10 Tradescantias You Will Love

7-minute read

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Tradescantias aka wandering Jew, wandering dude, inch plant, or spiderwort are some of the most beautiful plants and so easy to grow. In this post I will share with you 10 tradescantia varieties that are just stunning and I know you will love.

If you are looking for a great looking hanging plant that is easy to care for you have come to the right place. Here are the 10 varieties I will be sharing about today:

History of Tradescantias
Care of Tradescantias
Padilla or Purple Heart

Zebrina

Nanouk
Jose Puig

Fluminensis variegata
Pistachio White
Albiflora
Navicularis or Boat Leaf
Teddy Bear Vine or Cyanotis beddomei

Callisia Repens or Pink Panther

Wild Species

On My Wishlist

History of Tradescantias

First a little history of the Tradescantia plant. Tradescantias are native to the Americas from Southern Canada to Argentina including the West Indies. There are 86 recognized species and many more cultivars.

Tradescantias are climbing and trailing in nature and one stem can grow up to 6 feet long. The blooms of these plants are distinctive with 3 petals and 6 yellow anthers. Rarely will some display 4 petals and 8 anthers.

Tradescantias provide air purifying properties. Like many other houseplants, Tradescantias are able to help purify the air by removing harmful toxins. For more information on air purifying plants read my post here.

Tradescantias provide indoor decor and also can bring color and visual appeal to your landscape and garden. They also have health benefits of purifying the air and reducing stress levels.

Care of Tradescantias

Tradescantias are easy to care for and mimic succulents as far as caring for them. They tolerate bright indirect to direct sunlight. Lots of bright light is essential to help these plants maintain their colored foliage.

Their semi-succulent-like characteristics allow them to store water in their leaves and stems so that they can tolerate short bouts of drought. It is good practice to allow their soil to dry out some between waterings.

I water mine about once every 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) in summertime where they live outdoors in direct sunlight. In wintertime I place them under grow lights and water about once every 3-4 weeks.

Make sure to keep your Tradescantias in pots with drainage and growing in a well-draining soil or substrate. Fertilize your Tradescantias with a balanced house plant fertilizer every other watering during the growing season to help them thrive.

Here are the 10 varieties I currently own and love:

#1 Padilla or Purple Heart

*Propagated started from my fuller plant. Isn’t she the cutest?*

Purple heart or purple queen is my number one favorite Tradescantia because of characteristics. Deep purple foliage is my favorite! Also, she is furry and blooms pink little blooms. All the beauty and she is a very quick grower.

This variety was one of my very first plants too! She is one of the plants that started my love for house plants so very dear to me.

#2 Zebrina

*This is just a pot of props from my main plant. They rooted so easily.*

Also, a purple foliage plant therefore he secures his spot at number 2 on my list. This one grows so quickly as well and is just absolutely stunning. I have yet to have one bloom for me, so that is something I would love to see. #plantgoals.

#3 Nanouk

*A little rough around the edges, but still growing strong.*

If you love pink plants, you will want to check out the Nanouk. This plant is beautiful! I purchased mine from my favorite nursery, and it took a long time to find one. Nowadays they are a lot more common and can be found more easily.

I was happy to purchase mine, and she was big and lush. She has declined in health recently. She did not grow much over the wintertime which is normal.

But she has not really grown back over this summer. I do have 2 healthy propagations from her so that is good, but I really want to grow this plant back to a full and lush pot.

I am going to repot into my new DIY substrate and I truly think she is going to make a big comeback.

I do so love this plant! She is in the top 3 of these 10.

#4 Jose Puig

*My Amazon plant. I was so impressed with the shipping and condition of this one.*

This one, oh this one is fabulous. I love the dark, almost black foliage! This one is in forever bloom too. The tiny cutie little flowers have been forever present since I have owned this plant.

This plant was an Amazon purchase. Did I mention how great it is buying plants from Amazon? It is the best because I have prime and do not have to pay for shipping and get to purchase the plants I want. It is really a win win to shop for plants on Amazon.

#5 Fluminensis variegata

This plant displays such amazing variegation. I went to my local nursery for substrate and had no intention of buying any more plants. I saw this plant and did not even second guess it at all. I just knew I had to have this one.

The variegation has gotten even better, and I absolutely love how it is different throughout the plant. Some leaves are greener, and others have more cream. I genuinely love it and that is why it has quickly moved to the top 5.

#6 Pistachio

This Tradescantia is like the albiflora, but better. It’ s like the albiflora on steroids. Its leaves are broader and have a lot more white on them. I love it! I know I have said that about them all, but this one should be at the top for me. The only reason it is not the number one spot is because of my connection with my top 2.

My pistachio has been on the struggle bus this summer. He was doing very well for a long time. He even grew a lot over the wintertime, but since I placed him outside, he has struggled. I am sure I over watered once and then the adjustment to the new environment of the outdoors and higher sunlight intensity has not been good for Bruno.

However, a lot of caring for plants is knowing what is wrong with them. Being able to diagnose the problem is 90 percent of it. Since I know why he boarded the struggle bus I know I will be able to get him back to good health too.

I got Bruno as a cutting on Etsy. I always know I truly fall in love with a plant when I make a purchase of just one and must have it. That was what I did with this plant. Had to have it!

#7 Albiflora

*Love the pot! He is striking in this pot!*

This plant I first saw on one of my plant content YouTubers. She had one that was so lush and full in the pot and I absolutely loved that it was green and white.

I found mine at my local nursery and was excited to add it to my tradescantia collection. I have propagated this one several times and need to let it grow out now.

Here is Garth ready to grow long and full in his pot.

#8 Navicularis

I must admit I was not real crazy about this plant when I first got it. I thought it was cool looking, because of its boat shaped leaves, but just brought it home and forgot about it.

This spring when it was time to take my Tradescantias outside, I started noticing it more. She has sun stressed so beautifully and has grown a lot in such a brief time. So, Flo has moved up the totem pole to the number 8 of 10 spot.

#9 Teddy Bear Vine

*I love you even though you look like a spider!*

I got this plant from Etsy in a mystery cutting bundle. I do so love the furry and the purple backs of the leaves. But this plant looks like a tarantula. Literally its stems are furry and brown and look like tarantula legs. Sort of creepy! I do love this plant but being spider like he falls to the number 9 spot.

#10 Pink Panther

*Gnomey the Gnome is going to help you get better!*

I love this little cutie plant. She is in the bottom spot only because mine is struggling a bit and because of size. This plant is tiny. I love that its pink but prefer the Nanouk because of size.

This is one of 3 that has survived in my care. While tradescantias are easy to care for, this variety I have had a little harder time growing.

Wild Species

I recently found this species growing wild in my garden area. I took some cuttings to propagate, and they are rooting up nicely. This species is Ohiensis and found growing wild throughout the Midwest. It is commonly identified as the dayflower.

I am excited to see if it grows for me in a pot as a house plant.

On My Wishlist

Zebrina Quadricolor and Baby Bunny Belly

I would have already purchased the Zebrina Quadricolor, however, I am being very particular about the one I get. I want it to have an exceptionally good variegation of all the colors. I see some that just look like ordinary Zebrina, and I do not want that. I want to be able to see a distinct difference.

Baby Bunny Belly looks a lot like Teddy Bear Vine, however, she is pink backed and green leafed. I think I will enjoy her more she doesn’t resemble a spider.

In conclusion, I hope I have inspired you to try out growing one of these varieties yourself. You can get them easily from Amazon here.

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And don’t forget to drop me a comment! I would love to chat with you! Which tradescantias are your favorites?