Description of 15 types of garden tradescantia, planting and care in the open field and at home
Garden Tradescantia is one of the best ornamental plants, which is actively used in various fields because of its abundant flowering for six months. This culture has long won the hearts of many gardeners with its unpretentiousness and stability. To grow garden tradescantia, you must familiarize yourself with and in the future follow the rules for planting and caring for the crop.
Description
Garden Tradescantia is a herb that belongs to the Kommelin family. It got its original name in honor of the gardener John Tradescant, who worked at the court of King Charles I of England, who ruled in the 17th century. The culture is distinguished by an enviable flowering duration before the onset of frost.
A perennial bush of garden tradescantia has a thickened fibrous root system, thin knotty shoots. The small-leaved shrub grows from 20 cm to 1 meter in height, characterized by spreading leaves of bright green color that lie on the soil.
Small buds, collected in umbellate inflorescences, have a delicate and attractive shape, as well as a variety of colors, namely purple, pink, blue, blue, white. The fruit is a thin-walled capsule, consisting of two halves, on which the seeds are located.
Application
Due to its extraordinary attractiveness, Tradescantia garden is actively used to decorate the backyard and decorate the premises. Among other things, the plant is used in the medical industry, as it has healing power.
Healing properties
Garden Tradescantia has a number of useful properties and is used in the fight against diseases such as:
- boils;
- infectious diarrhea;
- angina;
- runny nose;
- flatulence;
- diabetes;
- periodontal disease.
The substances that are part of Tradescantia Sadovaya have antimicrobial, antiviral, wound healing, anti-inflammatory effects. In Asia and America, Tradescantia is used to treat wounds.
Apartment decoration
Home Tradescantia belongs to the ampelous species and is actively used to decorate houses and apartments. The place of localization of a houseplant should be selected in such a way that the flower has the opportunity to lower its stems. Hanging vases or pots are considered ideal. The pots can be placed on the surface of tall furniture or a shelf.
Landscape design
Garden Tradescantia allows you to design beautiful flower arrangements in landscape design. It has uncomplicated delicate buds that go well with many plants.
Excellent neighbors for tall varieties - hosts, brunners, anemones, swimsuits and astilbe, for low crops - cuffs, geraniums, gravilata, lungwort.
Varieties
In nature, there are a large number of the most diverse types of Tradescantia, each of which has its own botanical characteristics.
White-flowered
It got its name from the characteristic white stripes on oval leaves and light umbellate inflorescences at the top of the pedicel.
Zebrina
The ampelous plant has a zebra-like leaf color with a characteristic silvery sheen. Reaches 80 cm in height, rarely blooms, especially when grown at home.
Riverside
A capricious form of garden Tradescantia, which has high decorative qualities. Egg-shaped leaves with a whitish bristle and pleasant color combination. The shade of small buds ranges from white to deep purple.
Veiled
The variety was popular earlier, and now many gardeners look at it with a note of nostalgia. It is an ornamental deciduous crop that grows quickly and has a unique purple leaf color. In appearance, it is associated with plants typical of Mexico and Florida.
Blossfeld
A variety of garden tradescantia is easy to recognize by its dense stems with a red tint. The leaves with a noticeable coarse pile are dark green on the upper side and purple on the bottom.
Scaphoid
This type of garden tradescantia does not have pubescence on the stem, the fleshy, boat-shaped leaves are small in size and have many purple dots on the surface.
Anderson
The bush is upright, up to 80 cm high. The leaves are green in color with a purple tint. Inflorescences of various colors from white to bright purple.
Sillamontana
The Tradescantia of Sillamontana is also known as "hairy" or "hairy". The species belongs to succulents and is characterized by fleshy leaves of bright green color. Purple buds are medium in size.
Myrtle
Tradescantia with silver stripes on the background of a dark green leaf, with a purple color from the bottom. The stem is thin, colored purple.
Hairy
This variety is rarely seen. Its stems are straight, and the small leaves are covered with thick hairs, which form a fluffy bloom. The flowers have a bright pink-lilac color.
Virginia
The most common among gardeners under the name - "street". An evergreen plant with a height of 30 to 80 cm, which is characterized by inflorescences of gentle pastel colors. The most famous variety on the territory of Russia, since it is cultivated in all its regions.
Wegelin
One of the most popular varieties due to its similarity to violets. It has bright blue flowers. In the process of growth, the bush grows strongly and reaches a height of 50 cm. The variety is frost-resistant, therefore it can bloom from the first ten days of June until late autumn.
Charm mix
A perennial plant with a varied selection of shades: pink, white, light blue, blue, purple. It is sown in early March, actively grows on fertile soils, the variety is quite unpretentious in care.
Rosy bride
It differs from other varieties by the presence of pearlescent pink flowers and glossy bright leaves. The plant is not tall, no more than 40 cm. Flowering period: June - the last decade of August.
Reo
A beautiful unpretentious plant that pleases with annual flowering. The rosette of leaves increases by at least 10-15 cm per year. The inflorescences are covered with a bract, which forms a kind of veil.
Outdoor cultivation
For many, it is a novelty that an ordinary indoor flower can be grown outdoors, since this luxurious perennial shrub can bloom for a long time and endure unfavorable conditions. To admire its flowering all summer, you need to know the peculiarities of growing garden Tradescantia in the open field.
Seat selection
To breed Tradescantia garden, it is necessary to select a shaded place. The plant prefers areas with high humidity. Ideally, a body of water should be located near the place of growth. Sandstone is a great soil.
Soil preparation
The soil must be rid of weeds, loosened up and organic fertilizers applied - vermicompost, peat or humus.
How to plant
Dig small holes in the prepared area, place the seedling vertically in them, straightening the root system. Cover with soil, leaving the root collar to rise 2-3 cm above the ground. Be sure to water Tradescantia, mulch the area near the root with peat or humus. If the seedling was at home, it is recommended to cover it with special material for several days. When it takes root, the shelter must be removed. If the varieties are high, it is worth taking care of a reliable support or a garter.
Care
Despite its unpretentiousness, the plant needs proper care, timely feeding, regular watering, pruning and periodic transplants.
Watering
Watering should be given special attention, since garden Tradescantia is not indifferent to moisture, especially if it is located in the sun. Water it abundantly and regularly.
With insufficient moisture and heat, the plant stops growing, stops flowering and may even die.
Top dressing
Frequent fertilization can harm the growth and development of Tradescantia garden. In order not to harm the culture, you need to follow the feeding schedule.
The first
At the first stage, when the first shoots appear, apply a complex of mineral fertilizers.
The second
The next feeding is carried out at the time of bud formation.
Rest
This is enough for active growth and development of the plant. If the planting was carried out in soil that is rich in clay, then in the coming years it is worth refraining from fertilizers altogether. The rest of the dressings are carried out exclusively as needed.
Fertilizer
As a fertilizer, it is recommended to use a complex product based on mineral fertilizers. You can alternate top dressing with organic substances.
Seasonal maintenance at home
During the cold season, garden Tradescantia can be transplanted into pots and brought into the house, but in order to avoid addiction and severe stress due to temperature changes, it is better to leave it in the open ground, cutting it off and covering it with special material for the winter.
Planting and transplanting into new soil
At least once every 4 years, it is necessary to transplant the bushes of the garden tradescantia into another soil.
Soil preparation
Good quality soil must contain mineral and organic matter.
Why a shallow pot is needed
The root system of garden tradescantia grows proportionally, so a pot of standard size is needed to transplant a plant. It should be a trapezoidal container, the top of which is at least 3 cm larger than the bottom.
How to transplant
The plant needs to be dug up a little, gently pulled out of the soil, being careful not to damage the root system. Then place in the selected container, sprinkle with potting soil and water.
From store to new home
When buying, Tradescantia relies on soil, which is also worth purchasing additionally. It is recommended to transplant into new soil every 2 years.
Care
It is with tradescantia that it is recommended to start your work in the garden. The plant needs additional care, although it is an undemanding crop.
Watering
Regular watering is the first requirement of the plant. Garden Tradescantia does not tolerate drought.
Top dressing
Top dressing is optional, but during the growing season and budding it is better to feed the flower by applying complex fertilizers based on minerals and organics.
Bloom
At the end of the flowering period, it is recommended to remove the peduncles in a timely manner so that seedlings do not get into the soil, which can germinate the next year and thicken the shrub chaotically.
Wintering
For the winter, it is necessary to cut off the ground part of the plant and mulch the soil with peat or humus. Otherwise, Tradescantia may not endure the winter period.
Pruning
Long, bare stems will develop as they grow and require pruning. It should be carried out in the spring. The resulting cut can be used as a cutting.
Topping
The procedure is necessary in order to improve the appearance, to give the plant volume. It can be done at any time. To do this, cut the longest stems at the very root, this will provoke the active growth of new young shoots.
If you ignore this agricultural technique, Tradescantia will lose decorativeness: shoots will be bare, leaves will dry.
Care errors
Possible mistakes that beginner gardeners make include:
- overfeeding the plant with nitrogen-based fertilizers;
- nearby heating devices;
- direct sunlight or, conversely, localization of the plant in the shade;
- stagnant water.
Errors are accompanied by wilting or decay of Tradescantia, its immediate death.
Diseases and pests
Tradescantia garden is resistant to diseases and is able to withstand them even in the absence of proper care. But despite this, an ornamental plant can infect various pests that need to be dealt with with the help of special insecticides.
Spider mite
A small insect that is very difficult to spot due to its small size and frequent localization on the back of the leaf. It looks like a dark grain no more than 0.5 mm.
Aphid
An insect that is easy to spot due to the fact that they usually gather in groups and form a noticeable white bloom. This pest is very insidious, as it can carry dangerous viruses.
Shield
The tiny insect looks like a flat aphid with a shell. Its invasion is signaled by small brown plaques that appear on the leaves and stems, which lead to paleness and foliage falling off.
Slugs
Gastropods crawl up and eat the leaves of Tradescantia garden. They are hard to spot as they are nocturnal.
Reproduction methods
There are three available ways to propagate Tradescantia garden: cuttings, dividing a bush, seeds.
Cuttings
The culture propagates by cuttings, for this it is necessary to pinch off the tops of the shoot, root them in water and after a few days send the formed plant into the soil.
Dividing the bush
This method involves digging out the bushes, dividing them into several parts, and then planting them in new places.
Seeds
By the end of flowering, seeds can be found in the fruits of Tradescantia garden. They must be collected, placed in a cotton or paper bag, and stored in a dry, dark place. Sow in the spring. Garden Tradescantia is a delicate and graceful plant that can repay for proper care with excellent long flowering.
