Tradescantia zebrinaSilver Inch Plant

Tradescantia zebrina is grown for two silver bands. Each fleshy pointed leaf is striped lengthways in metallic silver over deep green, with the whole underside a solid rich purple, and because the stems trail and turn, both surfaces are visible at once.

The Silver Inch Plant roots wherever a node touches ground, which makes it a fast shaded carpet outdoors and an equally fast trailer over the edge of an interior planter.

Specifications

• Height0.1 to 0.2 metres
• Width0.4 to 0.9 metres per plant, spreading to form a continuous mat
• Native toSouthern Mexico and Central America
• FoliageFleshy pointed oval leaves banded silver over deep green with solid purple undersides; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers free-draining soils and tolerates poor ground
• LightPartial shade to bright indirect light; colour fades in deep shade and scorches in hot sun
• WaterModerate; wilts quickly if allowed to dry out
• ClimateThrives in tropical, subtropical and frost-free warm regions, and in conditioned interiors

Additional Features

• FormDense trailing mat that roots freely at the nodes as it runs
• UsesIdeal for shaded ground cover, hanging baskets and planter edges, green wall pockets and interior planting
• SpacingPlant 0.2 to 0.3 metres apart for cover within a single season
• Low MaintenanceShear back where it runs beyond its bed and pinch regularly to keep the growth dense
• Pest ResistanceGenerally trouble-free
• VersatilityServes as an exterior shade carpet, a basket trailer and an interior planter filler

Silver Inch Plant puts a metallic sheen into shaded planting that no green-leaved ground cover can produce.