Last year my plant was beautiful and now it looks like th...
Last watered 1 week ago
6
I'm going to give you the precise steps to get your Purple Heart up and running again. It's definitely not hibernating (they don't hibernate). I think the word @SalmonKing002 was thinking of is dormancy, but this isn't that either. Purple Hearts (Tradescantia pallida 'Purpurea') are insanely prolific growers that will quickly overtake a swath of land IF their basic needs are met.
The purple coloring in their leaves is 100% dependent on sunlight. Not enough light, the purple fades and they revert to green. That's clearly one of a few things happening here. These are sprawling ground cover plants, and when grown in containers that translates to a vining plant that will initially grow upright but quickly begin growing down and out their pots as trailing vines. They're not climbers. In their native habitat they grow along the ground with each node putting down roots. When grown as long vines, they need regular pruning or the ends will become scraggly with smaller and smaller leaves. Fortunately they're one of the easiest plants ever to propagate. They root so quickly you don't need to put them in water first, just stick the cuttings straight back into the soil. Keep doing this and you'll have a full, bushy plant.
So, how to rehab your sad Purple Heart and make it happy again:
1. Get a smaller pot. This pot is way too big for the amount of growth, which can lead to overwatering and rot. A 6" plastic nursery pot should be plenty big enough.
2. Fill pot with a gritty, fast draining soil. The best mix is cactus soil with extra perlite mixed in (3 parts cactus soil, 1 part perlite). Lightly water so it's slightly moist, but not soggy.
3. Take down all the clips and support stakes. Get a pair of sharp, sterilized scissors or pruners and begin cutting every stem as close to the base as possible. You won't be digging up the roots, JUST cutting off all the growth. This might seem scary but I've done it 100s of times and I promise you it's the best way. Lay out all the cuttings and one by one cut them into pieces with at least 3-4 sets of leaves/nodes each. Remove leaves from the LOWEST node and make a cut no more than 1/2" below that same node.
4. Grab a chopstick or something similar in size/circumference and use it to make a hole in the soil a few inches deep. Take one of your cuttings and insert it into the hole. The lowest node should be completely submerged, but don't bury it so deep that the leaves above sit directly on top of the soil. If needed, push down the soil around the base of the cutting until it stands on its own. Repeat with all the cuttings.
5. Now this is how your rebooted plant will turn purple again: place it in a west or south-facing window where it will get AT LEAST 3-4 hours of DIRECT sun daily. The suns rays have to directly hit the leaves, so no curtains or anything else that might diffuse the light.
6. When the soil is almost completely dry, water slowly until it starts to pour out drainage holes, then stop. This plant is basically a succulent, they store a lot of water in their leaves and are very drought tolerant. Always err on the side of dryer soil—an underwatered Purple Heart is an easy fix, but an overwatered one...not so much.
The purple coloring in their leaves is 100% dependent on sunlight. Not enough light, the purple fades and they revert to green. That's clearly one of a few things happening here. These are sprawling ground cover plants, and when grown in containers that translates to a vining plant that will initially grow upright but quickly begin growing down and out their pots as trailing vines. They're not climbers. In their native habitat they grow along the ground with each node putting down roots. When grown as long vines, they need regular pruning or the ends will become scraggly with smaller and smaller leaves. Fortunately they're one of the easiest plants ever to propagate. They root so quickly you don't need to put them in water first, just stick the cuttings straight back into the soil. Keep doing this and you'll have a full, bushy plant.
So, how to rehab your sad Purple Heart and make it happy again:
1. Get a smaller pot. This pot is way too big for the amount of growth, which can lead to overwatering and rot. A 6" plastic nursery pot should be plenty big enough.
2. Fill pot with a gritty, fast draining soil. The best mix is cactus soil with extra perlite mixed in (3 parts cactus soil, 1 part perlite). Lightly water so it's slightly moist, but not soggy.
3. Take down all the clips and support stakes. Get a pair of sharp, sterilized scissors or pruners and begin cutting every stem as close to the base as possible. You won't be digging up the roots, JUST cutting off all the growth. This might seem scary but I've done it 100s of times and I promise you it's the best way. Lay out all the cuttings and one by one cut them into pieces with at least 3-4 sets of leaves/nodes each. Remove leaves from the LOWEST node and make a cut no more than 1/2" below that same node.
4. Grab a chopstick or something similar in size/circumference and use it to make a hole in the soil a few inches deep. Take one of your cuttings and insert it into the hole. The lowest node should be completely submerged, but don't bury it so deep that the leaves above sit directly on top of the soil. If needed, push down the soil around the base of the cutting until it stands on its own. Repeat with all the cuttings.
5. Now this is how your rebooted plant will turn purple again: place it in a west or south-facing window where it will get AT LEAST 3-4 hours of DIRECT sun daily. The suns rays have to directly hit the leaves, so no curtains or anything else that might diffuse the light.
6. When the soil is almost completely dry, water slowly until it starts to pour out drainage holes, then stop. This plant is basically a succulent, they store a lot of water in their leaves and are very drought tolerant. Always err on the side of dryer soil—an underwatered Purple Heart is an easy fix, but an overwatered one...not so much.
Sorry, I know that was a lot to read! I collect tradescantia, they're my favorite plants and the ones I have the most experience with. I get really excited when someone posts a question about one, so I kinda geek out and go overboard lol. I've rehabbed several Purple Hearts successfully using this exact method. If you have any questions, please tag me! If you need help with cutting, feel free to share photos and I'll show you exactly where to make your cuts. I promise your plant will once again look like the plant you purchased! 💚
Steph thank you for being so informative. You've answered a lot of questions,and please no worries about the long text I myself tend to just keep going sometimes..ha and I think I will take you up on that offer on showing me how to cut them I'm not going to do it for another day or two, but I will tag you,I definitely need the help. I'm never quite sure where to cut. Thank you again for the help
