Size: 8"
Silver Inch Plant is a popular houseplant, grown for its variegated foliage. This is the plant for the wanna-be-green-thumb! It is very tough and will thrive in almost any conditions indoors.This houseplant can be grown in a hanging basket to show off its long beautiful trailing vines or kept contained and compact in a pot. Very versatile, very easy and very hard to kill, makes this a very good indoor plant to have around.This creeping plant also makes a good groundcover 6-12” high!
Light: Needs plenty of light to retain the variegated colors on the leaves, if things are too dim these will fade.
Water: As you would expect from any hard to kill houseplants, the Silver Inch will cope with droughts and a little water logging from time to time. Try to avoid this careless watering approach where possible though as a good looking plant needs to be watered correctly. The instruction here is simple, water your Tradescantia regularly and freely during the warmer seasons to try and keep the soil moist for much of the time. In Winter cut right back because growth will slow or stop completely and the need for water will reduce drastically as a result.
Humidity: The leaves are almost succulent like and therefore humidity is something you don't have to worry about a great deal. It will be worth misting the plant however if you start to notice the leaves becoming shriveled or brown leaf tips start to appear. You can also grow in an indoor bottle garden.
Temperature: Give your plant average warmth conditions for quick growth, a cooler room of around 10°C (50°F) is also suitable too. In fact, the only no no, is exposure to frost or really chilly temperatures for prolonged periods. Frost will do serious damage and chilly locations will cause leaf discoloration.
Fertilizer: The opinion is often divided about how much and how often you should feed the Silver Inch Plants. Some will suggest regular heavy feeding, perhaps as much as every other watering and others will say only once or twice a year at most, otherwise it will encourage the variegated leaves to turn green. The truth of it is that this plant will cope with almost anything you give (or don't give) it.
Soil: It's best to repot once a year to give a little more space for the roots to grow, but as with everything else to do with this plant, it will still cope living in the same soil for years. This is handy if you've chosen to grow it in a hanging basket as these can be fiddly to upsize and can also be a little difficult to work with. When you do repot though, normal potting soil is a great choice, just make sure you avoid mixes with a heavy manure content and don't use ordinary dirt from your yard.
Growth: The height of this plant won't ever go beyond 6in / 15cm however every single stem can eventually grow to 6ft / 1.8M. This type of spread might be what you're looking for of course i.e. if you want it to trail down from a hanging basket perched up high. However the stems can always be kept shorter by pinching out the growing tips on a frequent basis.
Toxicity: Tradescantia is very mildly toxic to pets and people. While it does little harm if eaten, the sap within the leaves and stems can cause contact dermatitis on the skin, especially in those with sensitive skin or those with an allergy. Wash your hands quickly after handling and you shouldn't have any issues.