Hello, Everybody!!!!

Couple of months ago I got 4 cuttings from a very healthy wondering jew at our local nursery. I used rooting hormone and put them in Schultz soil mix. They all rooted, and started growing pretty well. About a month ago I gave one of these plants to a friend. She did not change anything in its "diet".


Yesterday she told me that her plant had a few flowers!!! They are small, violet with something yellow in the center.

I;ve never heard about a flowering wondering jew. But then I am very new to this whole gardening thing.

The three plants that I have left are growing at exactly the same speed, there are some new branches (though not new stems yet). But no flowers on mine.

Any word of explanation will be very appreciated.

happy gardening,
t.

Could be different heating temps' in the house..

Or direction of a window she had them in verse's the one you had it in? ie South, West, etc. facing window exposure?

Is either by heater or not?

Is water the same kind *both on town water vs spring?*

Or could be a shock to it's system, *being moved
can possible signal to a plant, it's environment is changing and it better put out a flower to make a seed to continue the species*

I must say that I think the flowering is a pretty rare thing...Wandering Jews were the very first plant I ever bought about 8 years ago and I've had them every year since....sometimes many of them going all at once....in all those years I've only ever had ONE tiny flower show up on one of mine....I have a picture of it somewhere, let me look for it and when I find it I'll post it here.

truthfully, the variables for getting a wandering jew to flower are so many. first is the type, is it a trandescantia zebrina? or one of the others? the t. pallida blooms much more readily, but they all bloom. the problem is their blooms are small, and don't last long, although they are prolific with the blooms once they start.

i've always had wandering jews over the years. never had one flower and didn't even think about it...just thought it was a vine.

when i moved into my house and got a new one, it flowered! must have something to do with the lighting - i had it in a west facing window (which was never the case previously).

Thank you, for your responses! So informative, as always.

Jiffymouse, it is trandescantia zebrina. So I guess it must be the change in lighting and the general shock of moving. Other than this odd behavior, the plant is doing very well, my friend says.

thank you and happy gardening,
t.

i don't think i would call it weird behavior, but rather it is perfectly happy for a change. they are such easy going plants that we forget they too have "ideal" conditions!

It might not be weird as a whole, but for me it was very strange...I've had so many indoors and outdoors....in all different light situations....plant food, no plant food....I've had countless WJ's over the years and I was shocked to even see a flower. I can't find that picture either.

Plus I've had them in the same place year after year in front of a window in the kitchen. Well other years it didn't flower...but last year I had that one teeny flower...same conditions pretty much. I hope I get one to flower again.

Jiffymouse and Loz!

I am glad to learn that flowering means "ideal conditions" !

I am going to give my friend more plants to make them happy.

happy gardening,
t.

I had a wandering jew once and before long,I had killed it off!! I dunno what I did wrong. I saw one the other day and really wanted to buy it, it was beautiful,but was afaid I'd kill it off too.

how do you all keep them alive? what do they like/need?