View the full National Collection of tropical Tradescantia cultivars at the open day in Machynlleth.
What’s happening
I hold the National Plant Collection for tender Tradescantia cultivars. That means I’m responsible for keeping a living archive of every tropical tradescantia that currently exists in the UK.
One of the duties of being a collection holder is to make the collection available to the public to view. I do that by holding an open day near the end of summer.
It will be an opportunity to come and see the plants and how I grow them, learn more about tradescantias and my collection, and buy some unusual plants.
Time and place
Check back in summer 2024 for the details of the next open day.
Planning your visit
The collection is held at a small private home and garden. There’s not very much space for large groups! Please don’t bring pets or young children.
Entry is free, although donations are welcome to help fund the collection and the open day.
You can drop in any time and don’t need to book ahead. But it is helpful to let me know in advance that you’re planning to come, so that I have an idea of numbers – email me at hello@tradescantia.uk.
There’s no rain or sun shelter in the garden, so make sure to prepare for the weather on the day.
Viewing the collection
The collection contains about 75 different Tradescantia cultivars, plus about 30 species and cultivars from the wider tradescantia family (Commelinaceae).
Half of the collection live in the garden and in the porch/conservatory, growing in 12cm containers of peat-free potting mix. You can wander the garden and porch to see these plants of your own accord.
The other half live indoors, growing in larger containers of sphagnum moss. Over the day I’ll give periodic tours of the indoor growing room for interested groups.
Buying plants
You can buy fresh (unrooted) cuttings of almost any plant you see at the open day. Tradescantias are notoriously easy to propagate – fresh cuttings can be stuck straight into a pot of soil and will be fully-rooted and growing within weeks.
If you don’t already have your own supplies you can also buy a pot of soil to plant them in, and I can even help you pot them up straight away.
I can take payment by cash, contactless, and paypal. If you’re hoping to buy a lot of plants, bring boxes or bags to take them away in!
Accessibility
There is step-free access to the garden, and one small step to enter the porch.
The indoor growing room and toilet are up one flight of stairs.
There is usually street parking available close by, but I can’t guarantee it. There aren’t any blue badge parking spaces.
If you have any other questions about the location or the open day, feel free to get in touch.