Wandering jew, also known as ‎Tradescantia zebrina, are much sought after for their unique bright colors as well as their vining growth habit. They look gorgeous in hanging baskets or set atop a pedestal where the colorful vines can cascade down.

Caring for the wandering jew plant is easy during the warm, humid summer months. But it can be a bit more challenging to grow a wandering jew plant indoors during the dry cold months of the year.

Wandering jew plants add wonderful color to mixed containers, as well as add great texture and color to shady garden areas. Just remember if you put them outside, these plants are not tolerant of the cold, and will die at the first hard freeze if left outdoors. But they can easily be brought indoors and grown as a houseplant through the winter.

You will find it much easier for the long-term to move your Wandering Jew plants outside for the summer, where they will thrive and grow huge!

As mentioned previously, make sure to locate your wandering jew plants outside on a shady front step or porch during the summer months.

As the wandering jew vines grow longer, you can train them to climb. By mid-summer, they are absolutely gorgeous, and you will definitely get tons of compliments for the rest of the year.

Growing Wandering Jew Indoors

Before frost hits in the fall, bring your wandering jew plants into the house, and keep them growing indoors through the winter as houseplants.

Indoor wandering jew plant care can be a bit difficult, but given the right care, you can keep your plant growing year after year – which is totally worth it!

The most important things to consider when growing wandering jew indoors are proper watering and humidity, and adequate light.

How To Water A Wandering Jew Plant

Wandering jews like to be watered regularly, and won’t tolerate their soil drying out too much.

Keep the soil evenly moist (but not soaking wet) at all times. Water the plant thoroughly, and allow the water to drain from the bottom of the pot.

Wandering jew plants will tolerate being overwatered once and a while, but it’s best to make sure not to allow the plant to sit in water for too long.

You can also water wandering jew plants from the bottom rather than the top, and that way they will soak up plenty of water.

To water from the bottom, simply fill the plant tray or cache pot with water and allow the plant to soak it up through the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Something fun … you could take wandering jew cuttings from a plant growing outdoors, and put them in a vase of water. They won’t grow in water forever, but if you keep the water fresh, they’ll grow in water for several weeks. They look fantastic in arrangments.

Wandering Jews Love Humidity

Another key to successfully growing a wandering jew plant indoors is humidity and lots of it! When the humidity is too low for a wandering jew, the leaves will start to turn brown and die.

This is the biggest issue with growing them indoors during the winter months. When the air in your home is very dry, it’s important to keep the humidity level as high as possible. One easy way to increase the humidity level around your wandering jew plant is to run a humidifier near the plant.

Wandering Jew Light Requirements

Wandering jews are pretty picky about getting the right amount of light. They need a lot of light to maintain their bright color, but direct sunlight will burn their leaves (except for tradescantia purple queen, they love growing in full sun!).

If they don’t get enough light, their leaf colors will start to fade and look dull.

The ideal location for a wander jew plant indoors would be an east or west facing window. That way the plant will get plenty of natural light in the morning/evening, and bright indirect light for the rest of the day.

If you choose to move your plant outside for the summer, make sure to keep it in the shade or a partial shade spot where it’s protected from the hot afternoon sun.