Tradescantia pallida is a delicate evergreen perennial grown as an ornamental for its eye-catching purple foliage. It is native to northeast Mexico, from Tamaulipas to Yucatan. Joseph Nelson Rose gave it the name Setcreasea pallida in 1911, but D.R. Hunt of the Royal Botanic Garden Kew classed it in the genus Tradescantia in 1975. S. pallida or S. purpurea, the former names, are still frequently used.
This herbaceous plant in the Commelinaceae (spiderwort family) is a low-growing trailer that is commonly known as purple heart or purple heart wandering jew (and occasionally “Moses in the Basket, although this usually refers to a different species). It is hardy in zones 7 through 10, but it is easily grown as an annual or houseplant in colder climates.
On thick stalks, dark purple, lance-shaped leaves up to 7 long are produced alternately. The fleshy leaves create a sheath around the stem and are covered in light hairs. The stems are exceedingly delicate and can snap off when brushed or vigorously kicked. It will wither down to the ground in the winter in colder climates, but in the spring it will reappear from the roots. The sprawling plants can extend much farther and grow to a height of nearly a foot.
At the ends of the stems, relatively unnoticeable pink or pale purple blooms with vivid yellow stamens appear from midsummer through fall, as well as intermittently at other seasons. The three petals on these half-inch broad blooms are characteristic for this genus.
Purple heart can be grown as a houseplant, as a ground cover, as a trailer in a variety of containers, or cascading in baskets. They spread rather quickly and work best when planted in large groups in the ground. The purple foliage complements other plants’ pink, light purple, or burgundy blossoms beautifully and contrasts well with their gold, chartreuse, or variegated leaves. For striking combos, use it with complementing hues. scarlet begonias, orange marigolds, or chartreuse coleus.
Try putting it in a container with golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ or other types), Marguerite beautiful sweet potatoes, or light green asparagus fern. Alternately, pair it with coral-colored scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea ‘Coral Nymph’), pink petunias, or lavender or pink verbena. Four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa), lantana, scaveola, vinca (Catharantheus roseus), and Mexican petunia are other recommendations for plants with pink or purple flowers (Ruellia brittonia).
For best color development, cultivate purple heart in full sun; plants grown in shadow tend to be more green than purple. Plants can grow more compactly if you pinch them. Plants can withstand drought and grow when neglected, but they also accept constant watering. When you are actively growing, fertilize every month. After flowering, prune plants to keep them from becoming spindly. Reduce watering throughout the winter and hold off on fertilizing houseplants or those grown in containers to be kept indoors during the winter. Scales and mealybugs can be a nuisance, but purple heart has few other pests. Some people and dogs may have skin redness and irritation from the juice from the leaves or stems, but this is not a frequent issue.
Simply push a node into the soil or potting mix to get a cutting from any section of the plant to root, and plants can be readily propagated (or place in water until roots develop). This plant can also be grown from seed, however that material is infrequently accessible.
How is a purple heart plant cared for indoors?
Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm) long, upright-growing stems eventually trail over the side of the pot.
Bright light is required to preserve the dark purple hue. While some direct sunlight is acceptable, protect your plant from the intense summer sun. Tradescantia pallida needs more sunshine if the intervals between the leaves are long.
Thoroughly water the plant, then wait 1 inch (2.5 cm) to dry out in between applications of water. When growth is slower in the winter, use less water. Cut off the entire stem at the soil line if it is limp or wilted as this may indicate root rot.
Room humidity is average (around 40 percent relative humidity). The brown tips of leaves indicate dry air. Check out these simple methods for increasing humidity around your indoor plants.
Normal to warm indoor conditions (65–80°F/18–27°C) are ideal for this plant throughout the year. In the winter, purple heart can withstand temperatures as low as 50F/10C. Keep away from air vents and drafts coming in through doors.
Feed your plants weekly in the spring and summer with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer (such as 10-10-10 NPK).
Take 4 in (10 cm) stem tip cuttings for propagation in the spring or early summer. In moist potting soil, they’ll root with ease.
How much sunlight is required by purple heart plants?
Once they are established, tradescantia pallida require minimal maintenance. But if you experience one of these more typical problems, my advice can help you heal them.
Leaves Are Turning Green
Lack of sunshine is the most frequent reason for green leaves on your purple queen plant.
The rich purple color needs to be maintained in the daylight or 8+ hours of bright light indoors each day.
Yellow Leaves
The most common cause of yellowing purple heart leaves is overwatering. When the top few inches of soil are completely dry, give them a drink.
Yellow leaves can also result from extreme light deprivation, a lack of water, or poor nutrition.
Leggy Purple Queen Plant
Long stemmed, leggy growth might be an indication of age or a lack of sunshine. Make sure it receives 8+ hours per day of direct sunlight or bright indoor lighting.
If not, start pruning lanky stems and pinching back fresh tips for spring growth that is more compact.
Brown Leaves
Brown leaves are another typical sign of aging, though they could also be caused by a lack of moisture or low humidity.
Regularly check the soil to make sure it isn’t too dry, and if necessary use a humidifier or pebble tray indoors.
If the centre of the plant is becoming brown, aging is probably to blame. To revitalize it, give it a severe pruning.
Is purple heart a yearly occurrence?
When grown outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 711, the colorful purple heart plant is an evergreen perennial with a year-round growing season. In northern locations, it will wither away during the winter months due to the freezing weather, but the roots will survive, and new purple stems will emerge in the early spring. In warm areas, blooming occurs from late spring to early October.
Plant purple hearts where there is direct sunlight to promote vibrant purple foliage. Even in partial shade, the plant will continue to develop, but since there won’t be as much light, it will appear greener with less purple hints. When cultivating the purple heart as a container plant indoors or outdoors, pick a container with drainage holes and use all-purpose potting soil.
Is the purple heart plant an outdoor or interior plant?
Purple heart (Setcreasea pallida), sometimes known as purple queen, is a beautiful plant with lance-shaped, fluffy, purple leaves that can grow up to 7 inches long. The stems develop straight up before slanting over to produce a cascading impression. In the summer and fall, the stems’ tips bear vivid purple flowers. The purple heart grows well in hanging baskets, patio containers, and as a ground cover. Growing zones 9 through 11 of the United States Department of Agriculture are suited for planting purple hearts. It is frequently grown inside in colder climates.
How frequently should purple hearts be watered?
Purple heart is fairly drought-tolerant once planted, but if it receives regular summer water, it will appear cleaner and more lush. From spring till fall, water it once a week with an inch of water. To keep the roots healthy, let the soil surface dry out in between waterings. Increase watering to twice weekly during periods of high heat or drought if the soil is drying out sooner than usual. In the winter, cut back on watering to once every two weeks, and avoid providing any during rainy weather. Purple hearts growing in pots should also be watered if the top layer of soil becomes dry. Fill the pot with water until the extra drains out of the drainage holes. For this plant, always use containers with drainage holes.
When is a purple heart repotable?
Due to its slow growth, Purple Heart won’t require frequent repotting. In reality, you won’t need to do it more than once a year, in the Spring, when the plant is in bloom, or as soon as you detect that the roots are beginning to poke through the bottom drainage holes.
Simply carry out the instructions listed below to repot your Purple Heart:
First, thoroughly clean the new pot. To give the plant more room to grow, choose one that has drainage holes at the bottom (this will help prevent wet soil) and is 1 to 2 inches larger than its former pot.
Verify if the soil is nearby in step two. Preferably one that is porous and well-draining, such a soil mixture for succulents or cacti.
Step 3: Carefully take the plant out of its previous container. To do this, press your fingers into the pot’s inside. After that, flip the pot over and remove your Purple Heart. Just be cautious when handling the plant to prevent damage from falling on it or breaking it.
Step 4: Fill the new pot with soil until the bottom is completely covered. To get rid of air bubbles, mash it with your hands and gently shake the pot up and down.
Step 5: Place the plant in the pot’s middle and keep it there firmly. Add more soil with your other hand until the roots are completely buried. To release any trapped air while doing this, be careful to jiggle it gently left and right every so often.
Step 6: After you’re finished, level the dirt by giving it a gentle tap before placing your Purple Heart in the designated spot.
Where should a purple heart plant be cut?
Clean scissors should be used to trim a 2- to 4-inch section from the growing tip of your purple heart plant. Anytime during the growth season, cut in the morning or evening to escape the heat of the day. Stems bearing flowers or flower buds should be avoided. A node, which is a little bulge at the junction of a leaf and a stem, should be cut through the stem 1/4 to 1/2 inch below. Purple heart vines are straightforward to spot since they frequently zigzag from node to node. From here, the roots will spread out.
How should a purple heart plant be winterized?
Hello Neil What is this extremely gorgeous groundcover that I recently seen at a mall? It isn’t simply a yearly, is it?
Purpleheart, then (Setcreasea pallida). Its relatives include the wandering Jews hanging basket plants from the tropics. In most winters, purpleheart can withstand the cold, but it does with the first freeze, when it dies down to the ground. As the fall temperature cools, its electrifying, mid-lavender/purple color just gets stronger. It can withstand heat and drought pretty well. lovely plant
Yes. For several months, they reliably bloom, but they do best in the heat. Early to mid-fall sees a decline in their bloom production as a result of the lowering temperatures. When that happens, it’s time to remove them and put in pansies or other winter-appropriate flowers.
Hello Neil My banana trees expanded by more than 6 feet this year, reaching a height of more than 12 feet. Do you have any idea why they might have become that tall?
Nitrogen and water are the two factors that will contribute most to the vigorous growth of plants, including bananas. It appears that this year, you truly catered to their demands.
Hello Neil I have a sizable Philodendron split-leaf (not the climbing type). It’s been in my possession for a while, but I’m wondering if I may bring it inside for the winter. Approximately 6 feet wide. Is it trimmable?
No. Starting to remove healthy leaves will seriously set it back, and when it tries to grow back the following spring, it will be lanky and ugly. A big one that is about 30 years old is mine. For the winter, I roll it into my greenhouse on a plant dolly. The plant is then pulled up into a tight vase form using soft rope after I have inserted three rather large (1-inch) stakes into the container. For the winter, you might be able to accomplish something similar (hopefully more appealing). Alternately, mount it on casters and move it into and out of the garage in response to the weather. In the case of Philodendron selloum, a light frost (to 31 or 32 degrees) won’t harm the plant. I choose not to take that chance, though. Good fortune.
Hello Neil Does the soil produce powdery mildew? My zinnias, crape myrtles, and other plants are bothered by it. My lawn has a lot of toadstools, too.
Almost everywhere you look in gardens and landscapes in Texas, there is powdery mildew. Although it would be hard to completely remove all of the waste from your environment, it overwinter on plant detritus on the soil surface. When possible, choose resistant kinds, and in the nights, keep the plant’s foliage dry. Apply a labeled fungicide if powdery mildew and other illnesses continue to appear. For the record, Dr. Don Egolf of the United States National Arboretum chose the crape myrtle types with Native American Indian tribal names (Muskogee, Tuscarora, Natchez, etc.) primarily because of their resistance to this prevalent fungus. Zinnias of more recent varieties are also resistant. Consult a Texas Master Certified Nursery Professional for advice.
Hello Neil Ever notice how the cedar and elm bark is rubbed and then peeled in strings? Two branches have presumably died as a result of bark loss. Up in the tree, there appear to be significant sections where the bark has been removed. What might have caused damage of that magnitude?
It sounds like damage from squirrels. They are known for dying limbs and pealing off the bark, most notably in pecan and live oak trees, though other species are also affected. In the summer, you’ll notice 3-foot regions high up in pecan and live oak trees when all of the leaves abruptly turn brown. The bark has been peeled away when you look closely, generally with binoculars, as the rodents honed their teeth. Even if some larger beetles will score some bark insignificantly, they are not my top suspicions. I advise hiring a qualified arborist to assess the situation on the spot.
Hello Neil How much chilly weather can a cape honeysuckle withstand? Do they have to spend the winter indoors?
Tecomaria capensis, or cape honeysuckle, can withstand temperatures as low as 20 degrees. It might endure temperatures a little lower if it is mulched, covered, or in a protected area. If not, either leave it in a pot and move it into a greenhouse or sunroom, or if it will be exposed to colder weather, replace it every spring.
Hello Neil How likely is it that I’ll be able to successfully overwinter a few wax begonia plants indoors? I would hate to see all 25 of them freeze because I have them in patio pots.
If you have extremely bright light indoors, ideally direct sunlight, your plants should be alright. Naturally, a greenhouse would be ideal. Cut them back by 30 to 50% to encourage new growth. If you want to start with new, smaller plants, you can use the trimmings as cuttings.