Rules for keeping tradescantia at home

Ampel plants create a special atmosphere in the room, refreshing even the most boring interior with a dense cascade of their branching shoots and filling the soul with tranquility, warmth and sunlight. But Tradescantia is good not only externally: this home vine is surprisingly unpretentious. Even those who take the first steps towards creating an indoor flower garden will cope with its cultivation.

Lighting and temperature

The indoor variety of culture prefers bright light, but only tradescantia with dense pubescent leaves tolerate the direct rays of the sun painlessly. There is another plus in breeding them: they can be watered less often. If the leaves of the flower are smooth and thin, it will be more comfortable in partial shade. The soil in a container with such a plant should always remain slightly moist.

Tradescantia pots are hung or placed on shelves near the west and east windows. The flower will grow on the northern side, but not all of its species will be able to show their beauty to the full here. For most of them, the lack of light threatens with adverse changes:

• stretching shoots;
• loss of leaves;
• lack of flowering.

For cultivation in such conditions, white-flowered Tradescantia is more suitable. She is not afraid even of a thick shadow. On the southern windows, the flower will have to be protected from the bright midday sun. Varieties of culture with variegated leaves are more difficult to please with lighting. With an excess of sunlight, their color fades, in the shade, the plant loses its decorative effect, becoming monotonous green.

Tradescantia loves warmth. That's right, if the air in the room with it warms up to 20-25 ° C in summer, and a couple of degrees cooler in the room in winter. But the plant easily tolerates maintenance in more severe conditions (at temperatures not lower than 10 ° C). The absence of a dormant period will not destroy it, if the temperature regime remains the same when the season changes.

Advice

In the spring and summer period, indoor Tradescantia can be grown outdoors: on the veranda, balcony or in the garden. But the choice of a place for a pot must be approached responsibly. It should be in light partial shade and not be blown through by drafts.

Humidity and watering

From spring to autumn, while indoor Tradescantia is actively growing, it is watered regularly and abundantly. But the stagnation of water in the pot is harmful to the flower, therefore, the next moistening is started 1-2 days after the top layer of the substrate dries up. All types of tradescantia, especially white-flowered, are drought-resistant. Even with a prolonged absence of watering at home, the plant will not die, although it will weaken. In winter, the flower is moistened moderately, increasing the interval between the procedure and the drying of the soil in the upper part of the pot to 3-4 days.

The liquid accumulated in the pan is drained. Before putting a pot on it, wipe it dry. Water for irrigation is defended, it must be soft, otherwise the decorativeness of the Tradescantia will suffer. If during the dormant period the flower is kept at a low temperature (within the range of 12-16 ° C), such care is carried out even less often, after waiting for the substrate to dry completely.

The dryness of the indoor air does not affect the indoor climate. In hot weather, it is recommended to spray the flower. Use soft water at room temperature for procedures. But you can do without it.

Top dressing and transplanting

Competent care of Tradescantia includes feeding. They are carried out during the period of intense flower growth every 2 weeks. Tradescantia varieties with a uniform color of leaves are suitable for organic and mineral compositions. You need to add them one by one.If the leaves of plants are covered with bright patterns, complex mineral fertilizers are taken for feeding. Their feeding with organic compounds will lead to a decrease in the decorative effect of the flower: its variegated color will fade. In autumn and winter, the need for top dressing for the vine disappears.

The most trouble for flower growers is the rapid growth of Tradescantia. This dignity has a downside:

• accelerated aging;
• drying of leaves at the base of the stems and exposure of the shoots.

Tradescantia will quickly lose its decorative effect without regular rejuvenation. To preserve its beauty, the shoots are pinched, light pruning is carried out and the flower is transplanted. It is convenient to combine all these procedures. Young plants need an annual transplant. For adult Tradescantia, the pot is changed less often - once every 2-3 years. Do it in the spring.

Soil for tradescantia can be purchased in the store or prepared at home on your own by mixing the following components in a 4: 4: 4: 1 ratio:

• deciduous land;
• sod land;
• humus earth;
• sand.

The resulting substrate should be nutritious and neutral. Good drainage is essential for the health of the flower.

Reproduction methods

Indoor tradescantia reproduces easily. The easiest way to get multiple plants is to split up an adult bush. For a flower, the procedure will be less painful if it is carried out in the spring-summer period (until mid-August). The root system of Tradescantia is powerful, so it will not be possible to avoid damage to it. Having divided the bush into parts, the shoots are cut shortly. If this is not done, the plant will not be able to take root. The roots of the delenok are carefully examined, removing diseased and injured areas. Having shortened them to 15 cm, parts of the bush are planted in containers filled with substrate.

If the procedure is carried out in the spring, the root system of the tradescantia is quickly restored, and the plant itself takes root well, without requiring special care. When propagating a flower in summer (from July to August), you will have to take care of the shading of the dividers. This is especially important if the days are hot. This will make it easier for the plants to root. The best option is to place them in a microsteam or under a covering material for 2 weeks.

You can also grow Tradescantia from a stem cuttings. There are no time limits. Cuttings root equally well all year round. The stem is divided into parts 10-15 cm long. Each of them should have 2-3 internodes. They are rooted in soil prepared from the same volumes:

• compost soil;
• humus earth;
• sand.

5-8 cuttings are placed in each pot. For rooting, they need warmth, the room temperature is maintained at 18-20 ° C. Cuttings take root quickly, in a few days. It will take only 1.5-2 months, and they will form a beautiful lush bush.

Generatively, Tradescantia is rarely propagated at home. Its main disadvantages:

• lack of a guaranteed result (seedlings do not inherit the varietal traits of mother plants);
• long absence of flowering (the first buds on Tradescantia grown from seeds will appear only after 3 years);
• large expenditures of time and effort for caring for seedlings.

Sowing seeds of Tradescantia is carried out in early spring. A mixture of peat and sand is used as a substrate. Both components are taken in equal amounts. Seeds germinate in mini greenhouses at 20 ° C. Planting care at this stage consists of periodic airing and spraying.

Possible difficulties

Of the insects for room tradescantia, the following are dangerous:

• aphid;
• whitefly;
• thrips;
• spider mite;
• mealybug.

The spider mite infects plants in too dry air. Get rid of him it will not be easy, it is better to devote time to prevention by regularly spraying the flower. The appearance of the plant will help to detect the pest.If the leaf of tradescantia withers and flies around, and a cobweb is visible on the shoots, it's time to take action: spray the vine with soapy water, and then rinse it off with warm water.

The scale insects feed on cell sap. The plants affected by them turn pale, dry up and fly around the leaves. Pests are fought mechanically, removing them from the flower with a cotton swab dipped in soapy water. The next step is the treatment of Tradescantia with insecticides (Aktellik, Fitoverm).

If the plant begins to lose its decorative effect, and there are no pests on it, it is worth considering whether it is being properly cared for.

Causes of problems with tradescantia and ways to solve them

Problem	Cause	Decision
Shredding leaves, turning them pale and stretching	Lack of light	Move the flower to a well-lit place
Leaf tips turn brown and dry	Dry indoor air	Spray the flower regularly, fill the tray with wet expanded clay, place a container with water near the tradescantia, and in winter move the plant away from the battery or heater
	Rare watering	Water the flower more often and more abundantly
Fading patterns in variegated tradescantia, coloring the leaves in a solid green color	Lack of light, incorrect cropping	Rearrange the pot
The shoots at the base have become soft and dark	Stagnant water in the pot, stem rot	Cut off the healthy part of the shoot and root it
Slow growth, elongation of stems, poor foliage	Lack of food, light, or moisture	Feed the plant, normalize watering, rearrange the flower
Yellow spots on the leaves, lethargy stems	Lack of soil moisture	Revise the watering regime

Rapid growth, ease of reproduction, minimum requirements for keeping conditions, spectacular appearance, abundant flowering, easy care - the room Tradescantia has many advantages. A weighty argument in favor of its breeding is the presence of medicinal properties. The air in the Tradescantia room becomes cleaner and saturated with moisture, and the flower itself, like a sponge, absorbs electromagnetic radiation, improving the microclimate in the house. The leaves of the plant contain many vitamins. Pets like to feast on their tender and juicy pulp, so it is better to put a pot with a vine in corners inaccessible to them.

The ideal location for Tradescantia is where its long shoots can hang down to form a beautiful green waterfall. If the house has an aquarium, the flower is placed near it. Sinking into the water, the creeper shoots will cover it with a spectacular carpet. To make it more dense, and the stems are strongly branched, they are pinched. Among the huge variety of species and forms of the flower, there are also poisonous ones. You will have to work with pale Tradescantia with caution: getting on the skin, its juice causes redness and irritation. To avoid unpleasant consequences, pruning and transplanting the plant is carried out with gloves, and after completing the procedure, they thoroughly wash their hands with soap.