The hardy Tradescantia hybrids are popular garden plants, but they have a history of confused identity. Where did it all go wrong?
Author: Tradescantia Hub
This plant has had a LOT of names. And it turns out not one of them is correct. Find out why all those names are wrong, and which is right!
Find out how to distinguish between the three variegated cultivars of Tradescantia zebrina – ‘Quadricolor’, ‘Discolor Multicolor’, and ‘HappiLee’.
Find out how to distinguish between Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Variegata’ and ‘Yellow Hill’.
It turns out the mysterious “grey” cultivar of T. pallida that appeared in the last few years, has actually existed since 2003, and its name is ‘Shadow Hill’!
Tradescantias are semi-succulents, which means they’re much more tolerant of drought than a lot of plants. It also means that they’re a lot less obvious about it when they eventually do get thirsty. Growing tradescantias as houseplants is very different from having “drama queens” like coleus, nerve plants, and polka dot plants.
Throughout history this name has been used in many different ways. There’s a lot of confusion and uncertainty over what plants it really refers to, or whether it should be used at all. This article will explain some of the history, the ways it’s currently used, and what’s scientifically accepted today.
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What is a wild type plant?
In the world of cultivated tradescantias, there are some plants which people refer to as “wild type”. This is a pretty ambiguous term that doesn’t do much to help identify plants – the best approach in these cases is to use cultivar names instead.
You might have noticed some ‘Purple Heart’ plants look different to others. That’s because there are actually two different types!
Sometimes this plant is labelled as Tradescantia × andersoniana ‘Blushing Bride’, and sometimes it’s labelled as Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Maiden’s Blush’. But these names actually refer to two completely different cultivars!