Wandering Jew Plant

The most admired Wandering Jew plant is a native of Brazilian and Mexican tropical rainforests and is extremely beautiful and an easily grown plant. They resemble spiderwort in many ways like its pointed leaves and stalkless and trailing stem. The leaves have a unique feature which makes it different from a standard green leaf. The leaves are shiny and two inches long. The upper surface of the leaf is painted with silver stripes and purple on the other side. The leaves also have variations in stripe color like pink, cream and purple. This variation in leaves make a variety of this plant, a tropical forest plant different from each other.

The species which fascinates me the most is the purple Wandering Jew plant. Let us have look on some other common varieties of this plant.

Common Varieties of Wandering Jews	Features
Tradescantia Albiflora 'Albovittata'	White strips on bluish-green leaves
Tradescantia Fluminensis 'Quicksliver'	Leaves of green and silver stripes
Zebrina Pendula 'Purpusii	Purple and green leaves
Zebrina Pendula 'Quadricolor'	Pink, red, silver and green foliages
Callisia Elegans or Setcreasea striata	Small leaves, long stem and dull green foliage

How to Care for Wandering Jews

The Wandering Jew houseplant is the most adorable indoor plant because of the ease to care. Here are some tips on how to care for the plant. The plant requires indirect and bright light because in dim light the color of the leaves fade. The soil should be kept moist, but don't add water directly in the crown because it might rot your plant. Keep a check that it does not become very dry. The plant needs special care in winters. Add mild liquid fertilizer to the plant every month. Provide average amount of humidity and warm temperature. If the plant is in a hanging basket, mist it regularly. Keep pruning the ends of the stem frequently because this will help the stem to grow more branches and this will give a look heavy to the plant.

If pruning is not done, the stems will grow spindly so, remove the leggy stems. Also, you need to protect the plant from aphids and spider mites which attack the stem. Immediately remove the affected leaves and wash the plant with water. If you want to propagate the plant, then cut a three inches long stem, remove the leaves from the bottom and dip it into rooting hormone powder and plant it in a pot. It will take a few months for the roots to develop. Here are some facts about this plant that you must know before you have one in your house.

Wandering Jew Facts
Scientific Name	Tradescantia Zebrina, Zebrina Pendula
Common Name	Wandering Jew, Inch Plant
Light Requirement	Bright light to filtered light
Temperature	Between 60ºF to 75ºF
Water Requirement	Drench
Humidity	Average
Propagation	Layering and stem cuttings
Decorative Use	Hanging basket and on table
Availability	Year-round

Few Interesting Facts

• Their cousins are Rhoeo and other spiderwort.
• They are the members of Commelinaceae (spiderwort) family.
• The epithet 'Zebrine' is derived from Portuguese meaning zebra because of its striped pattern.
• There color changes like a chameleon, leaves appear green in low light and purple when exposed to high light.
• Tradescantia Zebrine helps in removing air-pollution.

The plant is the least demanding and very easy to grow. A lot of maintenance is not required for this plant. You can mix the varieties of this plant in the same pot to give it an entirely different look. It not only adds to your collection of plants, but also enhances the beauty of your house.