A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 If I love it enough, will it stop hurting me?

hahaha I'm in a dysfunctional relationship with one (well, two...it's propragated enough to fill two hanging baskets) of my plants.

I'm really allergic to the thing, and though I've neglected it, it keeps coming back for more! hahaha I can't bear to just throw it away, but I develop rashes and blisters any time I mess around with the thing. I have to be decked out in Hazmat gear just to groom it

Okay, so I know I had the name of the plant when I bought it, but now I can't seem to find any info on it.

The plant is in the wandering jew family, but it has long (~3-4") narrow purplish leaves rather than squatty roundish leaves. It does have tiny hairs on the under side of the leaf. It grows in long stringers, sort of like a pothos, but the stems are pretty thick and they break off easily. It sprouts really pretty little purple flowers that seem to be wrapped and snuggled in a leaf when they are young then grow out a bit.

If anybody can help with the name, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to do some more research on the crazy thing! <img border="0" alt="[perplexed]" title="" src="graemlins/confused.gif" />

could it be a purple passion plant?

here is a link to a picture online:

purple passion

Could it be an inch plant/wandering jew/Tradescantia zebrina?



Or perhaps it's a

Purple heart/purple queen/Tradescantia pallida? In fact I think this must be it.





I don't know if either of those has a fuzzy underside.

boxmonkey, the second plant you posted will get fuzzy undersides if it is grown in the house. don't have them outside. i think it has something to do with the sun.

Is this the one you are speaking of????

http://www.witsendgrowers.net/varieties/tradescantiapurple.html

Boxmonkey....all I see on this end is 3 boxes with big red X's in them.

I am betting on the purple heart!!!!

that's it...that's IT!!!

Boxmonkey has the right one too...I got the properties and viewed the pic, but it didn't have any info...Thanks for the link....both of you!!

I had, at one point, looked up tradescantia but didn't find anything close to what I was trying to find....guess my search skills need a bit of fine tuning. Now, if I could just figger out how to make it love me back hahaha.

Hmmmmmmmm...I wonder if I would be allergic to Wandering Jew too. :p I've always wanted to get one but found this one instead.

I have a basket full of the purple heart.....I asked here many, many months ago for help identifying it....that is the only reason I knew. ha ha

I guess they can be grown in the ground as well....in Calif we don't have many frosts so maybe I will give it a try!

When my monster looks like it is getting straggly or doesn't look as nice I just brutely go in and shear the tops right off....comes back a very happy camper. Guess I am not allergic to it since I grab all the houseplant cuttings in my arms and haul them to the compost heap....I guess I would of been in trouble if I had been allergic.lol

Do you wear gloves?
Catlover

Gloves, long sleeved shirts, pants....all washed immediately after I mess with my little darling hahaha I'm tellin' ya, I have to sneak some Hazmat gear from work the next time I do anything with it

hahahaha....I get blisters and a rash any place the sap touches my skin. The last time, I was trimming it in my bathtub so I could wash any sap off right away. Well, I must have had some sap on the side of the tub because when I leaned over, my shirt rode up a little and I had a nice little rash patch on my tummy! hahaha I'm still healing from the last time I tried to use just gloves....The inner side of my forearm still bears the roses from exposure. I'm a glutton for punishment, I tell ya

Did you ever find anything that worked for the itch?
There was a bunch of the same stuff in my new yard, and I transplanted it. My eyes aren't swollen anymore but I am insane with itchiness.

That's a shame about that allergy - it looks like a lovely plant too.

Well, here's my 'wandering jew'. It was grown outside this summer from a clipping somebody gave me with a lot of coleus.

I got it identified here as a wandering jew. It's a bit bigger now and I potted it for the house a few days ago.