I have been trying to start a new Wandering Jew plant of the zebrina variety. Here is a picture of the cuttings I have planted up to now. The problem is, my cuttings seem to grow upward, vertically, and the stems stay very rigid and eventually the weight gets too much and the stem breaks. I have had to restart some cuttings because of that, meaning I've had to take the broken branches and put them in water all over again until they grew roots and I could replant them. But they keep doing the same thing. It's strange because I have put this plant on top of a bookcase, with the source of light being down rather than up, and still this is how the plant is behaving. I don't know what to do to help it "droop" before the growth makes it fold and break again. Any tips? EDIT: Also, as you can see, few leaves and very leggy. It's winter here in Canada and it doesn't get much light or warmth. How can I help it get more bushy?
Try keeping the light source from the top. It may be too weak from below. Also a plastic pot would retain moisture better; and keep the kitty away from it :-)
Thanks for your reply. I've moved my plant to another part of the house which gets more light simply because I have no curtains there. It was formerly close to the best window of the house but this window is in my bedroom and I'm a late sleeper, so I only open my curtains when half the daylight has gone by, limiting light to mostly artificial. Now it's near a north-east facing window so not amazing for direct light but at least gets indirect light all day long. Do you think this will help with the stems breaking from the weight?
I don't remember them ever breaking from their own weight so maybe it'll help. Even moisture could be a problem as some plants collapse when allowed to get too dry. A plastic pot may help that.
Fantastic, I'll try that. I'm just a bit nervous about repotting right now because it's the middle of winter and these are fresh cuttings that have just been put into the ground. Would you advise repotting right now or waiting until spring? I see I made a rookie mistake, I assumed that this being a tropical plant it would benefit from having its roots dry out between waterings. I assume this is a plant that enjoys constant wetness then, right? And thanks so much for your helpful advice!
You could wait a month then re-pot, they'll be well enough rooted by then. In the meantime place a plastic saucer under the pot to catch and retain the water you are losing through the clay pot and saucer. As far as I know all WJ like to be evenly moist. Tradescantia pallida is xerophytic but looks better with some water.
