Inch plants (Tradescantia) are popular houseplants and outdoor container plants with attractive purple—and silver-striped foliage. They can survive any indoor environment and are perfect for the wanna-be-green thumb! Learn how to grow and care for these easy-care, fast growers.
What is it Called an Inch Plant?
Inch plants are creeping plants in the Tradescantia (pronounced trad-es-KAN-tee-uh zeb-REE-nuh) genus. They are fast-growing and have trailing stems. Other common names include variegated spiderwort.
Leaf nodes on the stem are supposed to be 1 inch apart, hence the common name inch plant. Each segment can produce a new plant, so Tradescantia can easily start from cuttings that readily root in moist soil.
While Tradescantia is a perennial plant in its native Mexico, it is treated as a houseplant in North America and commonly grown in a hanging pot.
It is considered an invasive species in warm regions outside of its home range (including parts of the southeastern U.S.). For this reason, we recommend growing inch plants indoors or restricting them to containers outdoors.
