, Tradescantia plants require regular pruning to maintain a full, bushy appearance. We recommend trimming back about a fourth of the plant to encourage branching and increase fullness.
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