Inch plant (wandering dude)

About Inch plant (wandering dude)

The inch plant, long sold as wandering Jew and now called wandering dude or zebra plant, is a fast trailing creeper from Mexico and Central America with silver-striped leaves flushed purple underneath; its name comes from the stem joints spaced about an inch apart, each of which roots on contact (NC State). It fills a hanging basket in a season, roots from any cutting dropped in water, and gets leggy only in dim light. Outdoors in south Florida it escapes into natural areas and UF/IFAS rates it invasive there, so keep it in a pot in the warm South.

Hardy outdoors in zones 9-11 (NC State, UF/IFAS), where it is a groundcover; it is grown indoors or as a summer basket plant everywhere and can summer outdoors in light shade once nights stay above about 55 F (MU Extension), coming back in before frost. In south Florida UF/IFAS rates it invasive and says not to plant it in the ground.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Bought as a nursery basket or, more often, started from stem cuttings, which root in days in water or moist mix (NC State, Wisconsin Horticulture).

Growing it indoors

• Light: Bright light keeps the stripes and purple vivid and the stems full; in low light the lower leaves drop and the color fades to green, while hot direct sun washes the color out (NC State, Wisconsin Horticulture).
• Water: Water regularly but let the top of the mix dry between waterings, and cut back in winter; soggy mix rots the roots and stems, and wetting the leaves invites leaf spot, so water the mix, not the foliage (NC State). MU Extension keeps it evenly moist and Wisconsin lets it dry between drinks, so aim between the two.
• Humidity: It tolerates average home humidity and high humidity alike (NC State).
• Temperature: Thrives at 65-75 F (NC State); MU Extension lists 55 F as its night temperature, and it can't take frost.
• Feeding: Neither NC State nor Wisconsin gives a schedule; follow MU Extension's general rule and feed a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer monthly while it is growing in spring and summer, and not in winter.
• Repotting: Rather than repotting an old straggly plant, Wisconsin Horticulture says to renew it by rooting fresh tip cuttings in a new pot of mix; prune hard each spring to keep it dense (NC State).

Soil

A moist but well-drained potting mix in a pot or basket with a drainage hole (NC State).

Pot in a moist but well-drained potting mix in a pot or basket with a drainage hole (NC State).

Feeding

• Spring and summer, while it is growing fast: water-soluble houseplant fertilizer. Feed monthly at about a quarter of the label rate (UGA, MU Extension); NC State and Wisconsin give no schedule.
• Fall and winter: none. Don't feed while growth has slowed, and water less (NC State, MU Extension).

Feeding won't fix a leggy plant; that is a light problem, so move it to a brighter window and cut it back (NC State, Wisconsin Horticulture).

Varieties (4)

NC State, Wisconsin Horticulture and UF/IFAS name 4 cultivars of T. zebrina.

Pests to watch for

Aphids, Mealybugs, Scale insects, Whiteflies, Twospotted spider mite

Diseases and problems

Root and crown rot, Stem rot, Leaf spot

In the kitchen

Safety: Low severity (NC State): eating the leaves can irritate the mouth and stomach, and the watery sap gives some people a red, itchy rash, so wear gloves if you react and wash your hands after taking cuttings (NC State, Wisconsin Horticulture).

Pets: Toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA, listed as inch plant, Tradescantia fluminensis, a close all-green relative): the sap causes dermatitis; NC State lists T. zebrina itself as a problem for dogs and cats, causing mouth and stomach irritation if eaten.