LE QUOTIDIEN DU JARDIN : TOUT SAVOIR SUR LES MISÈRES, PLANTES D’INTÉRIEUR FACILES (émission N°154)

NewsJardinTV, the channel that ignites a passion for plants, gardens, botany, nature, and gardening, is pleased to present episode 154 of its daily program: "The Garden Daily." Patrick Mioulane, editor-in-chief of NewsJardinTV, answers a question from our subscriber Belle Nature about Tradescantia. As announced in episode 153, we continue tonight's exploration of the Tradescantia genus with the species grown indoors under the name "wandering Jew" (or "wandering Jew"). In the previous episode, we looked at Tradescantia grown outdoors. However, many are of tropical origin and make excellent, very easy-to-grow houseplants. • Tradescantia cerinthoides, a plant native to Argentina and Brazil, sometimes called Tradescantia blossfeldiana, was described and named in 1843 by the German botanist Karl Sigismund Kunth (1788–1850). The stems, 30 to 60 cm long, are more or less upright. They bear spirally arranged, sheathing leaves. The small, inconspicuous, and ephemeral flowers are white or pale pink. The cultivar ‘Sweetness’, with its purple leaves striped with green and cream, is our favorite. Tradescantia fluminensis, the common or Rio wandering Jew, was described and named in 1829 by the Brazilian botanist José Mariano da Conceição Velloso (1742–1811) in his posthumous work Florae Fluminensis. Due to its rapid growth and adaptation to shade, it is considered an invasive plant in the southeastern United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The following cultivars make good houseplants: • ‘Albovittata’: with light green leaves streaked with creamy white. White flowers in summer. • ‘Maiden’s Blush’: creeping habit, considered semi-hardy (down to -8°C, it is deciduous), can be planted in woodland areas as ground cover. Young leaves are white or tinged with pink. • ‘Variegata’: with leaves streaked with yellow. Trailing habit, grows well in hanging baskets • Tradescantia zebrina, the zebra wandering Jew, was described and named in 1849 by the German botanist Julius Friedrich Wilhelm Bosse (1788–1864). It is a creeping perennial that grows in southern Mexico. It needs a minimum temperature of 10°C (50°F) to survive, which explains why, in our latitudes, it is grown as a houseplant or as an annual for summer decorations. The trailing, brittle stems bear evergreen leaves, 6 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) long, oval to oblong, fleshy, slightly hairy, striped green and silver on the upper surface and purple underneath, offering a beautiful contrast when hanging. The leaves come in various shades, depending on the cultivar, with striped or variegated versions incorporating yellow, bronze, pink, and sometimes cream. Let's now look at some other indoor Tradescantia species that aren't called "wandering Jew"... • Tradescantia pallida was long known as Setcreasea purpurea. It owes its current name to the English botanist David Richard Hunt (1938–2019), who renamed it in 1975. It is sometimes called the purple wandering Jew. Endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula and Central and South America, Tradescantia pallida adapts to most climates (warm and temperate) and soils (light and moist). It thrives in temperatures between 20 and 24°C and develops stems that can exceed 1 meter in length. • Tradescantia spathacea (formerly Rhoeo discolor) was described and named in 1788 by the Swedish botanist Olof Peter Swartz (1760–1818), a student of Carl Linnaeus. This plant, native to the West Indies and Central America, forms an upright clump 50 to 70 cm tall, with leathery leaves that are dark purple on the underside. It produces a few white flowers in summer. It is mainly grown as a houseplant because it cannot tolerate frost. The cultivar ‘Hawaiian Dwarf’ is more compact with pink leaves striped with green and cream. Tradescantia and other Tradescantia species are valued for their easy, low-maintenance cultivation and their reliable propagation by water cuttings. Caution: some plants of the Tradescantia genus (especially T. albiflora, T. spathacea, and T. pallida) can cause allergic reactions, redness, and itching on the skin of pets (cats and dogs). Thank you for watching this daily program. We hope you enjoyed our video. Our team wishes you a pleasant time and invites you to join us on Monday at 7 p.m. for a new episode of our show: "THE GARDEN DAILY." It's on NewsJardinTV and nowhere else! Patrick will answer this question: I saw some pretty pink fruits in a store called "dragon fruit." The salesperson told me they came from a cactus. Is that true, and can they be grown in pots at home?