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Tradescantia are native American species that can be found in the wild from the southern borders of Canada to Argentina itself. The numerous species and varieties of Tradescantia in the photo are striking in their diversity of appearance. The reason is not only in the vast range extending from areas with a temperate climate to the tropics. Tradescantia owes a large number of hybrids and varieties to flower growers and breeders who have sincere love and scientific interest for the flower. The types of Tradescantia presented in the article will decorate flowerbeds and alpine slides on the household plot and window sills in the house.
Zebrovidnaya Tradescantia( Tradescantia zebrina)
One of the most popular indoor species is called Zebraine Tradescantia or Tradescantia Hanging. Both one and the second name fully reflect the appearance of an ornamental plant with drooping nodular shoots, 10-centimeter pointed leaves and small lilac-pink 3-leaved flowers.
Leaf blades contribute to the look of the plant. From the back they are painted in rich purple tones. And their outer side is colored with bright white and silver stripes on a green background. It is this feature that determined the name of this type of tradescantia,
. Tradescantia virginiana(
) The name of this garden tradescantia is due to the place of its natural growth. In addition to the state of Virginia, perennial is found in many parts of the eastern part of the country. Thanks to the abundant flowering, which lasts all summer and quite bright for a kind, the Virginian tradescantia was cultivated and got into the circle of breeders' interests. On its basis, a great variety of varietal and hybrid plants, combined into a separate species, was obtained.
The resulting garden varieties of this type of tradescantia, as in the photo, perfectly take root not only in the gardens of the United States and other countries of the Americas, but have long been recognized by European gardeners. They look great as separate compositions and in combination with beautiful roses, daylilies and other flowers.
It is very easy to learn a plant by direct, lodging only in exceptional cases, stems and elongated, pointed linear leaves. The height of the graceful leafy shoots reaches 60 cm. During the summer season, the plant forms a dense curtain, which in the second half of summer is additionally decorated with a mass of flowers. The corolla of the virginian tradescantia, consisting of three broadly ovate petals, are collected in umbellate inflorescences on the tops of the stems and appear from the sinuses of long 20-centimeter leaves.
The color range of flowers is very wide: from almost white to violet-pink or dark blue. In nature, pollination occurs, the formation of ovaries and seed ripening.
Anderson's Tradescantia( Tradescantia x andersoniana)
Hybrid plants obtained by crossing other species with Virginian tradescantia are now called Anderson's Tradescantia. These are flowering garden decorations recognized all over the world and actively used for gardening gardens and parks even in central Russia.
The modern varieties of Anderson's Tradescantia amaze with the magnificence of colors. Plants can have not only green, but also purple, variegated and even almost yellow foliage. And the flattened corollas of flowers are painted in all shades of blue, pink, lilac.
Among the varieties of this type of tradescantia, as in the photo, there are plants with unusual semi-double flowers.
Tradescantia white flowered( Tradescantia albiflora)
In some types of tradescantia, one can come across not one, but several names-synonyms. The tradescantia is not an exception: it is a white-flowered flower plant, which flower growers also know as Tradescantia tricolor. In fact, the latter name does not belong to the whole species, but only to a single species, which has pink stains and brushstrokes on the striped, white-green foliage.
A plant from the South American tropics stands out for a smooth, pointed-heart-shaped foliage, creeping knotty shoots and small white flowers, which gave the name to it.
In addition to the tricolor variety and plants with smooth-colored leaves, there are varieties, such as the Tradescantia white-flowered Albo vittata, whose leaves are decorated with many green and white stripes.
Tradescantia river( Tradescantia fluminensis)
An equally unpretentious and fast-growing species, like the white flowering tradescantia, fell into indoor pots from Brazilian wetlands, where rhizomatous perennial forms extensive vegetation, displacing all other grass plants.
The riverine tradescantia can be distinguished from the previous representative of the genus in brownish or red-purple adult shoots and the same color of the back side of the leaves. In wild specimens, the leaves have a smooth bright green color.
But as can be seen in the photo, varieties of the species of tradescantia riverine grown in culture can decorate the house with striped and even spotted foliage. An example would be Maiden’s Blush with leaves in all shades of pink, white and green. Chaotic scattered spots and smears give the plants a unique look.
The flowers of the tradescantia riverine in all species are small, white, located in the axils of the upper leaves. The small flowers of the Tradescantia look surprisingly tender in the composition next to a lemon tree or a strict ficus.
Tradescantia Blossfeld( Tradescantia blossfeldiana)
In Argentina, another species of Tradescantia lives, today it has found a place for itself on home window-sills. This is the Tradescantia of Blossfeld, recognizable by dense, red-green stems and pointed lanceolate leaves up to 8 cm. The underside of the leaf is purple, the top is dark green with a reddish or purple shade. The sheet plates are coarse, the pile is well visible on the nodes and at the base of the leaves.
Axillary inflorescences also consist of several purple or lilac-pink corolla. The bright top petals of the Tradescantia of Blossfeld, the bottom is almost not painted. The center of the corolla is also noticeably bleached.
In variegated foliage, the brightness of the color depends on the lighting conditions. Falling into the shade, the leaves of the Tradescantia of Blossfeld can completely lose the ornament and become, as in the photo, green.
Tradescantia sillamontana( Tradescantia sillamontana)
Unlike most species and varieties of tradescantia that prefer to settle in a humid environment, the photo shows a plant that has grown beautifully under half-empty conditions. About the unusual habitat of the tradescantia of sillamontana is the thick, long pile, which is covered with knotted stems and small ovoid leaves of a flower. Thanks to this natural protection, tradescantia is not afraid of losing already accumulated moisture and grows well on Alpine hills and curbs in its homeland. But in Europe and in Russia, the plant is too cold in winter, so a spectacular view in winter is better to grow indoors, bringing it to fresh air only during the warm season.
The height of a perennial rhizome plant does not exceed 40 cm. Young stems at first remain upright, but with a growth they descend to the ground. During flowering at the tops of the stems appear single pinkish-lilac medium-sized flowers.
