What Is Tradescantia Hirsuticaulis?
Tradescantia Hirsuticaulis is commonly known as a spiderweb houseplant.
It is a member of the Commelinaceae family, which includes plants like tradescantia (tradescantia spp.), dayflower, and loose-strife. Tradescantia hirsuticaulis or tradescantia hirsuticaulis is also commonly called tradescantia fragilis.
These tradescantia houseplants are native to Mexico or Brazil and can be easily grown as potted plants within the home.
Tradescantia Care & Maintenance
Tradescantias require just enough water to keep their soil damp but not wet. These tradescantia plants also do well in pots because they don’t need much space to grow, making them excellent for people with little space.
Tradescantia houseplants are small and delicate, so they need to be protected from direct sunlight.
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia plants generally grow upright in a tall grassy mound, although tradescantia varieties are trailing.
These tradescantia houseplants do well in warm and cool conditions but must be kept away from cold drafts.
They can survive light freezes (to just above 32 degrees F) as long as they have been allowed to become somewhat acclimated first.
So keep tradescantias indoors or protect them with frost covers until spring arrives if you live in an area that experiences frost regularly during the winter months.
Light Requirements For Tradescantia
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia plants prefer light shade to partial sunlight. They don’t do well in the bright sunlight of an east- or west-facing window.
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia plants are a good choice for homes and offices with south-facing windows because they will receive plenty of bright light without being burnt by direct sunlight or getting chilled by cold drafts from an open window.
Tradescantia care instructions say tradescantia houseplants will grow best if allowed to become acclimated over a period of time first before being placed directly in full sun.
So, you may need to allow tradescantia plants to sit outside on your lawn or patio for several days so that they gradually get used to the brighter light before moving them
They must be protected from direct sunlight, especially in the afternoon hours when the sun is at its brightest.
Bright indirect light is sufficient for tradescantias as long as they are protected from hot direct sunshine during the summer months.
Water Requirements For Tradescantia
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantias do not require frequent watering. You may water your tradescantia houseplants once or twice a month if the top 2 inches of the soil starts to become dry. It is important to use lukewarm water with tradescantia plants because they are sensitive to temperatures above 104 degrees F.
Too much water will cause root rot and usually leads to death. Ensure that you allow the top 2 inches of soil to dry between watering periods before watering again. Do not allow the potting mix or media to stay soggy for long periods of time, as this is also bad for plant health.
Soil Requirements:
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia houseplants prefer soil that is high in organic matter.
Cactus and succulent potting mixes work well with tradescantias. If you are not sure what type of mix to use, the best method is to test your soil before planting for a general idea of soil requirements.
You can do this by mixing some cactus and succulent potting mix media into your existing potting medium and observing how long it takes for the top 2 to 3 inches of the medium to dry out afterward.
If it takes more than two weeks for the surface of this mixture to feel dry when lightly pressed, then your existing potting media or growing media is probably too compact and needs to be amended.
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia houseplants grow best when planted in a mixture that drains well and allows air into the root zone.
These tradescantias are native to tropical areas, so they need soil that will dry out quickly. Consistent watering is required to keep them healthy, but don’t allow your plants’ roots to sit in water for long periods of time, or you risk developing root rot which can kill your plant over time if it’s not corrected.
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantia plants prefer potting media with a pH of 5.5-6.8pH, although they tolerate a slightly wider range of soil pH levels.
Growth Requirements For Tradescantia Species:
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantias grow best if allowed to trail in hanging baskets or pots filled with cascading medium for support.
Once they begin to trail, these plants tend to cascade down over the edge of their containers and find their own way down toward the floor. New growth will appear along the stems, and new flowers will form at the ends of new branches.
The new growth is where new flowers for the season will originate, so you may want to entice new flowering by pinching off new shoot tips if you don’t like new plants or do not have space for more.
Don’t be afraid to pinch back new growth because it’s actually better to prevent them from flowering too soon in the season while they are just getting established.
Once your tradescantia hirsuticaulis plant has bloomed once during its first growing season, allow it to bloom again during a later blooming period if possible, as these plants usually flower twice each year.
They are straightforward to care for and require only occasional pruning to keep them looking neat.
Most tradescantias have thin trailing stems that can be trained around an appropriate surface, such as wire cages, hooks on trellises, etc. Hanging basket varieties will also work well for growing tradescantias indoors because
Temperature and Humidity Requirements:
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantias prefer a temperature range of 50 to 80 degrees F. with moderate humidity levels of 40-60%
They will tolerate temperatures that approach 100F as long as the air is well circulated (i.e., they are not in front of a sunny window) and provided sun exposure doesn’t last for extended periods of time.
In fact, excessive sun may cause sunburn on leaves or sunspots, which can eventually lead to leaf loss if left untreated. If your sunburned plant has been damaged beyond hope, you can remove it from the pot and throw it away without any regrets because it would have died anyway unless you did something about the sun damage sooner rather than later.
If your sunburned plant can be treated, you will need to remove all sun-damaged leaves and sunspots as soon as possible because they will eventually kill the rest of the plant if it gives up. Don’t worry about removing all sun-damaged areas at once, though, because sun-damaged areas cannot spread or reproduce independently.
Your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant should begin healing itself whenever you start removing sunburned tissue from its stems and foliage within a few weeks after treatment is initiated, even with the hottest summer temperatures (so long as sun exposure is limited).
In most cases, sunlight only needs to be dimmed or filtered out in very sunny locations inside where plants don’t get enough shade during the midday sun, usually the sunniest part of the entire day.
If you are growing tradescantias outdoors, sunburned plants may not be as easy to treat because sun damage can spread rapidly with sun exposure. Even sun-damaged leaves can continue to cause more sun damage as long as they remain on the plant.
The best solution for this is to cut off all sun-damaged tissue at ground level once a week until all sun-damaged tissue has been removed from your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant so it can begin recovering any healthy tissue that remains. At the same time, you work on removing sunburned areas near ground level. Take care when handling damaged or dying tissue because it’s likely to have toxins in it that can cause sunburn on your skin if you touch it.
Ensure sun exposure is limited or removed completely as part of sun damage treatment to ensure sun damage doesn’t spread beyond sunburned areas near ground level and possibly harm nearby healthy tissue.
It’s fine to remove all sun-exposed leaves if necessary because sun-damaged tissue will eventually kill the plant anyway unless treated promptly, so there’s nothing wrong with cleaning up the appearance of your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant during summer months by pruning out all sun damaged leaves at ground level as long as you start treating any remaining sunburned areas right away using methods such as dunking seeds and pots in cold water for a few minutes, so sun-damaged seeds and sunburned plant tissue will be less likely to sprout when submerged in water.
Fertilizing Requirements:
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis tradescantias will benefit from almost any type of fertilizer that contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), with the concentrations found in 20-20-20, 30-10-10, or 10-30-20 being popular choices.
Avoid using Miracle Grow soil liquid fertilizers because they contain high levels of phosphorous (P), which can be detrimental to plant health once the soil is allowed to dry out. If you insist on using them anyway, don’t use more than half of what the package recommends for application rates when treating your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplants.
Tradescantia Hirsuticaulis sunburn will heal itself within a few weeks if sun exposure is limited once sunburn has been treated promptly in most cases, while its sunburned leaves will begin drying up and falling off the stems of sun-damaged houseplants automatically.
The sunspots themselves are sunburned areas on sunburned leaves that will eventually die as long as sun exposure is limited, even if sun-damaged areas aren’t removed from the tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant before they can spread and kill more sun-healthy tissue.
If you decide to remove sun-damaged tissue because it’s unsightly, keep in mind that sunburned plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight until all sun-damaged areas have been removed from your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant, so treating any remaining sun damage in sunburned plants is only a temporary solution until sun-damaged tissue begins dying and can be removed from your houseplant.
Sunburn on tradescantias will not spread once sun exposure is limited, so sunburn may eventually heal itself without treatment in sunless areas where sun damage was originally caused as long as sun exposure remains limited.
For this reason, it may take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for sunburn to completely disappear depending on how much sun exposure your summer houseplant receives, while temperature extremes (hot or cold) can speed up sunburn recovery time in some cases, with the sunspots disappearing within a few days when temperatures are consistently above 75 F (23 C).
Potting Requirements:
The most popular sunburned plant treatment method is to dunk sunburned plants in cold water for a few minutes and then remove sun-damaged tissue from the houseplant while hot or cold weather can speed up sun-damaged tissue death, so sun damage may completely disappear within 3 days to 3 weeks if limited sun exposure conditions are maintained.
Do not remove sun-damaged areas near ground level from your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplants if you plan on growing them outdoors after summer has ended because they’re likely to happen again next summer when the temperature range is similar to what it was this year.
Remove all sunburned leaves above ground level as long as temperatures are cool enough for handling treated leaves without sun-damaged tissue dying before sunburned areas can be removed from the houseplant.
Tradescantia hirsuticaulis sunburn tends to occur on sun-exposed leaves above ground level. At the same time, sun-damaged plants will turn brown on sunburned leaves first and then begin drying up quickly, so sun damage is easy to spot when it’s still new. Once sunburn has begun drying up, removing sun-damaged tissues from your houseplant may spread sunburn, so limit your handling of affected plants until sunburn begins disappearing on its own.
Pruning Requirements:
The most popular stem cutting stem cuttings planting method is to remove stem cuttings on a stem of tradescantia hirsuticaulis before sunburn can occur but stem cuttings may not root if taken after sunburn has begun, so stem cutting removal must be done quickly after removing any remaining damaged tissue.
Proper stem cutting trimming and fertilizing should limit stem cuttings from developing sunburn during the summer months but leaves that touch each other or leaves at the top of your houseplant are more likely to develop sun damage when temperatures are consistently above 75 F (23 C).
For this reason, prune stems back to promote good air circulation above ground level as long as proper pruning practices are used so stem cuttings won’t have a chance to develop sunburn once temperatures begin increasing.
Do not touch stem cuttings when removing them from your tradescantia hirsuticaulis houseplant because stem cuttings may already be sun-damaged if they’ve been continuously exposed to direct sunlight over time, Still, stem cuttings with new growth are more likely to root as long as properly trimmed stems are used, and stem cuttings are placed in water that’s below 70 F (21 C) when the air temperature is also below 70 F (21 C).
Where To Buy Tools:
Amazon is a good place to buy stem cuttings, and the stem cuttings planting bags are used for stem cutting safe storage once they are removed from your houseplant. (click image to enlarge)
Amazon has stem cuttings of tradescantia hirsuticaulis in 1/2 and 2-gallon bags, so stems can be easily stored until you’re ready to plant.
If stem cuttings placed directly into water turn brown, try putting a few ice cubes in the stem cutting bag first, then add distilled or reverse osmosis water, so air temperatures remain below 70 F (21 C). Stem cuttings should remain slightly firm when properly hydrated after being removed from their original houseplant but make sure you don’t put stem cuttings that have thorns in stem cutting bags, or stem cuttings may become difficult to remove later.
Recommended Tools:
2 Gallon Bag:
Stem Cutters:
