Tradescantia is a grassy plant from the Commeline family. Often it consists of flexible shoots and serves as a groundcover or ampelous plant. Latin America is considered the birthplace of the tradescantia, although it can be found in the temperate and tropical climates of other continents, where plants form a continuous green cover. Tender tradescantia is often used as a houseplant, but can serve as a decoration of the garden, and also has healing properties. In plant care, great effort is not needed. Delicate shoots always delight with beauty and are regularly covered with flowers.
Botanical Description
Tradescantia - perennial with flexible creeping or rising stems. Pretty fleshy sprouts are covered with regular oval, ovoid or lanceolate leaves. Foliage grows on short petioles or encompasses shoots with a base. It can have a plain or colorful color in green, purple or pinkish colors. The surface of the leaf is bare or densely pubescent. Upon contact with the soil, roots quickly appear in nodes.
During the flowering period, and it can occur at different times of the year, small dense inflorescences bloom on the stems of the tradescantia. They consist of many buds, but at the same time only a couple of flowers of white or purple color are revealed. Although flowering can last up to 3-4 months, a single flower lives only a day. Three-membered corollas with soft petals peek out from the pubescent dark green calyx. Petals are free. In the center is a bunch of long stamens with large yellow anthers at the ends. Stamens are also covered with a long silver pile.
After pollination, small oblong achenes with vertical ribs are tied. Ripened box cracks into 2 leaves.
Types and varieties of tradescantia
Already today, botanists have discovered more than 75 species of plants. Some of them are especially popular.
Tradescantia is white-flowered. Flexible shoots cover wide ovoid or oval leaves. Plates 6 cm long and 2.5 cm wide have a pointed edge. Their surface is smooth, plain or motley, striped. Umbrella inflorescences with small white flowers are formed on the tops of the shoots. Varieties:
- Aurea - yellow leaves are covered with greenish stripes;
- Tricolor - a green leaf is covered with lilac, pink and white stripes.
Tradescantia Virgin. Herbaceous perennial with erect, branched shoots grows by 50-60 cm. It is covered with linear or lanceolate sessile leaves. The length of the leaf plate reaches 20 cm and a width of 4 cm. Flowers with purple or pink petals are concentrated in dense umbrella inflorescences. The flowering period begins in mid-summer and lasts more than 2 months.
Tradescantia Anderson. A group of decorative varieties is the result of breeding with the previous look. Plants with branched, erect shoots grow 30-80 cm in height. Enlarged lanceolate leaves grow on knotted stems. Flat three-petal flowers are painted in blue, white, pink and purple tones. Flowering occurs throughout the summer. Varieties:
- Iris - flowers in a deep blue hue;
- Leonora - violet-blue small flowers;
- Osprey - with snow-white flowers.
Tradescantia of Blossfeld. Fleshy shoots spread along the ground and resemble succulents. They are covered with a reddish-green skin. Sedentary oval foliage with a pointed edge grows 4-8 cm long and 1-3 cm wide. Its surface is dark green with a slight red tint. The flip side is purple, densely pubescent. The axillary inflorescences consist of corollas with 3 loose purple petals. On the sepals and stamens there is a long silvery pile.
Tradescantia is riverine. Thin fragile stems rise above the ground. They are covered with purplish-red smooth skin. In rarer nodes, ovoid bright green leaves grow 2-2.5 cm long and 1.5-2 cm wide. The back of the foliage is lilac red.
Tradescantia zebrin. A plant with a creeping stem is often used as an ampelous. It is covered with short-leaved ovoid leaves with a pointed edge. The length of the foliage is 8-10 cm, and the width is 4-5 cm. On the front side there are silver stripes located symmetrically to the central vein. The reverse side is monophonic, lilac red. Small flowers are purple or purple.
Tradescantia is violet. Herbaceous perennial with highly branched, erect or lodging shoots. The stems and foliage have a rich purple color. The back of the leaves is pubescent. Small flowers have 3 pinkish or raspberry petals.
Tradescantia is small-leaved. Very decorative plant suitable for indoor cultivation. Its thin lilac-brown stems are densely covered with very small (up to 5 mm in length), ovate leaves. The sides of the sheet are smooth, shiny. The front has a dark green color, and the reverse is lilac.
Tradescantia vesicular (rheo). A perennial plant with a fleshy, erect stem 30-40 cm high. A very dense rosette of lanceolate leaves 20-30 cm long and 5-7 cm wide is formed around it. Sedentary foliage is located vertically. It has a smooth surface, a bright green front side and a pink-purple back. Flowering does not last long. Small white flowers form under a boat-like bedspread. For such a structure of inflorescences, the species is called the "Rook of Moses."
Breeding methods
Tradescantia can be propagated by generative (seed) and vegetative (cuttings, dividing the bush) methods. Sowing seeds is planned for March. Prepare plates with sand and peat soil in advance. Fine seeds are carefully distributed on the surface and pressed into the ground. Plants are watered and covered with a film. The greenhouse is kept at a temperature of + 20 ° C and ambient light. Condensate should be removed regularly and the soil moistened. Shoots appear in 1-2 weeks, after which the shelter is removed. The grown seedlings are transplanted into pots with soil for adult plants. Their flowering will occur in 2-3 years.
When propagated by cuttings, the tops of stems are cut about 10-15 cm long. They can be rooted in water or loose fertile soil. Plants are covered with a film and kept at + 15 ... + 20 ° C, shading from direct sun. After 7-10 days (6-8 weeks for ornamental varieties), a rhizome will develop and active growth will begin.
During the transplant, a large bush can be divided into several parts. To do this, most of the earthen coma is removed from the roots and cut with a blade. Places of cuts are treated with crushed charcoal. Delenki immediately planted, not allowing the rhizome to dry out.
Home Care
Decorating a house with a room tradescantion will be excellent. It is enough to provide her with comfortable conditions.
Lighting. Bright light and shading from the midday sun are needed. Direct rays are possible in the early morning or evening, otherwise the leaves quickly become burned. You can place pots in the depths of the southern room or on the eastern (western) window sills. Varieties with variegated leaves are more demanding on lighting.
Temperature. In April-September, the tradescant will be comfortable at + 25 ° C. On hot days, you need to ventilate the room more often or take flowers to fresh air. Wintering should be cooler (+ 8 ... + 12 ° C). This will compensate for the short daylight hours and prevent the stems from stretching out. You can leave the winter tradescantia warm and use the backlight.
Humidity. Tradescantia adapts well to normal humidity in the house, but gratefully responds to spraying. She is also bathed periodically from dust.
Watering. In spring and summer, watering should be plentiful so that the soil dries only on the surface. All excess fluid immediately after watering is removed. With a cool wintering, watering is significantly reduced so that the fungus does not develop. A few tablespoons a week is enough.
Fertilizer. In April-August 2-3 times a month, the tradescantia is fed with a solution of mineral or organic top dressing. For variegated varieties, organics are not used. The rest of the year, fertilizer is not needed.
Transfer. Tradescantia tolerates a good transplant. Depending on age, it is carried out every 1-3 years. If necessary, the bushes are divided, as well as pruned old, bare branches. The soil mixture should be loose and fertile. You can buy ready-made soil or make it yourself from:
- deciduous soil (2 hours);
- soddy soil (1 hour);
- leaf humus (1 hour);
- sand (0.5 hours).
Diseases and pests. Usually tradescantia does not suffer from plant diseases. Only in a rare case, a weakened plant can infect a fungus (root rot, powdery mildew). From parasites, aphids and slugs can bother her.
Garden cultivation
Garden tradescantia is a wonderful decoration of the site. In landscape design, it is used to design mixborders, shores of ponds, alpine slides. It is also planted along the fence and in humid places. This plant feels great among the host, heicher, Lungwort, ferns and astilbe. When compiling the composition, the main thing is to choose the right variety in height and appearance.
The location. Tradescantia is planted in partial shade or in a well-lit place, protected from drafts and gusts of wind. Soils are preferred fertile, humus, easily permeable. Before planting, it is useful to add sand, humus, and sheet soil to the soil.
Watering. Tradescantia needs frequent and plentiful watering so that the soil dries out only on the surface. In winter, watering is stopped completely. In the hot southern regions, limited to sparse irrigation.
Fertilizer. In March-April, the bushes are fed with a mineral complex for flowering. During the budding period, top dressing is repeated.
Wintering. In regions where there are almost no negative temperatures in winter, tradescantia can be left in the open ground. As a shelter use polyethylene or non-woven material. Before this, the soil is mulched with moss and peat.
Beneficial features
Tradescantia juice has bactericidal and wound healing properties. In some countries, it is used along with aloe, even in official medicine. Fresh leaves are kneaded and applied to damage to the skin, as well as to boils, and fixed with a bandage. Tradescant components successfully lower blood sugar.
Water infusions from shoots and foliage help to cope with diarrhea and flatulence of an infectious origin. Decoctions are taken to overcome sore throat and runny nose. They are also useful to treat the oral cavity with stomatitis and periodontitis.
Tradescantia has no contraindications. It is important only not to get too carried away with drugs and to take them with caution to people prone to allergies.
