Synonyms:

There are not synonyms for this plant

Habitat:

Tradescantia lollipop originates from nursery

Description:

Tradescantia lollipop is a beautiful perennial succulent belonging to the Commelinaceae botanical family. This particular hybrid has an erect habit when young and a falling attitude in age. The growth is low-profile, but every other attribute is anything but subtle. The stem is green and can grow up to 20 cm in height. The leaves are petiolate, fleshy, oval shape and are wonderful coloured. They have vertical green and white-pink stripes that start from the base and reach the tip. This unique plant is perfect to give color to you 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 succulents; 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:

Because Tradescantia lollipop is a hybrid, in order not to lose the characteristics of the plant, propagation can only be done by cutting. By cutting you can use leaf cuttings. Cut the leaves as close as possible to the stem and then let it 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.

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

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