Nanouk Pink Wandering Jew

I've just put in an order fo one of these - as an indoor plant here, though! I like the mauve colouring on it.

It’s a nice plant that seems to tolerate very dry conditions.

I’m going to use it as a groundcover. I hope it’s not going to be a mistake. Tradescantia flumenensis (green wandering Jew) is a horrible weed here. I planted Tradescantia zebrina as a groundcover and hope it’s more manageable.

Thanks 😀

I have a lovely childhood of this plant growing at my Nan's house ... it was on top of a tall cupboard and trailed down one side.

Oh,, it's useful to know it tolerated dryness, Delonix. It may have to thrive on neglect!

Ange2,

When I gave it more water the leaves started browning. Now, that it’s just getting rain water it’s doing much better.

Shirley tulip,

This is a relatively new hybrid. There’s several plants that look similar, though.

Ah, it just immediately transported me back to my youth!

Your Nanouk Pink Wandering Jew looks great, I'd love to get hold of a plant or two! 😀

"Tradescantia flumenensis (green wandering Jew) is a horrible weed here."

I have been growing it on the balcony & in the house for many years now. I love the dark green shiney foliage indoors (where it never flowers) & the lovely white flowers outside on the balcony! But it does seed itself around a lot! I keep finding seedlings popping up in pots on the balcony. I just pull them out & throw them away. It will stand some frost as well because I've grown it on the balcony for years with no protection & it always returns! It has all died down this year after the terrible frosts in the first couple of weeks in December last year but I expect seedlings will still pop up when the weather gets a little warmer.

Just this morning I threw away the 2 plants we had in our living room. They had become very overgrown (well one had as it had been there for 2 or 3 years) & most of the stems had/were dying at the soil level in the pots. Incredibly these plants can die away very slowly from the roots over a period of several months & you'd hardly notice!

I also have several plants of T.zebrina on top of the fridge in the kitchen. Though I renew them with new cuttings most years I've had plants growing there almost 20 years! They never flower, not in the kitchen nor outside on the balcony, I tried one year.

That's a pretty one, Andy. Love the bicolouring. Lots of lovely new shoots too. Hoping it thrives for you.

Kate,

It is a beautiful plant. I hope it does better in the ground. I think the horrible hard water here makes it brown-tip.

I have Tahitian Bridal Veil outdoors where it does try to be weedy-lol. Wherever I give consistent water and shade it pops up. I like the perpetual bloom..but it will even grow as an epiphyte on Orchids and ferns. But its easy to remove where not wanted.

Balcony,

I’ve been battling the green Wandering Jew for years! Ugh! I decided this year to let it do its thing. I guess it’s better than looking at dry ground. Lol

I have some T. zebrina flowering right now, outside. T. zebrina is a much nicer plant than the green plants.

Stan,

Tahitian Bridal Veil is a beautiful flowering plant. It wouldn’t be bad as a weed.

The green Wandering Jew was an accidental present from my daughter some years ago. She bought me a plant of the Venus Flytrap. As she came over to visit us on the bus somehow a bottle of cologne water came open & soaked everything she had in the bag the plant was in. She was heartbroken but I told her that perhaps it might survive. For about a week it did but it got weaker by the day & died after about a week. But I saw a tiny green shoot - almost invisible if I hadn't picked the pot up for a closer inspection.

Eventually it grew but it wasn't a surviving shoot from the Venus Flytrap plant but this Wandering Jew! It had somehow survived being soaked in cologne water! I just left it to continue growing. Then I took a cutting or two & I liked the deep green leaves that shone so nicely & the purple backs to the leaves as well.

Balcony,

That’s quite a plant experience. It just proves how resilient this plant is if in good conditions.

I’ve been pulling out Wandering Jew for 20 years. I’ve sprayed it with herbicide (which I never use anymore) and it keeps coming back. We’ve had a very much-needed 6 inches of rain in January. Yay! The Wandering Jew is growing like crazy everywhere in the front yard!

It has also survived the very hard frosts we had here in December & January! The top growth has all been killed but I've seen shoots starting to grow back!

Balcony,

It’s pretty indestructible!

It’s growing like crazy with the Nasturtium in the front yard. It’s super green here with all the January rains! It’s been quite a few years since it’s been green like this here. The deserts of Southern California are forecasted to have a super bloom this year. The desert flowers should be out in a few weeks through March. Sometime in April typically the intense heat kills all the flowers.

Will you be able to get some pictures? I think we would all like to see the blooming desert! 😃

Yes, when I drive out to the San Diego Desert (Borrego Springs and Ocotillo Wells) I’ll get a lot of pics. The wild flowers here in San Diego are starting to come out, also. There’s several of the same flowers that grow out in the desert grow here, too.

We will look forward to seeing some pictures then! 😃

Balcony,

I read that it may not be quite as spectacular of a super bloom in the desert. The desert has had no rain since the middle of January. Although, The Laguna Mountains have had a tremendous amount of rain and it flows down to the desert floor on the east of those mountains.

I’ll have to make a trip to Borrego, Ocotillo Wells and the Salton Sea in 2 to 4 weeks.

Perhaps you will be lucky then!