Garden tradescantia is a perennial plant that forms a dense shrub. The stems of the plant at the very beginning of the vegetative period are straight, then they fall. The leaves can reach up to 21 cm. Tradescantia flowers usually flowers of blue or blue hues, which very quickly fade. Flowers appear with enviable regularity as soon as the previous ones fade. Flowering time is summer.
Did you know?The plant owes its popularity to Anderson, a famous American botanist, who for many years participated in the study of tradescantia and also created hybrids based on it.
The common name is Anderson's Tradescantia. The hybrid can differ in height of a bush (from 30 to 50 cm), and also in color of leaves (gray, purple or yellow flowers), and also in the sizes and color.
Choosing a place to plant tradescantia in the garden
As a place for landing is best to choose a not too sunny area. Best of all for the Tradescantia, partial shade and the presence of a reservoir in the garden will do. The soil for tradescantia should be fertile, light and slightly acidic. Flowers at a plant are short-lived, therefore the shadow will be excellent options for landing and further growth. 
Important! Drought will cause the death of the plant.
Tradescantia in drought conditions will cease to bloom and will need constant water spraying. Such procedures are best done in the evening.
Tradescantia garden in landscape design
Garden Tradescantia is widely used in landscape design. With the help of Tradescantia, you can create very effective compositions. The plant is quite diverse, so you can pick up non-standard combinations with ferns, gravilates, swimsuit, iris or daylily. It is also planted with an anemone, geyher, marigold, low varieties of host, astilbe, cuffs, variegated sedges, medunitsami. Such plants will provide excellent support to Tradescantia, as well as their leaves / buds, which differ in color and shape, can create the finest compositions, well emphasizing only the advantages of partners.
On the front, you can decorate all the geraniums, and a higher grade of Tradescantia can be adapted in the background. The bushes of this plant will look very organically near the ponds in the garden, in rockeries or, for example, right in the middle of the lawn. Tradescantia can also be grown in mixboards, rocky gardens, and in simple flower arrangements. The flower is odorless, but it is an excellent honey plant, so the more tradescantia you have in the garden, the more you can attract butterflies, which will greatly enliven the pretty landscape.
Soil care
Tradescantia garden loves a wet habitat, so care for the Tradescantia and its watering should be done very carefully. In the autumn, watering the tradescantia needs to be reduced.
The composition of the soil for the tradescantia:
- sod;
- humus;
- leafy;
- sand;
- or you can choose a ready-made soil with good drainage.
Fertilizers based on the mineral complex are fed in March. It is necessary to take 10-30 g of fertilizer per square meter, digging into the soil at about a depth of 8 cm. Subsequent feeding should be carried out twice a month with the help of Kemira liquid fertilizer. After the peduncle has faded, it is removed, and the plant is mulched with peat and covered with lapniki.
Tradescantia flowering features
Tradescantia has a rich flowering, but the petals themselves will never be carelessly scattered throughout the garden. In the afternoon, in the afternoon, on a sunny day, or on overcast, but already towards evening, the flowers of the Tradescantia begin to curl and disappear in their seed boxes, like snails in their shells. In this way, you can observe the mystery of the birth of a seed.
In their form, bells with seeds and buds that have not yet opened, resemble huge clusters. They are a complex plexus, so it is rather difficult to determine which particular “bunch” will turn into a beautiful flower with three petals the next morning. The main advantage, as mentioned earlier, is the long and continuous flowering of the garden tradescantia.
Important! The decorative look is affected by the load by the end of the season, if you try to remove the faded clusters each time.Then young flower stalks with buds may appear from the xiphoid leaves, and the tradescantia will again be richly covered with flowers with three petals.
Transplantation and reproduction of garden tradescantia
If you have chosen a specific place for planting a flower, then this is even good, since Tradescantia can grow for quite a long time in one area. The bush of this plant has a compact size, so the flower does not belong to a garden aggressor.
The old plant begins to bloom badly, so once in five years the Tradescantia should be divided and rejuvenated. The best time for transplanting tradescantia is spring, when young shoots begin to appear.
Tradescantia is propagated by stem cuttings, seeds, and by dividing the bush. The reproduction of tradescantia with stalks can be done very simply. It is necessary to carefully pinch off the stalk over the leaf, where it forms the medina, and put the stalk in the water. The cuttings take root quite easily in two weeks.
Seed propagation is also possible, however, as the practice of gardeners shows, the varietal characteristic of a plant may not be preserved. Tradescantia is also propagated by dividing the bush. In the spring, you should dig up a bush and gently divide it into several identical bushes, trying not to damage the roots of the plant. It is possible to divide a bush and at the end of summer. In this way, the Tradescantia can be seated immediately to the place you need in the garden.
Resistance to winter cold
Tradescantia is very resistant to cold. However, before the winter period comes, the plant should be covered with fallen leaves - this will not allow the flower to freeze during the cold weather.
Combating possible diseases and pests
There are times when gardeners think about why the leaves turn yellow at Tradescantia. To determine the cause, it is necessary to regularly inspect the flower, as mites and scutes can be added to suck the sap from the plant, which will soon cause its death. Dry and yellow leaves can with low humidity.
Shchitovka
This insect reaches 4 mm in length and looks like a small plaque attached to the bottom leaf along the veins. The color is very changeable - yellow, red, brown. The leaves are covered with heels, then turn yellow and fall off. Also among the signs can be counted sticky selection from the leaves and shoots. The pest loves to eat this juice. Removal of the scutum is carried out with the help of a cloth moistened with soap or alcohol solutions. If the plant is very badly infected, then you need to treat it with Carbofos, Fufan or Aktellik. If these methods do not help, you need to prune the most affected parts of the plant.
Aphid
This insect can damage quite young leaves and shoots. Of the main signs - the leaves begin to discolour and die off, and the shoots themselves become deformed. Aphid sucks cellular sap from a flower. Insect prefers to settle on buds and shoots, where it forms a dense cluster around young shoots. One of the signs are shriveled leaves and yellow spots; buds fall away. Methods of struggle: wash the tradescantia with soap and laundry detergent. If the plant is heavily infected, then it must be treated with Malathion or Actellic.
Black mushroom
He settles on top of the sheet or shoots. It has the appearance of a sooty film. The fungus is not dangerous, however, due to the appearance of the film in the plant, photosynthesis and respiration may be disturbed, and this will lead to the general weakness of the flower. Mushroom can be removed very easily with soap and water.
We give some popular methods of pest control. Aphids are disposed of by spraying tincture of crushed roots or fresh dandelion leaves. The procedure is repeated for ten days, until the aphids disappear. Flags can be removed with the help of a pyrethrum tincture or garlic.
