The Wandering Jew (Tradescantia) is a perennial ornamental plant that can be propagated through two methods: division or rooting stem cuttings in water or soil. The best time to propagate Wandering Jew cuttings is during the spring or summer when the plant is actively growing.
Propagating Wandering Jew from cuttings is a two-step process that takes just minutes. First, remove all but a few leaves from the stem cuttings and place them in a smaller pot with moist potting soil. For maximum results, fill the container with non-chlorinated, room-temperature water. Place the plant cutting inside the water after mixing.
Propagating Wandering Jew in water is just as easy as soil. Start by using a clean, sharp blade to make a 45-degree cut just beneath a leaf node to take 4- to 6 cuttings. This method doesn’t require a special rooting medium or hormone for successful rooting. Simply snip a healthy stem with a few leaves and submerge the cut end in water. Change the water regularly to keep it fresh, and roots should start to develop in a few weeks. Once a sufficient root system has formed, the cutting can be transferred to soil for continued growth.
These plants are so hardy that they don’t even need to water prop. Cut them up smaller and stick them directly in soil. Water your Wandering Jew plant once per week or when the top soil dries out. For water propagation, use a clear glass or plastic vessel tall enough to support the cuttings and allow for rooting.
In summary, propagating Wandering Jew from stem cuttings is an easy and quick process that can be done in various ways.
📹 How to propagate wandering jew or inch plant from cutting in water
How to propagate wandering jew or inch plant from cutting in water.
📹 PROPAGATE WANDERING JEW PLANT WITH RESULTS
How to propagate wandering jew plant with results. CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT TO SEE HOW WELL MY WANDERING JEW …
I stuck mine straight into the soil and water it as I do with all my other plants outside or in a pot and have never had any issues with root rot. You just need good drainage. It is pretty hard to kill this plant. I got a lot of pieces from a friend’s yard and I left them sitting for almost a week out of soil and water before I was finally able to plant them and they are all growing like crazy. Just know you will constantly be trimming this back as it grows rapidly and can take over an area or pot rather quickly. But if you are looking for some type of ground cover to fill an area or for full, lush planters, or maybe you can’t be around flowers, then this plant is one that will work for that beautifully.
Thank you for doing this article! I have an emotional reason for this that I would like to share with you. My mom died in Nov. 2000, that very same year she told me her real dad was Jewish. May 2001 I was diagnosed w/MS and neeless to say I was a wreck. My friend wanting to cheer me up took me to a yardsale (I had never been to one before). At this yardsale was a beautiful plant that I really felt drawn to, the lady doing yardsale told me the name of the plant and I was overcome with emotion, it was the wondering jew, I didn’t blink I bought the plant. Unfortunately, sometime after I had the plant, I put the plant outside for some sun, and that night there was a freak Tennessee freeze and although I did everything I could to save the plant it died. It has been 18 years since I had that plant and seeing this article made me gasp when I saw the plant and heard the name! It made me think of my mom and how much comfort this plant brought to me. Again thank you for making this article, thought I would share this with you…you never know what someone will receive from a YouTube article. 🙂
Hey! I just did the same experiment with my Wandering Jew. You did wonderfully! I want to share a tip that worked well for me: change the water every 2-3 days to make sure the water doesn’t grow bacteria. By the end of the first week, my cuttings had roots. By the end of the second week they had massively long white roots. In the article, your water looks yellow so I think you should change the water more often or stick to the 2-3 day water change period. 😇 The roots will grow faster and stronger. 💪🏼 The cuttings that I put in the soil reacted exactly how yours did: started growing and rooting faster than expected! 😃 Thank you for sharing your article! It is great to know that I am not alone trying out these kinds of experiments.
I’m trying rescue one of these plants after it was left unwatered in an empty flat for about 3 months. The plant was fairly mature and quite leggy, but the stems have completely shrivelled up into tiny threads apart from the last third towards the tips, which are still very green and healthy. But now I’ve seen this article, I know what I can do. Thanks very much! I especially liked the before-and-after comparisons – I know what I can look forward to 🙂
Wandering Jew actually does very very well in the sunlight. The variegated leaves often turn solid purple in sunlight and produce the most beautiful tiny pink flowers. We have grown it for years inside and outdoors in the garden. It survived a few 113* days this summer as well as about three months of almost straight triple digit weather. No rain either. Of course I have to water it, but it does very well on its own.
Good job! I just took a few stems from a huge hedge outside my pharmacy today (that was especially dark purple) and plunked the nodes into water. I love how easy these are to propagate, and in no time at all you have new houseplants to keep or share the “sheen” with! I’ve loved this plant since I was a teenager, and the feeling never gets old even 50 years later! Have fun and thanks for sharing, your article(s) are informative and interesting. Well done! 👍❤
I know this is a older article, but I wanted to add that this plant is so easy to grow that I’ve just laid the plant cuttings with the leaves side up on soil and after a short time it’s rooted and spreads like wildfire. I grow this in my flower bed with morning sun and afternoon shade with great outcome as well. My plant always grow better and faster in soil than in water, but I don’t fertilize the ones in water like I do the ones in soil. Has anyone used fertilizer in their plant that stays in water, if so what do you use? Thank you so much for your help, I’ve learned so much about certain houseplants that I’ve been scared to grow in the past. ❤️
This was very helpful. I like how you tried different ways of propagating it and showed the results of each one. I was given some starters of a wandering jew plant, which was doing well up until recently. It started to wilt from the root but the ends still look healthy. I suspect it may have been over watered with a little help from my family. I’m hoping to save it by using the technique you showed in the article.
Thank you for taking the time to make this article. I didn’t know you could just pop it into the soil before it had roots! I’ll be trying that outside to use as a ground cover in a shady area during summer. I don’t think it will make it through the winter (zone 8), so I’ll take some cuttings indoors in late fall. I’ll keep it growing inside until I can move it outdoors again next spring! Woohoo!
One way I’ve found good success with the soil method was using a good peat moss mix in a red soil cup, take another red soil cup and place it underneath your planted and perforated red solo cup. In between those 2 cups take something like a soda bottle cap. That is my mini bottom watering propitiation system on a budget 🙂
Appreciated seeing this type of article because I bought a massive Zebrina Pendulae and it kept growing and then the plant started terminating some of its vines. So I trimmed it and was not sure if I could just place the cuttings in soil. The water was initially how I started. But they started decaying and no roots after 2 weeks. So I saved what I could and placed them in dirt. Has anyone else dealt with a situation similar to that?
Thank you for such a nice article. I learned so much that should help as I am extending the Purple Hearts indoors from the patio. My thoughts, after perusal your article, would be to propagate in water and transfer to potting soil. How did that work for you? Also, outdoors we have these in most areas around the house with the greatest production coming from those in full sun lite during summer months. These are a very hardy plants, in the Houston region, that make a very robust statement about having the ability to over come difficult situations such as draught and hurricanes. We absolutely have fallen in love with the Wandering Jew. Thanks again for the article.
has your Wandering Jew plant produced blooms?? I just got my first WJ last month, and she gives me at least one flower a day!! I know these plants are said to not be a high maintenance plant, but I spoil mine with filtered water and turn her planter at least 3 times throughout the day lol. Thank you for your article!
Wandering Jew loves the sun. I propagate my wandering Jew by breaking off branches of it and sticking it straight into the ground and watering it good and it immediately puts on roots and I just keep spreading it all around in my yard by snapping the limbs off when they get too long and stick them in the ground somewhere else. I have flowerbeds full of them all over my yard. Some get at least six hours of sun some only get one or two hours of sun the more sun they get the deeper purple they become. Our family has been growing this Plant for over 100 years and find that they are very easy and low maintenance, don’t require a lot of water however they will grow like crazy when you do water them a bunch.
Hi, great article. Thanks for making a article with results. Oftentimes I watch a propagation article then wonder if it was successful. May I ask what type of soil are you using with this? Do you use a regular potting soil, potting soil with fertilizer or does it have to be a gritty soil that drains easily like the type used for succulents?
Hi! Did that white pot have a drainage hole? Just curious how well your plants do with pots that don’t have one, indoor or outside. I find very pretty pots (literally pretty soup urns etc.) at fleas and thrift stores and drill a hole in the bottom just so I have that drainage hole that real gardeners say are necessary. What’s your take on this? Be well.
I took mine out of water and decided to pot her. I woke up the next day and she was all droopy and her roots were soggy. I took her out of that soil repotted her and made sure to water lightly. Wish me luck please if anyone has any tips. I figured she needed a lot of water so I’m sure that’s what it was.