I recently got a beautiful tradescantia zebrina, which was lush and shiny when I bought it a couple of months ago. Lately, though, I've noticed the inner leaves are drying up and dying off, leaving the branches looking bare with only a few leaves at the tips. I water it whenever the soil feels dry, and it's been getting some light in a west-facing window, along with grow lights. However, it's getting quite chilly there because of winter and the cold glass. I also checked the roots, and they seem healthy, but they don't fill the pot well, so I downsized the pot. Is there anything else I could be doing to help it thrive?
2 Answers
It sounds like you're seeing some normal behavior with tradescantias. They often lose older leaves as they grow because they can be pretty fast-growing plants. If those bare spots bother you, consider pruning those long stems. You can easily stick the cuttings right back into the soil without any need to propagate them in water first.
Here’s a visual example showing how tradescantia can look when it's pruned. Maybe this will help!
Make sure you aren’t getting water on the leaves, as that can cause issues too. I usually just coil some longer stems on top of the soil; they can root back in and give the plant a bushier look. When mine looks sparse, I just pinch off some tips and tuck them in the soil to encourage more growth. Also, I didn’t see the photos you mentioned – could you try posting them again?
Thanks for the tip! If I cut a leggy stem, will the part left in the soil create a new growth point, similar to pothos?