Tradescantia fluminensis
Common Names: green wandering Jew, small leaf spiderwort,
white-flowered wandering Jew, inch plant, speedy Jenny
Family: Commelinaceae (spiderwort Family)
Perennial Fast Growing Easy to grow - great for beginners! Tolerant
of Shade and Low Light Conditions Can be Grown in Containers Grows
Well Indoors. Has Unusual or Interesting Foliage
Description
Green wandering Jew is a trailing groundcover plant with succulent
stems. The glossy forest-green to parrot-green parallel-veined
leaves are oblong to ovate with pointed tips. They are generally
1-2.5 in (2.5-6.4 cm) long and 1-1.5 in (2.5-2.8 cm) wide and may be
subtly striped with darker green or tinged with purple on the
underside. Sometimes the leaves are slightly puckered with a
seersucker texture. They emerge alternately from fuzzy margined
closed sheaths that encircle the stem at the nodes. The little white
three petaled flowers appear in clusters at the stem tips from
spring through fall. The three part capsules contain pitted black
seeds. This plant is often confused with smaller-leaved Callisia
species and is sometimes not distinguished from other, less common,
species of Tradescantia. The cultivar 'Variegata' is bright green
with irregular white stripes. 'Quicksilver' has silver-striped
leaves. A new cultivar on the scene, 'Maiden's Blush', has bright
pink new growth. Some of these less vigorous variegated forms may
revert to solid green and become invasive if neglected or grown in
too shady a place.
Location
Green wandering Jew is native to subtropical regions of Brazil and
Argentina, where it is regarded as an agricultural pest. It has
naturalized in Florida from the central peninsula to the central
Panhandle, where it spreads most rapidly in floodplain forests and
similar moist, semi-shady bottomlands.
Culture
Wandering Jew prefers rich organic soil, but it will root directly
into bark mulch or survive in poor sandy soil if watered
sufficiently. Fertilizing with 20-10-20 every other month is
recommended for commercial production, but it does fine with plenty
of compost and an occasional handful of ordinary fertilizer so long
as care is taken not to let fertilizer granules settle in the
foliage and burn the stems. This species is sensitive to air
pollution; plants may slowly develop tip burn in response to
atmospheric fluoride. Wandering Jew is sometimes affected by a leaf
spot disease which can be controlled by picking off the affected
leaves.
Light: This species will tolerate low light levels, but it also will
grow in full sun. When light is marginal, the plants develop
elongated internodes and dull foliage.
Moisture: Moist, well drained soil is best, but green wandering Jew
tolerates both flooding and drought well.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 9 - 11. Plants will survive a few degrees of
frost, but quit growing and sulk when temperatures stay below 55ºF
(12.8ºC) for long. They do best at 65-85ºF (18.3-23.8ºC), but will
grow vigorously with afternoon temperatures near 100 if supplied
with plenty of water.
Propagation: Green wandering Jew does not commonly reproduce from
seed, but it roots readily from stem fragments, so long as each
piece of stem includes at least one node. It is easily propagated
from cuttings at any time of the year and can be rooted in soil or
water. If kept well watered for the first week or two, cuttings will
readily establish a groundcover when planted directly into mulched
organic soil in a shady area of the garden. It is easy to transplant
successfully. To encourage wandering Jew to spread as a groundcover,
plant the root ball in good soil, then spread out the trailing
stems, partially cover them with organic mulch, and keep the area
moist.
Usage
Green wandering Jew makes a lush bright green groundcover in
greenhouses and lightly shaded areas and trails beautifully from
hanging baskets and balcony planters. It has been used for erosion
control, but this is not recommended because of its invasiveness.
Features
This tough, fast growing plant is an excellent choice for creating a
lush tropical effect in atrium gardens, where it can be encouraged
to form a living curtain spilling over a grotto entrance or
waterfall ledge. Varieties like 'Innocence' have been selected that
are less invasive and more floriferous than the common form. This
dark green, long stemmed variety creeps discreetly beneath shrubbery
and perennials and decorates the planting with emergent sprays of
baby's-breath-like white flowers.
WARNING
This is an extremely invasive species! Turn your back on it and it
will eat your greenhouse! But you can't tear it out and throw in the
woods or it is liable to cause damaging environmental problems. In
natural areas, the overlapping stems can form a 2-ft-deep blanket
over the forest floor and smother other plants, thus eliminating
groundcover diversity and preventing young trees from becoming
established. It has become a serious pest in urban natural areas in
Australia and New Zealand and it is beginning to cause similar
problems in Florida, where it is listed as a Category I invasive
exotic species by the Exotic Pest Plant Council. Stem fragments
break off easily and float, so it is especially important to keep
these plants away from streams and floodplains where storms could
wash pieces downstream. Some Tradescantias may cause dermatitis in
sensitive individuals, but this species has not been singled out as
a problem. Dogs kept in yards with a groundcover of wandering Jew
have developed rashes. |
