Synonyms:

Tradescantia fluminensis
Tradescantia laekenensis

Habitat:

T. albiflora ‘Nanouk’ is native to Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Paraguay, Uruguay

Description:

T. albiflora ‘Nanouk’ is an amazing succulent belonging to the Commelinaceae botanical family. The plant has an erect habit when young and a creeping habit in age. The stem is purple, and the leaves are inserted directly in it. The leaves are sessile, elliptical, flat and pointed. The upper surface of the leaves is dark green with white stripes and the lower surface is purple. The plant is covered with a with a white-greyish pruina that gives the plant attractive colors and stunning hues perfect for decorating the windowsills of your home.

Cultivation:

This is a slow growing plant, easy to cultivate. The plant needs a full light sun exposure but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light in the hottest periods. The plant does not like temperatures below 10°C so it needs to be placed indoors in the coldest periods. The soil should be mixed with pumice, clay and loam to allow the drainage and prevent the root rot, the plant is prone to it indeed. Remember to use a perforating pot to drain excess water. Watering can be done regularly in Spring and Summer: during the vegetative period you can water the plant (every 7 days), checking that the soil is completely dry before watering again; in winter you should stop the watering to allow the plant to enter dormancy. If you want a faster and lush growth you can fertilize the plant once a month during the growing season with the specific fertilizers for cacti; stop fertilizing throughout the winter. If the pot starts to be too small for the plant you can repot the plant in a pot 2 cm wider. Repotting should be done early in the growing season with fresh new potting soil. Be careful to red spiders and mealy bugs.

Propagation:

Propagation can be done by cutting or by seed. By cutting you can make the cut during the spring and then let the cutting dry; after a few days the cut surface will dry and a callus will form, then place the cutting in a mixture of sand, soil and pumice. To increase the success of propagation you can make two or more cuttings at the same time. For cuttings it is recommended temperatures around 20 °C. By seed it is very simple to propagate the plant, it is enough to sow the seed in a sandy loam soil and keep it with a high level of humidity and at temperature of 14 C°.

Curiosity:

The genus was named after John Tradescant, who was the court gardener to Charles I of England, who brought Tradescantia from America and introduced this plant to Europeans.

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

Tips:
Read our advice