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Wandering Dude or Tradescantia is the perfect beginner plant. It’s going to be forgiving if you miss a watering – or even if you over water a little. It’s going to be forgiving if it’s not in the perfect light conditions and more than being forgiving – it’s going to grow! Mine has grown by leaps and bounds and while it is still planted in the bowl shown above, it’s ready for a larger pot. You can see in the other photos just how large it has gotten!
Tradescantia is also fun because it flowers! Flowers will grow over and over on the flower stalks so don’t trim them off if you’re taking cuttings for propagation, which by the way, you should do as it propagates very easily in both water and soil.
General Wandering Dude Tradescantia Care Tips
Light: Inch Plant (also known as Wandering Jew, but mostly being called ‘Wandering Dude’ these days and rightly so) is pretty flexible in the light it can handle. If you put it in very bright light the whole plant will turn purple. If you put it in less intense light, you will see more of the variegation or stripe on the leaf. I tend to place mine in bright, indirect light as that will encourage a bushy plant with less ‘legginess.’
Water: Tap water is just fine for this plant and I let it dry out thoroughly between watering. As it is currently in a small bowl with no drainage I likely go a little scant on water. As long as you aren’t leaving it to sit in a puddle, it’s going to be happy.
Soil: I use a standard, well draining potting mix that includes perlite.
Humidity: This plant is in standard room humidity and doing well.
Fertilizer: I am using a general 10-10-10 water soluble plant fertilizer once a month.
Pruning: You should prune this plant readily to encourage bushy growth. Put cuttings right back into the pot and they will root and grow.
Toxicity: Listed as toxic to cats and dogs. See this article for 20 plants safe for cats.
See what the flower stalks look like below. If you’re shopping for a new plant in the nursery, look for one that already has flower stalks.
There are many varieties of Tradescantia and the Zebrina is a great place to start exploring the genus. I think it’s the ideal place to start with houseplants too as they’re so easy and provide much to learn. Plus, they’re very inexpensive so get a little baby and watch it grow!
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