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Tradescantia Spiderwort is an easy-care houseplant that produces bright leaves and dainty, spider-like flowers, making it a charming addition to your indoor garden. With its eye-catching appearance and easy-care nature, it is the perfect choice for plant care beginners and a wonderful way to add a touch of color to your home. To ensure optimal growth, place your Tradescantia in bright, indirect light, plant it in well-drained potting soil, keep it evenly moist but not waterlogged, and maintain high humidity.
In this plant care guide, I will share my experiences growing spiderwort plants indoors. Read on for easy-to-follow tips on watering, light, humidity, propagation and more.
Caring for Indoor Spiderwort Plants
Scientific name: Tradescantia. Common names: Wandering Jew, Wandering Dude, Spiderwort, Inch plant. Tradescantias spiderwort family is native to America and occurs mainly in various regions of North and South America. They like bright, indirect light, moist soil and high humidity. If you care for your plant properly, it may begin to bloom, producing small pink or purple flowers that only last a day.
Tradescantia varieties
There are about 70 different varieties of Tradescantia, the most common being the Tradescantia Zebrina with green leaves and silver stripes and the purple spider flower, the Zebrina burgundy. There are pink and purple variegated Tradescantia such as Tradescantia fluminensis tricolor, Tradescantia bubblegum and Tradescantia Nanouk.
Tradescantia Wandering Jew Plant Name
Although there are several common names for the Tradescantia plant, for a long time the most commonly used name was the Wandering Jew plant. It is still used by a portion of people, but among a growing group of people, this name is raising some eyebrows. Why is the Tradescantia commonly referred to as the Wandering Jew? There are various stories circulating. Some say that the Tradescantia received its common name Wandering Jew due to its migratory nature. It spreads rapidly, with the stem sections all growing and wandering in slightly different directions.
Others say it is because propagated cuttings of the plant were passed on to friends and family like hikers traveling the world. But that only explains the hiking part. Tradescantia could simply have been described as a migratory plant. Why the Jewish part? I wasn’t there when the name was first used, but the most commonly heard explanation is that of an old Christian myth about a Jew who was said to have had a bad attitude and made fun of Jesus shortly before the crucifixion. It is said that Jesus responded by condemning him to wander the earth until his second coming.
In recent years the name Wandering Jew has been used less frequently. People alternatively use Wandering Dude or Spiderwort. The official name Tradescantia is also being used more and more frequently.
