That pretty plant looks like Tradescantia zebrina: Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina)


Edited to add: Different light situations cause differing variations in coloration. Here are more images: http://www.google.com/search?q...

Thanks...that is what I thought but I wanted some confirmation. I just realized how insensitive it was of me to use that old common name. I'm so sorry if I offended anyone.

Paul: "Wandering Jew" is the common name for a few different Tradescantia plants. I'm not sure of the origination as a common name for the plant, it's been called "Wandering Jew" for a long, long time so I'm sure you have not offended anyone!

I decided to google the name to see what popped up:

http://www.jewishencyclopedia....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...)

Paul,
Thanks for posting pictures of your many beautiful plants.
They add a lot of joy to my ATP experiences
I love growing this ivy in a basket every year. I'll be starting a new
basket of cuttings for spring of 2013 in a few days.
My plant has been brought into the garden room and is huge.
If anyone would like cuttings, I can send plenty if a shipping
time free of freezes happens.

Louise

Thanks for that kind comment.

Agree with the ID. Also capable of blooming!

Purple: Wow, that is beautiful! I submitted a proposal to move your pretty photo to the database.

Lovely photo.....

With everything that's been posted! These are lovely plants!!
I also wanted to add from a jewish perspecive since the Diaspora (Jews leaving Palestine after Babylonian captivity), many are called "wandering jews" its not offensive, its a way of including brethren into the fold, long lost kin :)
Glad that you were sensative about this though Paul, thanks

Thanks, plantladylin. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found those flowers.

Of all things, the plant that did it is in a topsy turvy tomato planter, coming out of the top instead of the bottom. It came back this spring after hanging in mid-air all winter. Hope it does that again in '13!! I mean the coming back AND the flowers. Since realizing it's hardy here, I've put some in the ground in several places. It would be nice to not feel like I need to bring in so many pots of it for winter, and it's not a smooth transition to suddenly much less light, kind of pointless as far as having a good-looking plant around for winter.

The other thing I find incredibly odd and simultaneously cool about this plant is it's chameleon behavior mentioned above. In no direct light, it's mostly green with silver/gray stripes, in full sun, it's bright red with virtually no stripes, in very little direct sun either very early or late and just light dapples of light at most through most of the day, like hanging from a pole a few feet northeast of a large tree's trunk, it's gets the pretty color from the pic above, so dark purple it's almost black with the hot/raspberry/fuchsia stripes. Hung in 3 different exposures, it looks like 3 different plants.

But I don't know what exposure would give the also really pretty color of the OP's plant. Are there multiple cultivars, or other factors besides just light that can affect the leaf color?

Purple: Well, I must have goofed because I don't see your photo in the database ... I'll try again!

Thanks, plantlady. I'm sure you know more about that than I do - which is nothing.

LOL - well, you know how to grow pretty plants, that's something!

Thanks for the explanation, Gregg - I didn't know what to do with that one, either. And no one knows what you're talking about if you say your Tradescantia is blooming... although I have heard some of the T. pallidas called Purple Heart plants. But not the same plant, no striping.

Sheryl also when I here Tradescantia I think of spiderwort (widow's tears) so then we'd be talking about 2 totally different things

I did not know that spiderwort was also called "widow's tears" It pops up wild all over my yard. This year I will see it in a different light.

Ginger, when I googled it several different plants came up (spiderwort being one of them) I guess its why common names are problematic meanwhile I don't really know many latin names so...just have to keep on googling and clarifying I guess!
Cheers

Gingin, those spiderwort grow in my yard too. In the spring I mow around the biggest clumps until they start to look ugly, then just mow them with the rest of the yard. In OH you pay $5 for a tiny pot of this stuff. Crazy! Tradescantia is a fascinating genus.

this year my yard looked really bad with Bill being sick and all, but the wildflowers were great

Purple I love this genus! reminds me of mini daylilies
Ginger, I know it is hard to keep up with all the yard/gardening if you're not feeling well...sorry