Tips for growing Tradescantia Zebrins at home

Choosing a houseplant for home, everyone makes sure that it fits well with the interior of the apartment and does not get out of the general style. All this can be provided by tradescantia. Of course, this plant cannot boast of abundant flowering and a delicate aroma, but many people like decorative leaves. Tradescantia zebrin will help you create a truly homely feel.

Description of the plant

Tradescantia zebrina pendula (Latin Tradescantia zebrina pendula) belongs to the genus Tradescantia, which, in turn, unites more than 80 types of indoor flowers. In addition to zebrin, at home you can very often find white-flowered tradescantia (T. albiflora), Blossfeld's tradescantia (T. Blossfeldiana) and riverine tradescantia (T. Fluminensis). All of them belong to the commeline family.

The appearance of a zebrina is remarkable in its own way. Beautiful hanging shoots with smooth leaves about 6 cm long planted on watery stems. The color of the leaves is very unusual: along the midrib of the leaf there is a green stripe with a purple tint, and on both sides of it you can see wide silvery stripes. The edge of the plate regains its characteristic green color. The reverse side of the leaves of Tradescantia has a pleasant purple color.

In contrast to the deciduous component of the plant, the flowers have no decorative value. They are painted in a pale pink color, they are found in single inflorescences, small in size. In addition, at home, zebrin blooms extremely rarely.

Young shoots of Tradescantia grow vertically and only with time begin to fall under their own weight. The stems of an adult flower reach 70 cm in length.

Distribution area in nature

Under natural conditions, this beautiful plant lives in America - from the south of the Canadian land to the north of Argentina. It grows in warm and humid tropical forests, where it spreads along the ground in a thick carpet, playing the role of a ground cover plant.

Zebrina varieties

Even within the same species, Tradescantia zebrins have some differences. In this regard, it is customary to distinguish the following subspecies:

• Hanging, or drooping. The most popular variety among florists. As the name implies, the stems of the plant are sharply lowered to the ground. Thanks to this feature, the subspecies is often planted in pots and hung in an apartment or on a balcony. However, it is valued not only for its beautiful view. Hanging Tradescantia has healing properties, and in folk medicine it is often used for colds. It can be distinguished from other plants by the purple color of the back of the leaf.
• Purple. It got its name due to the color of the leaf plates - it is purple, but again from the lower side. From above, the sheet does not have a clear delineation into stripes. There is a light cover of soft villi.
• Flocculosis. Silver-green leaf plates are strongly pubescent.

Despite the obvious morphological differences, some specialists combine the last two varieties with the first.

Care features

Zebrin Tradescantia is not at all demanding to the conditions of detention, it is easy to care for it. Cutting off a twig from a bush from friends or buying a plant in a store, it is easy to grow a lush and beautiful indoor "tenant" in a short time.

Lighting

Tradescantia loves bright lighting, you can even put it on the window so that the sun's rays fall on the leaves for some time.However, when spraying in the summer, care must be taken to prevent the plant from getting burned.

For zebrins, windows are suitable both on the south, and on the east or west side. But in the north, the plant may not have enough light, and it will slow down in growth, the leaves will gradually become smaller. This problem can be partially solved by installing an additional source of artificial lighting. Daylight hours, regardless of the season, should be about 10 hours.

Air humidity and temperature conditions

Air humidity does not play a special role for Tradescantia, however, spraying the flower in the heat has a positive effect. This is done in order to prevent overdrying of delicate, albeit thick leaves. In winter, additional air humidification is not required, because the plant has a dormant period. In the case of the purple and flocculosis subspecies, spraying is not required at all, since they have pubescent leaves.

Zebrin Tradescantia feels best in the middle temperature range - from 10 to 25 degrees above zero. If the heat is too hot in summer, the plant should be removed from the sun and sprayed constantly. In winter, it is better not to allow the temperature to drop below + 8 ° C. Otherwise, the flower will last for a very short time.

Transfer

The pot, in which Tradescantia is waiting for its buyer in the store, is not suitable for permanent "residence". Firstly, most often it turns out to be too small to provide full-fledged growth of the roots. And secondly, store soil serves only as a temporary substrate for the plant. That is why, as soon as the flower finds a new home, it should be transplanted.

The soil for planting Tradescantia is prepared as follows.

1. A small layer of expanded clay or chopped foam is placed on the bottom of the pot. This filler will act as drainage and will keep moisture away from the roots.
2. The primer can be selected at the flower shop. Land for ornamental indoor plants is best suited for Tradescantia, but this is not everywhere. A universal soil will come to replace it, to which a little perlite should be added to make the soil loose.
3. But if opportunities permit, the best option would be self-preparation of the soil. To do this, in equal parts, you need to mix leaf, turf soil and sand. It would be nice to add humus here, but you can't overdo it.

Proper watering

Tradescantia needs abundant watering, especially in the summer, the soil should be moistened every day. However, even in this situation, water stagnation at the roots should not be allowed - this can lead to rotting. 30 minutes after watering, if the liquid gets into the pan, it is drained. It is completely unacceptable that the entire earthen lump be dry, even for a short period of time.

If, for the winter, Tradescantia is placed in a cool room and a dormant period is arranged for it, then watering should be reduced significantly. At this time, the earth is moistened on the third day after the top layer has dried.

Top dressing and fertilizers

Tradescantia Zebrin should be fed with mineral fertilizers for indoor plants... This is especially required in the spring, when the flower wakes up after dormancy and hits growth. In winter, fertilize should be done in half and no more than once a month, but in summer, fertilizing should be increased up to 2 times a month.

Diseases and pests

Since all types of Tradescantia are strong and hardy plants, their pests are rarely affected. However, there are exceptions to all the rules. So, most often a spider mite or scale insect settles on the tradescantia of a zebrin. In the first case, the lesion is noticeable with a careful examination of the internodes, while some of the leaves fall off for no apparent reason. In the second case, the pest is located on the back side of the leaf plate, and characteristic plaques can also be seen there.

Important!

Treatment of the flower should not be postponed - this can lead to the death of the plant.

If the lesion is still weakly expressed, then it will be effective to treat the tradescantia with soapy water, and then rinse thoroughly under the shower. It is unacceptable for the soap to remain on the leaves or in the ground.

However, sometimes it happens that it was not possible to immediately notice the pests and the disease is already progressing. Then there is nothing left but to treat the plant with chemicals that can be bought in flower shops. They must be used in strict accordance with the instructions.

The humble plant Tradescantia Zebrin is known not only for its decorative, but also for its healing properties. It is believed that representatives of this species purify the air in the apartment, and the phytoncides that secrete their leaves create a calm atmosphere in the house and restore the psychological comfort of the owners. By giving the plant quite a bit of your time, in return you can get a lush flower that can decorate any windowsill.