Categories
Deep dives Taxonomy and naming

Let’s talk about the wandering elephant in the room

On the history and implications of the most controversial common name for tradescantia.

Categories
Care and growing

When (not) to repot a plant

Repotting is an important part of long-term maintenance for any container plant. It’s also a stressful process for a plant to go through. So keeping container plants healthy means repotting when they need it, and only when they need it.

Categories
Care and growing

The golden rules of watering container plants

Learn about the golden rules for watering plants, which provide a regular saturation and drying cycle to keep plants healthy. And find out how to apply those rules in practise, and avoid both underwatering and overwatering.

Categories
Care and growing

How I grow my outdoor tradescantias

Learn about how I care for my outdoor tradescantias, including soil, watering, and other maintenance.

Categories
Care and growing

How I grow my indoor tradescantias hydroponically

Find out how water-retentive live sphagnum moss turns out to be a perfect medium for growing these indoor succulents.

Categories
Deep dives Plant science

Variegation and colour in plants

To understand plant colour and variegation, we need to consider two factors: the how, and the why.
The how factor is the question, “What physical and chemical processes inside the leaf created the colours we see?”
The why factor is the question, “What caused those physical and chemical processes to happen in that way?”

Categories
Deep dives Plant science

Plant growth regulators and tradescantias

An FAQ about plant growth regulators (PGRs), covering how and why they are used, and what effects they have on plants.

Categories
Cultivar research

The Superba Group: two birds with one stone

Two Tradescantia zebrina naming mysteries, solved with one neat reclassification.

Categories
Taxonomy and naming

How many varieties of tradescantia are there?

This question is surprisingly complex. Find out how many species and cultivars there are in the Tradescantia genus and the whole Commelinaceae family.

Categories
Cultivar research

Different types of Tradescantia zebrina

There are eighteen different named cultivars of Tradescantia zebrina. Distinguishing them can be tricky!