Is my Tradescantia Zebrina dead/beyond help?
I had a Tradescantia Zebrina that I bought from a garden centre and it was happy for a while and grew big and dangly, but then all the leaves kept wilting off until it was basically just stalks, but I managed to take a cutting from it and grow that as this plant called Luna. This has grown as one tendril and similarly grew longer but at a certain point the leaves started wilting. Then a few weeks ago, I was moving it while watering and when I held the main stalk, it just snapped/pulled out of the soil with no roots attached. I trimmed down to below a leaf and put it in water to try and regrow it as a cutting, but no roots have started to develop and the lower leaves are wilting as they did when it was in soil, yet the leaves at the stop still look bright and healthy. Is there anything I can do to get it back to life or is it beyond help at this point?
#TradescantiaZebrina
#TradescantiaZebrina
5” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 day ago
7
So in their natural environment, zebrina grow sprawling out across the ground. They're designed to break so the pieces fall to the ground, put down roots, and on and on it goes. As long as you have a healthy node, you can regrow them. I have over 40 tradescantia varieties, including 14 zebrina varieties, and I've regrown plants from far less than you have! 😛 Here's what you do:
1. Remove the lowest leaf and cut the stem just beneath that node (I marked on the photo where to cut). Leave only a few millimeters of stem beneath the node.
2. Get a small pot, 2-3". Fill with cactus soil mixed with extra perlite (2 parts soil, 1 part perlite).
3. Lightly water soil
4. Poke a hole in the soil with a chopstick
5. Insert the cutting, making sure that lowest node is completely covered in soil. Gently pat down the soil around the base of the cutting until it stands up on its own.
6. Place pot somewhere that gets DIRECT light (zebrina need direct sun to maintain their purple coloring).
7. Let the soil almost completely dry out between waterings.
8. Once the cutting has grown a bit more (another 1-2 sets of leaves), cut off a piece with 3-4 sets of leaves & repeat process above.
Keep doing this as soon as the stems grow long enough that you're able to cut off pieces with at least 3-4 sets of leaves. Then stick them right back into the soil. It won't take long before you have a full and healthy plant again! These guys root so quickly, you really don't need to put them in water first. It's possible your original plant declined due to overwatering, not enough light, or both. As long as you give them direct light and let the soil completely dry out between waterings, they're incredibly easy plants (my favorite plants, in fact!) 😊
Please let me know if you have any questions!
1. Remove the lowest leaf and cut the stem just beneath that node (I marked on the photo where to cut). Leave only a few millimeters of stem beneath the node.
2. Get a small pot, 2-3". Fill with cactus soil mixed with extra perlite (2 parts soil, 1 part perlite).
3. Lightly water soil
4. Poke a hole in the soil with a chopstick
5. Insert the cutting, making sure that lowest node is completely covered in soil. Gently pat down the soil around the base of the cutting until it stands up on its own.
6. Place pot somewhere that gets DIRECT light (zebrina need direct sun to maintain their purple coloring).
7. Let the soil almost completely dry out between waterings.
8. Once the cutting has grown a bit more (another 1-2 sets of leaves), cut off a piece with 3-4 sets of leaves & repeat process above.
Keep doing this as soon as the stems grow long enough that you're able to cut off pieces with at least 3-4 sets of leaves. Then stick them right back into the soil. It won't take long before you have a full and healthy plant again! These guys root so quickly, you really don't need to put them in water first. It's possible your original plant declined due to overwatering, not enough light, or both. As long as you give them direct light and let the soil completely dry out between waterings, they're incredibly easy plants (my favorite plants, in fact!) 😊
Please let me know if you have any questions!
@stephonicle Thank you so much for such clear instructions! ☺️ I’ll do my best and see what happens 🤞
@stephonicle this is what I do with mine as well! But I was under the impression that they did not like direct light, so now I’m going to move mine to the south and west sides of my house!! Mine do okay on the east side but are really leggy, hoping the move with help th push out faster!!! I have two different kinds and just love the added purple!!!
This is my lilac tradescantia. She’s in a south window but it is covered by a porch roof so no direct sunlight. She gets crispy leaves sometimes so I’m not sure if I should move her to the west or just water her more..
