Still not braved chopping the ficus but have gone for it with the tradescantia! #houseplants #tradescantia
Still not braved chopping the ficus but have gone for it with the tradescantia! #houseplants #tradescantia
Houseplant update. En-suite monstera has been potted into a much smaller pot, it’s on its last legs (roots?) but hey, let’s try and revive it. Tradescantia growing well and potted up a size. Jade plant propagation seems to have stalled… have removed the old leaf which was looking mushy, there are a couple of tiny plants. #houseplants #houseplantcare #houseplantsofmastodon #monstera #tradescantia #jadeplant
Big news: Tradescantia Hub is now the ICRA for the entire Commelinaceae family!
What does that mean?
- Cultivar names need to be unique within the whole family (not just within each genus, like before).
- I'll start expanding the online checklist to include other genera. This will take a while to complete!
- I can officially accept registrations from other genera in the family.
- I probably won't be able to do as many growing trials and other research for the rest of Commelinaceae as I've previously done for Tradescantia. You can help by sharing information with me!
Read more here: https://tradescantia.uk/article/commelinaceae-icra/
The results are in! It was a very dramatic vote, with several close calls and surprises. Here are the final names that will become official...
- 'Lemon Sunset' is the new name for the T. spathacea sport. Thanks to Tyleen Mansker for the suggestion!
- 'Frosted Blush' will become the official name for the type that's been known as "pink clone" or "white pink". Thanks to Monique Juellie for the name suggestion!
- 'Lilac Longleaf' will become the official name for the type that's been known as "pink lilac" or "tricolor". This was a surprise winner, after someone suggested it as a write-in entry and I added it to the list once the survey had started! If this was your suggestion and you'd like credit, please get in touch.
- The two "pink dragons" will be keeping their fully-qualified names of 'US Pink Dragon' and 'European Pink Dragon'.
- 'White Giant' will keep its most-used name.
- 'Mini Pink' will keep its most-used name. (Although special mention for 'Elf Ears', which was only two votes behind by the end!)
I'll create and update all the cultivar pages soon, to make sure everything on the website is accurate.
A very quick ticky-box survey that should only be taken by people with EXCELLENT TASTE (that's you), for giving 7 Tradescantia cultivars their official names: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduNrZNGYTFH6QRZSjwws2dyizMezrs0lf1t-76QHz6pJOcLA/viewform
(Courtesy of @TradescantiaHub!)
CC @plants
NAME THAT PLANT
It's time for the big naming survey! Help choose which names to make official for all these plants, so we can finally agree on what to call them.
The survey will stay open until at least 17th May, maybe longer if responses are still coming in. Here's the link: https://forms.gle/JtDSX6SK5tj4TCHq6
There's only one week left to order from the Tradescantia Hub Shop, so it's time for the last-minute sale! Up to 50% off, including lots of rare and special types, all available for worldwide delivery.
I couldn't possibly choose a favourite of my children... but 'Sepia Grain' is my favourite 2024 seedling.
Tradescantia cerinthoides 'Pink Furry'. It seems to rot at the drop of a hat for me, but it's doing well at the moment!
Reverted US 'Pink Dragon' is not the most showy plant, but it's looking very nice at the moment.
I love the first week after repotting, when the stems are neat and tidy (for about five minutes), and all the new roots are visible.
My blue Callisia soconuscensis is flowering, although the actual flowers are so tiny they're hard to spot!
New article alert! Are tradescantias toxic?
There's a lot of fearmongering about poisonous plants, and usually not a lot of reliable sources. The ONLY documented hazard that's specific to tradescantias is that the sap might cause short-term skin irritation.
Lots more info: https://tradescantia.uk/article/toxicity/
This Tradescantia zebrina 'Leprechaun' has been making the tiniest leaves ever, I think because of being cold and barely-watered over winter.
I took this back in summer and then forgot to ever post it: all my Tradescantia spathacea cultivars
This is 23-116, a seedling I bred last year. The seed parent was 'Jade King', and based on its appearance I assume the pollen parent was 'Kartuz Giant'! It has the same growth habit with super wide leaves - so wide that they can't lay fully flat and end up pleated and curled. But the colour is different, a light olive green rather than purple. The second pic is a side-by-side of 23-116 and 'Kartuz Giant' in identical growing conditions, to show the colour difference.
New cultivar registration: Tradescantia zebrina 'Petrichor'!
https://tradescantia.uk/cultivar/tra-petrichor/
Eagle-eyed readers might have noticed this appear on the checklist already, but I haven't properly announced it yet. This new cultvar was bred by Helen Winnington in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from suspected parents 'Purpusii' and 'Purple Plush'.
It has lustrous green to purple pinstriped leaves, and unusual flowers with dark-tipped petals.
Tradescantia brevifolia x hirta 'Raspberry Ruffle'. I love its crazy sprawl with those long spiky leaves!
The two Continental Group clones both known as 'Pink Dragon' - one originating from the US and one from Europe. The name confusion probably happened by mistaken identity - someone thought a second plant was the same as a first and applied the same label, and it stuck. But I don't have any leads on which one came first, or where either of them actually originated from.
Free rare plant giveaway running until the end of September!
The prize is one fresh cutting from your choice of my four new cultivars: 'Raspberry Ruffle', 'Froglet', 'Raindrop', and 'Sepia Grain'. All of them are brand new and available for the first time ever.
Full details of how to enter this way are on the website: https://shop.tradescantia.uk/giveaway