Hello,

I have a black thumb, but am determined to turn it green! I've had a wandering jew indoors for about 5 months now. I moved him closer to a west-ish facing window a few months in and he seemed to like it better and starting growing nicely. It gets good light in the afternoon, but not much direct. However, some of his leaves seem to be getting paler/cream colored instead of the bright green and purple he used to be. Could this be from too much light? I recently got a small plant growing light and used it on him several times b/c I always feel that my houseplants don't get enough light. I stopped using it on him a couple weeks ago, though. I'm in California, so it is very dry here as well, but I mist him daily and water him about once a week.

Thanks!
Eddie

Your thumb is greener than you think! Overall, your Zebrina is very healthy.

The pale leaves are not caused by too much light or by dry air. Those are mostly older leaves that die back naturally as they age. A few instances of improper watering can hasten the paling of some of the those leaves. Pay close attention to the watering and water thoroughly as soon as the surface of the soil feels nearly dry.

This is a vining plant that will need regular pruning if you want to keep it full and compact. Otherwise, older leaves will die gradually from the soil end up and you will end up with long bare vines with healthy leaves only at the ends of the vines. So resist the temptation to let the vines grow ever longer.

Any vine that has lost several leaves already is a good candidate for pruning, Cut such vines back to the second or third node above the soil. New growth will then emerge from the node closest to the pruning cut and fill out the plant. The tip cuttings can be propagated easily in water or damp soil.

Great! Thanks so much, Will. I'll keep at it!

I have found the Wandering Jews, at least for me, like to be watered before they dry out. I water my little one in a 4" pot about every 3 days. This has been my key to success with it. Before this plant, I could never keep one alive, and I always let the soil dry out. Maybe that was why they all died. . .

The coloring of the actively growing leaves is dependent on exposure. These are all pics from the same plant, from cutting pieces off and sticking them in various places & pots over the years.

With no direct sun:


In mostly shade with brief periods of direct sun. This exposure-look is much more purple in person, my camera fails miserably at purple:


This deep purple was in a spot with no direct sun, outside, in very bright shade with dapples of light through an oak tree.


With direct sun most of the day, it becomes more reddish than purple, leaves smaller, pointed upright (though not apparent from this example of dangling foliage,) and the node distance is much shorter.


Such a range of conditions is not possible inside but you should be able to find a spot where it has the hue you love. Your particular plant looks like it may be getting the reddish look of more-sun end of the spectrum. If so, that's the easiest adjustment, and so rarely does one get to even think about suggesting backing off of the amount of light for an indoor plant. Easy because there's always less light inside.

Did you find a spot where your plant turned the color you seek?