Wandering Jew – Tradescantia zebrina

Update : September 2014

My husband mentioned, just yesterday, that one of his favorite plants that I’d purchased was the Wandering Jew.  I, reluctantly, told him that I was fairly certain it hadn’t made it.  I am not so great at maintaining the lovely garden we are continually creating, and some things just don’t “Make the Cut.”

However, as I walked through the yard this evening, to photograph some of our newest additions, I came across the scene you see on the left…

Apparently, the little one survived after all!  I’m so excited.  Protected by the Texas Sage, this tough little plant seems to have survived the hot summer and my neglect.  I sure hope that this fall gives it a chance to grow and, possibly, spread!

Original Post :  October 2013

This beauty came home with us tonight.  We had to go to Home Depot this evening and I asked Hubby if we could take a quick walk through the garden area.

This plant caught my eye, but it wasn’t a flowering plant, and I didn’t know exactly where I’d put it, so I walked past.  A few minutes later, I caught my husband grabbing one to put in the cart.  Apparently, it caught his eye too.

After getting everyone settled for bed, I started researching the plants we had picked up.  This one surprised me.  I’m not sure why.  It’s called the Wandering Jew.  Any plant that is described as a Wandering anything is probably so named as a sort of warning.  But I didn’t think that through.

According to the plant label, it would be 6 inches tall and 12-15 inches wide, with a spreading habit.  To me, spreading is often a good thing.  It means my beds will eventually fill themselves, and it means that the plant is usually drought or neglect tolerant.  The label said to “pinch back for fuller appearance,” which many of the plants I adore have suggested (Mums, Mexican Heather, etc… see a trend?).  Eh, manageable, right?

So then, I went to Dave’s Garden to learn more.  Oh boy.  There, height is listed as 36-48 inches (probably because it is generally put into hanging baskets, from what I can tell,) and it had 27 positive reviews, 10 neutral and 5 negative.  When I see ANY negative reviews, I start scrolling to see WHY?  And… there it was… this baby can be a “Destroyer”!

So, I now find myself in a position where I’m wondering if I want to mess with hanging baskets, or planters at all, or if I want to risk putting it into my beds and letting it help fill in the blanks and risk fighting with it for the duration of our stay here… which could be a VERY long time.  I’m so torn.  I would LOVE to get some of those fun hangers for baskets that you can put into the ground in a garden bed, and then the basket hangs above… but from what I’m reading, the trimmings can take root, and then you end up with it in your beds despite efforts to seperate.

I’ll keep you posted.  I have yet to inform hubby.  We have a wonderful three day weekend ahead of us and our Little Man is so excited to have a sleepover in Poppa’s bed!  So, I’m camped out with the Princess and making plans for the garden.  One step at a time.  Goodnight!