Setcreasea purpurea, or Tradescantia pallida, is an ornamental plant and belongs to the genus Setcreasea, which comes from the Commelinaceae family. Distributed in areas of Eastern Mexico, namely, on the border of the Gulf of Mexico.
The perennial evergreen shrub has fleshy creeping stems that are about a meter long. The leaf blades sit in the next order and are hidden deep in the axils of the shoots. Wide leaves up to 10 cm long look lanceolate. Outside, the plates are painted in a green tone with a violet tint, from the inside the color becomes saturated, a short fleecy bloom prevails.
Budding continues from spring to late August. The culture blooms with small pinkish inflorescences, consisting of 3 petals. Flowers are collected in clusters of several pieces and cover the ends of the shoots.
Home care for netcreasia
In most cases, netcreasia is grown as an ampelous plant. The flower needs minimal care and develops without problems in fairly modest conditions.
Location and lighting
Setcreasia purpurea cannot do without natural light for a long time. The lighting coming from the street should be bright. To prevent the direct sun from burning the leaves, the pot is placed under diffused light.
The lack of light leads to the fact that the internodes are shortened, and the leaf blades acquire a more intense color, a tone darker than the previous one. If there is no real possibility to keep the flower in a bright room, special phytolamps are installed next to the flowerpot, which serve as an additional source of illumination.
In addition, weak daylight can cause changes in leaf pigmentation and entail stretching of the shoots. In this case, inflorescences are practically not formed.
Temperature
It's not just the length of daylight that matters when breeding netcreasia. The temperature of the content in the room also affects the health of the flower. In winter, the flowerpots are transferred to a cool room, where the thermometer is kept at around 7-10 ° C. This approach will protect the crop from pulling shoots and discoloration of the ground parts.
How to water
Netcreasia purple requires abundant watering. The soil in the pot is kept moist, but water stagnation at the bottom is avoided. Errors in watering lead to decay of the root system. As a result, the culture dies. Overdrying the substrate is also contraindicated, since the leaves and stems lose their elasticity and gradually dry out. The plant is watered with pre-settled water.
Air humidity
They try to maintain high humidity indoors. Spraying the flower is not recommended, because moisture drops stagnate on the fleecy layer of foliage. Soon, unattractive whitish spots are formed in these areas.To increase the level of humidity, expanded clay material or pebbles are poured onto the bottom of the pallet and water is added. Another way is to install a vessel filled with water next to the flowerpot, then the plant absorbs the necessary moisture from the free container.
For the winter period, purple mesh is placed away from heating appliances.
Soil composition
The main requirement for a substrate is a nutrient medium. The content of the components and the pH values do not have a particular effect on the growth of the culture. The soil mixture for planting is purchased in the store. This soil is versatile and suitable for growing many indoor plants. To improve the drainage properties of the soil, a baking powder is added, for example: vermiculite, sand or perlite. If you do not want to buy ready-made soil, you can collect it yourself. It is necessary to take the same amount of turf, compost and sand. The components are thoroughly mixed and a handful of charcoal is added.
A prerequisite is the presence of a good drainage layer at the bottom of the flowerpot, due to which it is possible to prevent waterlogging of the soil. The container is taken in regular sizes, where the height and width are equal to the length, or wider pots.
Fertilization
Fertilize the soil at least once 4 weeks. For these purposes, universal compositions of mineral fertilizers are suitable. Frequent feeding of cetcreasia causes rapid growth, lengthening of stems and internodes. The appearance of the plant deteriorates.
Transfer
The transplant of purple setcreasia is carried out only as needed, mainly in March-April. If the root system crawls out of the pot, this will be the first signal to start transplanting. Setcreasia tends to grow quickly. The stems stretch out, and the lower layer of leaves crumbles. It is more expedient to plant a new plant in the place of the old plant in a few years.
Pruning
Pruning of the setcreasia is carried out regularly. The procedure is started immediately before the start of active growth of shoots. Old stems are cut almost to the end, leaving two- or three-centimeter shoots. Young shoots are periodically pinched to form a slender and beautiful bush.
Methods of reproduction of netcreasia purpurea
Setcreasia purpurea successfully propagates using apical cuttings that take root in water or wet soil. The rooting process is fast. Then the cuttings that have taken root are planted in separate pots. Florists advise placing from 3 to 5 cuttings in one container so that the bush turns out to be more magnificent and attractive in the future.
Pests and diseases
Setcreasia is rarely attacked by pests, however, due to violation of the conditions of detention, the risk of spider mite infestation of foliage increases. Sick flowers are treated with appropriate insecticidal preparations. The package contains instructions for use.
Home-grown bushes are unlikely to get sick. Often the problem is the drying out of the tips of the leaves. The reason is low humidity in the room and hot air circulating from heating devices.
