Inch plants are wonderful. Now okay, we love all houseplants so we appreciate that you may take a statement like that with a pinch of salt, but would you just take a look at this beauty? That stunning silver and purple foliage, lovely trailing stems, green and white stripes on the leaves - wonderful, right?
On top of all that, the Silver Inch plant brings with it all of the other benefits that you might expect to get from houseplants - the better air quality in your home, the improved mood and even better productivity. There is a lot of science behind why it's great to have plenty of indoor plants, not even taking into account how beautiful they are.
A plant as attractive as this deserves to be looked after - so in this guide we are going to cover everything you need to know about Silver Inch plant care. Make sure your plant thrives for years to come by following these simple steps.
Are Inch Plants easy to care for?
Let's answer this question right away, just so you know where you stand - Inch plants are low maintenance plants. There isn't a great deal to know about Inch plant care, and everything you need to know is in this guide. They are tolerant to some neglect, so it is not the end of the world if you forget to care for it every now and then - they will keep going.
It's yet another reason why these are becoming such a popular houseplant - you don't need to have a lot of time, knowledge or experience to help your Inch plant live its best life. You just need to follow some simple, easy-to-understand instructions, which we will list below.
What are Inch Plants?
The Silver Inch plant (tradescantia zebrina to give its scientific name) hail from Mexico and some other parts of Central America and South America. They are known by a few different names - spiderwort, dayflower and the Wandering Jew (or more Wandering Dude). Those last names relate to their adaptability to different conditions - they root in many different environments and thrive.
It's known as the Inch Plant because of the spacing between each of the leaf nodes, although some people say that it equally refers to the rate at which it grows - this is a fast grower, and those trailing branches are perfect for putting in indoor hanging baskets, but they grow equally well in pots.
One quick word of warning - the tradescantia zebrina is considered to be slightly toxic, so it's best kept out of reach of young children and pets.
How to care for creeping Inch plants
Now let's get down to business - this is your complete guide to Inch plant care. We'll look in detail at each of the major factors before then providing with your with an easy-to-follow quick guide to make things easy for you. Here goes.
We'll start with watering, which is usually the most important factor when looking after any indoor plant. You should aim to water your Inch plant regularly, but always make sure that you let the top of the soil dry out between each watering. They do not like to sit in soggy soil (they are from quite hot and dry climates originally) as this could cause root rot, so your aim is to keep the soil evenly moist.
As we mentioned above, they can cope with a bit of neglect, and can probably go for a few weeks without water, especially outside of growing season during the winter months. In the Summer and Spring, though, aim to water regularly, at least every couple of weeks.
Now, light. Bright, indirect light is the best way to ensure all of those beautiful colours remain nice and vibrant. They can tolerate plenty of direct sunlight when they are out in the wild, so as a general rule, the more light the better. Near a south facing window would be ideal. In the UK, it's likely you will be able to expose it to too much sunlight.
A top tip now - to really help those leaves look their best, you may want to spray a little mist of water every now and then, to really bring out those colours.
Finally, we come to pruning. If you don't want your Inch plant to have trailing stems, you can pinch the tips of the stems, which will encourage bushier growth.
Here is our quick-fire guide to Silver Inch Plant care:
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Origins: Central America, South America
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How much light: Bright, indirect light
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Water requirements: About once every couple of weeks, when the top couple of inches of the soil is dry
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Humidity requirements: A little water mist every now and then always goes down very nicely!
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Soil requirements: Well-draining potting mix - standard houseplant is fine
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Temperature requirements: 18°C to 29°C, whatever temperature your home is should be fine
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Pruning requirements: If not growing in a hanging basket, pinch the tips of the stems as they start to trail - this will encourage branching
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Feeding: A little feed every couple of months during the growing season would help encourage really healthy growth.
Propagating Inch Plants
Growing Inch plants from stem cuttings is actually very straightforward. All you need to do is take a cutting, around 10cm, from a stem - aim for just below the leaf node. Then put them in water, and wait for a root system to start to develop, and when they do, simply plant them in a small pot with some soil, and keep that soil moist.
Enhance your indoor plant game with Prickle
The Inch plant is one of our favourite indoor plants, but there is a whole world of indoor plants out there for you to discover - and we can help you do that. We have a huge range of indoor plants, whether you are after kitchen, bathroom or living room plants, as well as a wide range of outdoor plants. Our large & leafy plant collection is not to be missed!
Have a look through our products and have a think about what your perfect setup would look like - we can make it happen. If you have any questions at all, then please don't hesitate to get in touch - you can email (contact@prickleplants.co.uk) or get us on social media - @prickplantsuk. We'll answer any of your plant-based questions!