Tradescantia zebrina (inchplant, "Shimamurasakitsuyukusa")

Japanese name: シマムラサキツユクサ （縞紫露草）
Scientific name: Tradescantia zebrina

[Overview]
An evergreen perennial 10–30 cm tall.
The stems creep along the ground and root at the nodes.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate, 4–10 cm long and 1.5–3 cm wide, fleshy, with pointed tips.
The upper surface of the leaf has silvery white stripes, and the underside is reddish purple.
The leaf base forms a tubular sheath that clasps the stem.
A cyme is produced at the stem tip, and the inflorescence is enclosed by 2 leaf-like bracts.
The flowers are pink to pale purple, three-petaled, about 2 cm across.
There are 6 stamens, and the filaments are hairy.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or stem cuttings.
It can overwinter outdoors in regions without frost.
In other regions, bring it indoors to a sunny spot in winter.
It prefers well-drained soil in sun to partial shade.
In shade the leaf color becomes poor, and the plant becomes leggy and weak.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries from spring to autumn, and keep on the dry side in winter.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Too much fertilizer makes it leggy and prone to falling over, so none is needed for plants in the ground, and for potted plants it is enough to place slow-release fertilizer on the soil once a month in spring and autumn.
Pests and diseases include seedling rot, gray mold and scale insects.

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