DYING LEAVES ON TRADESCANTIA - why it happens & what to do!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

You can see more on Tradescantia by watching this playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHWwdXd3ndd6f6s

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

😀

[@MegaMindyLou]

People love your these videos because no one else is talking about them. They are such a common plant, an unsung hero of our gardens no one really pays any attention to them. Loved them as a kid and now I’m rediscovering all the new colors, great content.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Thanks Mega! (Or MindyLou!😬) For me in the UK, these are quite 'exotic' as they won't survive our winters (unless very sheltered), yet in many countries they're invasive. I only saw my first tropical Tradescantia about 18 months ago. I'm just pleased to be of service to people.

[@MegaMindyLou]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 I just got my order from that web page and the plants came in amazing. I already have the red one and a zebrina but now I’ve got the pink and a fuzzy burgundy one. I really should know the scientific names.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@MegaMindyLou Haha! It doesn't really matter so long as you enjoy them. I should be on a commission for Stems & Leaves! 🤷‍♂️ 🤣

[@margaretlavender9647]

My Tradescantia was 60 years old!!! But it died off this year. And of course, it was cuttings I did every second spring, so thousands of descendants, but all gone now, So I’ve bought 2 well-rooted cuttings of Nanouk which I’ve never had. Gorgeous pink. My 60 yr one was lilac and pale green stripes.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Tradescantia fluminensis nanouk - the 'nanouk' means it's been treated with a growth inhibitor I believe. Lovely hybrid - prone to leaf spot if any moisture is left sitting on the leaves. Even with nanouk there are loads of hybrids. Hope it does as well as your last one!

[@margaretlavender9647]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Many thanks for the warning! I’ll be careful. Well, ‘it’ might live 60 years, but I won’t, as I’m 82 now!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@margaretlavender9647 Now then Margaret you never know. It might be an as yet unseen side-effect of the Covid vaccination that you live to 150. Fingers crossed!

[@erins.5420]

Trad. Tricolor has been around for decades and what you described sounds like Tradescantia Fluminensis Lavender. Not sure how long lavender has been around for but 60 years is impressive and I would have been heartbroken. But not having a definite ID for the beloved plant to replace it would bother me to my core. I hope the two I named above have potential to be what you’re looking for as a more positive ID to what you once had.

[@dogmosatchmo]

This video is how I found your channel initially, and I'm very grateful. I enjoy your videos, posts, and photos immensely.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Thanks that really does mean a lot to me! I hope I can continue to think of ways to solve growing problems. 😀

[@askakowalska183]

Wow the red leaf is looking amazing. Never seen them before. Im in love .

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Haha! Yeah it's a lovely colour. When I bought it there were loads for sale, but now it appears to be quite rare. In the UK at least.

[@askakowalska183]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Lucky you 😀 I live in UK more then 15 years and never seen that in local shops.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@askakowalska183 Me neither - all my Tradescantia have been eBay purchases. But it propagates so easily once you have it, you've always got it! 😃

[@macylouwho1187]

I have a tradescantia nanouk cutting that is now branching out and I flippin’ fell in love with the colors on it. It’s so eye-catching! I see yours provide a strong pop of color in the greenhouse, and that’s what catches the eye about this plant family. Sure, flowers in other plants are beautiful. But they don’t last long most of the time. It’s rare to find that bold of color on foliage, and that part stays the whole time. That’s why this plant is useful. It’s always bright and colorful.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah I agree. I also love the ease of propagation, and the huge variability in hybrids.😁

[@KillerTofu-]

Thank you so much for your advice, especially on leaving water on the leaves in cooler temperatures. I had no idea that that could turn the leaves brown. Yikes!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Glad it was helpful!

[@queens_chamberssales7347]

I am so glad you mentioned something that seems so simple, but is what I need exactly to help the baldness at the top of my trandescatia. There is no video that ever talks about this! They only ever talk about legginess. But not what happens when you have these bald spider legbranches hanging over the edge of the top and now it’s bald on the top. Thank you so much for your advice of cutting and sticking him back up in the soil ha ha

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Glad it was helpful! 😁👍

[@lovenymph61]

It's the first time that I've heard that this kind of vine prefer to grow horizontally rather than hanging down.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

It’s how the species grow in their natural habitat. 😃

[@cioaragabriella9165]

Is true. Here in Romania I saw Tredescantia how is growing horizontally in an outdoor garden.

[@user-ux1mj1uz5b]

​@@Grow_Up_Man55 Here in the Philippines the older tips still die after a few months, even when they are grown horizontally in the ground at home. And even when they grow naturally in semi-forest-like areas (areas with lots of trees). At least that's what I have observed.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@user-ux1mj1uz5b Yeah no plant has leaves that last eternally. Tradescantia continually renew themselves by putting down roots along the length of their stems.

[@lauraquaresimo6767]

I keep my in an east facing window , and it's not doing too good....should I move it out of the window ??

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

To be honest practically tropical Trads. in pots don't do well after a certain amount of time. The trick is continual chopping and propagating - always having a new pot starting off somewhere to replace the older one. They scramble, rooting as they go - a pot doesn't allow that so they run out of steam from the single rooting point. East facing should be fine.

[@101candlelight6]

Oooooooh, now I know, thank you for explaining.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Happy to help!

[@vaniawhitfield6486]

Thankyou for sharing. I’m collecting these

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

There are plenty to go at. I've just ordered a couple more hybrids that I don't have. What's your favourite?

[@Myerz19]

I love my Wandering Jew! BUT! I'm a little worried about her :/ She was trailing really long & I wanted to fix her up and make her more bushy & healthy! I watched tons of videos & still am having trouble! Noone ever states how deep to plant the cuttings in soil..I just ended up "winging" it last week and my leaves are wilting already :( I planted my cuttings in loose (expensive!) soil. Also..do I keep the original plant as is with it all cut up or do I get rid of it? Lots of questions here! Lol I clipped the clippings under the nodes..i thought I did everything right, but, maybe I planted them too deep or something? Hmm..Sorry this is a long comment! Maybe I can send you pictures to your e-mail, if you are willing to help? :))

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Hi Lauren. Planting depth doesn't matter providing there is a node underneath the media. But if you're having trouble try simply dropping them into a glass of water for a week - then you'll be able to see where the roots emerge from and also it can't possibly dry out. I would also try 'burying' at least 2 nodes (strip those leaves off first) so that's it's got 2 places to root from. As for the 'parent' plant - I only take cuttings from the ends of the trailing stems so there's no need to throw that plant away. It can easily be rejuvenated by either planting your cuttings back into the pot, or by pruning it back to a few leaves and watch it re-sprout with fresh, new growth. I hope that helps. If not, the feel free to send your pics through. Good luck!

[@Myerz19]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 thank you so much! :) Very helpful. I'm excited to try these new tips ;) God bless!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

My pleasure. You've got a great singing voice by the way! I don't generally stalk subscribers 🤣 but for some reason I clicked through to your channel and saw your videos - very talented.🙏😃

[@Myerz19]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 LOL! That's alright!😁 Thank you!! I really appreciate the compliment. Maybe I'll post a new one soon. :)

[@MagickThoughts]

My Nanouk is turning brown and crunchy and I think its because of Autumn coming and I am pulling away from window and going start pinching the tops and making a new plant… Hopefully I get it looking healthy again. I think it was like eeeek I am done with the strong indirect light.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Trad. Nanouk is such an easy plant to either burn the leaves or damage them through water - yet it loves very bright light! The only answer is to experiment like you're doing. I've found that the damaged leaves pull away (as they're 'sheathes') fairly easily and no-one would know there's one missing.

[@leilanik2050]

People love tradescantia because of the growth rate and ease of propagation.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah I must love them too - seeing as I have so many...🤣

[@LadySialeeds]

This video helped me so much, thank youuuu 🥰

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Glad it helped! 😄

[@shoneladii]

How often should the wondering Jews and string of heart plants be fertilized?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Opinions are very divided on fertilizing Tradescantias, as they'll cope with life with or without feed. Personally, I give mine rainwater from a water barrel, so it gets whatever has washed off the roof - usually around 50 to 100 ppm, which is a fairly weak feed. So a general purpose plant feed would be fine during the growing season. I've never grown string of hearts so can't speak to that.

[@shoneladii]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Thank you 😀

[@marietjiepienaar9251]

Can you please give me the name and some info on the burgundy the plant in the corner, it’s got like a six point leaves. I’m in SA and can’t find any information.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Sure - can you give me a timestamp?

[@stonesword1844]

I just bought my tradescantia in a 6 inch pot and it’s not even long enough to reach out of the pot yet but it’s still dying in a similar way after only about three weeks of owning it. it’s not physically big enough to trim

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

That's a shame. Can you give it more light? That's very often the cause, or at least something to rule out.

[@jaskeo8735]

Hi can I buy some of your tradescantia cutting the red jewel?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Hi Jas. I was about to tell you there are loads of ebay listings, but when I checked I couldn't find a single one! Are you UK based?

[@jaskeo8735]

Yes I did look not the red jewel

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@jaskeo8735 Email me if you'd like to buy some cuttings. My address is in the About section.

[@jaskeo8735]

Where is you email?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@jaskeo8735 [e-mail]

[@DivalishousHartford]

Do you sell the red tradescantia? I'm not able to find it anywhere!😭

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

I'm afraid I don't sell plants - sorry. Have you tried eBay or Facebook groups?

[@DivalishousHartford]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Greatly appreciate your response. I am not on Facebook. I've tried etsy and received bad cuttings both times from two different vendors. Thanks

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@DivalishousHartford That's a shame. Where are you based?

[@DivalishousHartford]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 I live in Louisiana (USA)

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@DivalishousHartford OK so have you tried premiersucculents.com?

[@malcolmmosspaganpathravena7915]

Dose that me the plant dies be for 12 months

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

No - it just means that you've got to be continually 'renewing' it by either taking cuttings, or pinning the long stems back into the pot or by setting something up like this - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWOsqJ-cpManmbs - so that the stems are rooting along their lengths.

[@orchidobsession5081]

My nanouk had a few brown spots but I figured it was just adjusting. I left it alone and figured that it would just take a bit of time. I had purchased it last summer and I have kept it in the same pot that it came in and under a grow light since the space it's in does not get much light at all. Now I'm finding that the brown spots seem to have gotten a bit more out of control in the sense that there's more of it and the plant looks not as attractive as it could/should be. I also noticed that it's kind of limpy. :\ This is my second try at owning one of these and I would really like for this one to survive! Do you think this is a humidity issue or maybe there's something more that I need to do?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Do you know which 'nanouk' variety you have? Nanouk refers to plants that have been treated with growth regulators so could be many different Tradescantias. It'll help if I know which one you have then I can give it my best shot.😃

[@orchidobsession5081]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 It's "Tradescantia Fluminensis Lilac." I had no idea that's what nanouk meant! You learn something new every day and thank you so much! It looked very much like the one in your video but the brown/dried spots I'm getting looks horrible. I can't figure out if I'm overwatering, underwatering, or something to do with humidity or maybe I need to change the soil because it's still in the same soil and pot it came in. All I know is it's slowly getting worse! :(

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@orchidobsession5081 Right OK. Since making this video I've learned a bit more about Trad. Fluminensis Nanouk Lilac. Like many Tradescantia it has several names and the cultivars only have slight variations which complicates matters further. I understand it's the same plant as Trad. blossfeldiana variegata. As a plant it can be 'awkward'. It's extremely prone to water damage on the leaves, whether from humidity, from water splashes when watering or from condensation. It needs very bright light but will burn from direct sun. It's also likely to get stem rot if the soil remains wet for too long. I get ALL of those issues! As a natural 'creeper', plant it in a wide pot and continually snip off the growing tips and replant them into the soil to keep it compact and rejuvenated. Only water when the soil gets dry. I hope that helps a bit. Good luck!

[@orchidobsession5081]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 That is very informative, thank you! I suppose the brown spots could be water damage so I should be very careful about that. I will be repotting it on the weekend in a bigger pot than it is currently in. I'll also snip and replant as regularly! Crossing my fingers that all works out. I really love this plant!

[@allicianpeters3595]

Try watering it from the bottom only... no watering from the top at all!! Keeping it in a more humid spot is ok, but only water from the bottom as it will help keep it from getting stem rot. Once you get it, very hard to get rid of!!

[@kathymacomber5115]

I love your Streptocarpus

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Me too! 😀

[@victorb145]

That's funny is all anyone would have to do is look at the age of the video as I just did. Ironically the video is about a year old now.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

It’s actually two years old right now! 😁

[@victorb145]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Oh my device still says a year.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@victorb145 Yeah KZbin isn't that accurate with this stuff.

[@victorb145]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 So I have noticed. Though I thought it got a little more accurate as time went by, maybe not.

[@margaretlavender9647]

It does make me laugh when you say ‘bare’! Because you actually say ‘burr’. Did you realise? Where are you, is it Geordie?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Wherever you go people will pronounce things differently - my regional accent is north west England - specifically St.Helens area.

[@margaretlavender9647]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Indeed so! So many different accents here in uk. St Helen’s eh. My mother was Sheffield born and bred and my father Nottingham. I was born in Blackburn but didn’t have chance to get an accent as I was 6 months old when my parents decided to move back to Nottm!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@margaretlavender9647 I'm pretty certain that people from other parts of the UK would detect in you a strong Nottingham accent! 🤣 Accents are part of our heritage and I wouldn't try to change mine. Having said that, I doubt I'll ever get a job reading the 9 o'clock news!

[@mrsdrhux]

@@margaretlavender9647 I thought you sounded local .. I’m from Darwen 😊

[@margaretlavender9647]

@@mrsdrhux Australia???

[@kimipbnikhuma8000]

It's becoming my fave plant only because we moved sadly our house has poor lighting and poor air flow, the only plant that's happy are my tradescantia. I would love to collect more varieties but very hard to find different varities here in Ireland. Couldn't find much seller in the EU as well. I want to collect as many varities possible. Help me ✌️🌿🪴

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Have you tried eBay and Etsy? That's where I get all my cuttings from.