Spiderwort
4.6 out of 5 (391 experiences)
About Spiderwort
Tradescantia zebrina is an exceptionally easy plant to care for and rewards growers with delightful white and purple blossoms. Their leaves have characteristic stripes, which is where they get the name Zebrina! They are extremely easy to propagate by stem and one plant can give rise to dozens of new ones, which makes them great for sharing. 🤝 As houseplants they often trail, but will also creep along the ground if grown outdoors. Their succulent leaves make them sensitive to frost, so be sure to bring them indoors if your winter temperatures dip below freezing. ❄️
Taxonomy
Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia
Commelinaceae
Commelinales
Also known as
Tradescantia Zebrina, Tradescantia Zebrina, Inchplant, Tradescantia pendula, Zebrina pendula, Wandering Dude, Quadricolor and discolor
How to care for Spiderwort
How often to water your Spiderwort
Spiderwort needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
9
Finding light for Tradescantia Zebrina in your home
Spiderwort may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Spiderwort in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Spiderwort
Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Spiderwort after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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What can I do to make this come back to life
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Look at her go!!!!! This is just over a month after planting (received in mail with small root ball)
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Maybe I should’ve left her alone but I realized I didn’t cut the bottom of the stems after where the roots grew when propagated and I didn’t want them to rot sure enough one of them looked like it had started to (not the one in pic) Anyway now they are gone and she’s back in soil #TradescantiaZebrina
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JUDE GOT FLOWERS!!! So excited!!! I’ve never had a plant grow flowers for me!!
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Thriving further out but dying in the middle- what’s going on!? #Zebrina
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Wondering Dude Propagation My sister gave me cuttings from her wandering dude. They’ve been in water for about a month. The roots growing look long but thin. Should I wait longer to move over to soil? Any tips appreciated I want to do it right 💕 #WanderingJew #WanderingDude #TradescantiaZebrina #Propagation #PropagationStation
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Why won’t she trail? Hey 👋🏼 I bought this plant because I thought she would be a trailing plant? I’ve seen so many pictures of beautiful cascading green and purple vines but mine keeps growing upwards! Any advice? #Zebrina
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Water or soil propagation? I got these #tradescantiananouk cuttings a week ago and I had no available pot, so I put them in water 😅. However, they are losing leaves and I don't see any root growing 😫. Should I put them in soil now? 🤔 I normally put the branches that I broke from my #tradescantiazebrina back to the pot and they start growing immediately 😂 Will these ones do the same?
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She's growing just lovely 😍 #Zebrina
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Root rot I tried planting this in this cute boot "pot" like in Wall-E. This was a terrible idea. How do I prop this without rotting it more? This is all I have left of the plant... I'm pretty new to tradescantia. #tradescantiazebrina #rootrot #propagationstation #plantsmakepeoplehappy #chopandprop
Care Summary for Spiderwort
Spiderwort
Greg recommends:
0.5 cups every 9 days
< 3ft from a window
Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.
What other plant parents say
I actually hate this plant but it feels rude to give it 5 stars just because it doesn’t spark joy. I’ll probably put it outside soon and just let it vibe out there so I don’t have to look at it anymore. Basically idiot proof though - I’ve been actively trying to kill it for months and it’s still hanging on.