Trzykrotkais a popular and easy-to-grow plant that is more and more often found not only in our homes, but also in our gardens. We advise whichspecies and varieties of the tripleare popular and whatcultivating the triplelooks like at home and in the garden. In this article you will also learnhow to reproduce the threefoldand which diseases and pests can threaten this plant.
Trzykrotka - Tradescantia
Fig. depositphotos.com
Trzykrotka - species and varieties
Trzykrotka(Tradescantia) belongs to the Commelinaceae family and occurs naturally in North and South America. This genus includes over 70 species, some of which can be found in Polish homes and gardens.
The best threefolds for potting at home are :
- Trzykrotka wirginijska (Tradescantia virginiana),
- white three (Tradescantia albiflora),
- threefold striped (Tradescantia zebrina),
- purple triple (Tradescantia pallida),
- Tradescantia fluminesis.
In gardens, Anderson's triple(Tradescantia x andersoniana) is mainly grown, which has sufficient frost resistance to winter outside.
Pottery triplets
The virginian triple(Tradescantia virginiana) is the most popular potted species, although some varieties are also recommended for gardens.Long, lanceolate leaves are covered with overhanging shoots. Among other species, we can find decorative flowers - white, pink or blue.
The most common ones in sale are2 varieties of the virginian trefoil :
Virginia tricycle 'Nanouk'- this is a short variety, growing up to 20-30 cm in height. It has a lush and spreading habit and overhanging shoots, however, it is not a hanging variety. The pride of this variety are leaves covered with colorful streaks in shades of green, pink and purple.
Virginia tricolor 'Tricolor'- has interesting leaves. The upper part of the leaf blade is covered with green, cream and pink streaks, while the lower part attracts the eye with intense purple. Long overhangs create spectacular colorful cascades.
Trzykrotka virginijska - Tradescantia virginiana
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Another interesting species isthreefold white(Tradescantia albiflora). This plant creates creeping shoots up to 45 cm long, densely covered with egg-shaped leaves streaked in pastel shades of pink, green and white.
The most interesting varieties of the triple white are :
White triple 'Albovittata'- distinguished by green leaves with white stripes and tiny white flowers appearing at the ends of the shoots.
Triple white 'Aureovittata'- green leaves are covered with gold-colored streaks.
White triple 'Rochford's Silver'- stripes in various shades of pink, red and silver visible on the leaves give the plant a unique appearance.
White triple 'Albovittata' - Tradescantia albiflora
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An extremely popular species of threesomes with an attractive appearance is thethreefold striped(Tradescantia zebrina), also referred to as pendulous three.It is a plant with up to 1 m long shoots, densely covered with tailless, lanceolate leaves, the upper surface of which is covered with multi-colored streaks. The underside of the leaf is purple in color. The varieties of the striped triple are even more interesting:
Triple striped 'Purple Passion'- this is a variety with interesting foliage - against the background of maroon leaves there are silvery streaks. The plant has a dense and compact habit, which is its additional advantage.
Triple striped 'Quadricolor'- distinguished by beautifully streaked leaves in silver, pink, green and cream colors.
Triple striped 'Purpusii'- leaves larger than other varieties, chocolatey, slightly hairy.
Triple striped 'Discolor'- this variety is characterized by narrower leaves than other varieties, with a silver border with a brown stripe in the middle.
Threefold striped - Tradescantia zebrina
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Purple three-trait(Tradescantia pallida) is a decorative species of both leaves and purple flowers emerging at the tops of the shoots. The fleshy overhanging stem, growing up to 30 cm in length, is covered with lanceolate leaves in shades of dark red and purple. It tolerates drafts well. Among the varieties of this species, we recommend especiallythree-fold purple 'Purple Heart'forming overhanging shoots, growing on elongated and pointed leaves in a shade of dark purple.
Snakeskin(Tradescantia fluminesis) is a species with overhanging shoots and leaves in a distinct striped pattern. Shoots grow up to 50 cm in length. Valuable varieties of the triple serpentine are:
Snakeskin 'Alba vittata'- has small white flowers and dark green leaves covered with white stripes.
Triple serpentine 'Aurea'- this is an interesting variety with almost entirely golden leaves. The white flowers contrast poorly with the bright foliage.
Snakeskin 'Tricolor'- this variety is distinguished by a compact habit and small multi-colored leaves, the underside of which turns purple.
Triple serpentine 'Quicksilver'- creates cascades of long shoots in shades of green and silver. Together with tiny white flowers it gives the impression of lightness.
Triple for gardens
Anderson's triple(Tradescantia x andersoniana) was created as a result of crossing the Virginia triplet with other plants. As a result, we obtained a frost-resistant variety that can withstand temperatures down to -20 ° C. It is the best threefold for garden cultivation.
Anderson's triplet creates clumps of grassy leaves resembling a fountain and decorative flowers decorating the garden from June to September.It will adapt to any soil, as long as the position is semi-shaded. This species requires radical summer pruning - after flowering has ceased. When starting thecare for Anderson's tripleremember that its leaves can irritate the skin, so wear protective gloves.
Anderson's triple - Tradescantia x andersoniana
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Anderson's threefold 'Karminglut'- grows up to 60 cm in height. It creates dense clumps of pointed, dark green leaves and purple-pink flowers. It looks beautiful both in flowerbeds, rockeries and in containers.
Anderson's Triple 'Blue Stone'- distinguished by dark green leaves and flowers in a beautiful shade of blue. It grows up to 40 cm and is suitable as a cut flower.
Trzykrotka - growing at home
The potted triplets are extremely easy to growand undemanding.The plant needs to be in a sunny and warm position with a few hours of sunshine a day. The triple does not tolerate drafts, which should be remembered when providing them with a quiet position or creating a garden in a glass vessel. When planting plants, it is worth remembering about a layer of drainage at the bottom to prevent rotting of the roots. As a substrate, we can use ordinary garden soil.
When planting a triple , it is worth adding TerraCottem to the ground, which helps to maintain adequate soil moisture. The hydrogel in TerraCottem absorbs excess moisture after watering the plant, and then releases it when the soil dries out excessively. This allows you to reduce the frequency of watering the plant.
An important procedure in the care of this plant isthreefold wateringThreefold has high water requirements and should be watered regularly. The soil in the threefold pot should be kept moist. However, you should remember not to sprinkle the plants and not to wet their leaves, because soaking the leaves exposes them to the risk of fungal diseases. Therefore, it is best to put pots with three-folds in containers with water so that the soil is soaked with moisture from the bottom.
During the growing season, it is worth supplementing the threefold with multi-component fertilizer for plants with decorative leaves. If we have a threefold variety with decorative flowers, we can also feed it with fertilizer for flowering plants.
In winter, we limit watering the threefold to a minimumand stop fertilizing.
To stimulate the plant to grow and thicken its habit,regularly trim the shoots of the tripletIt is best to remove the tips of the shoots.
Transplanting the tripletto a new pot year in the spring. The plant is transplanted to fresh soil, to a pot of a size larger than the current one. In the case of already overgrown plants, you can only replace the top layer of earth with a new one.
Triple striped in a pot
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Trzykrotka - growing in the garden
As previously mentioned,Anderson's triple(Tradescantia x andersoniana) is best suited for garden cultivation. Grown in the garden, this species prefers semi-shaded, secluded positions with slightly moist and fertile soil. The threefold does not have high nutritional requirements, you can limit yourself to spring fertilization, supplying the plants with multi-component mineral fertilizer or compost.
In the summer,after flowering, prune the Anderson triplea lot, which will make it branch out and bloom more profusely in the following year. In autumn, cut the dried leaves of the threefold low above the ground. We do not need to protect plants for the winter, because in our climate they withstand temperatures down to -20 ° C (plant frost resistance zone 5). Only in the coldest regions of Poland it is worth covering plants with garden bark, dry leaves or conifer twigs.
Triple - reproduction
Tricells grown in potscan be propagated extremely easily with apical shoot cuttings taken in spring and summer. Spruce shoots take root well in water. You can also plant the seedling in a pot, preferably in soil intended for the production of seedlings. Such substrates are most often sold as soil for sowing seeds.
Threefold seedling rooted in water
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Garden-grownAnderson's threefold is best propagated by dividing clumps . In autumn or spring, we carefully divide the plants into smaller parts, which we immediately plant in a permanent place.
Trzykrotka - diseases and pests
A fairly common problem in pot cultivation isdrying of the tips of the triple leavesIt manifests itself in the fact that the leaves of the triple leaf, starting from the tips, turn brown and dry.It is not an infectious disease, but a result of errors in plant cultivation. The reason is too little soil moisture in the pot or too dry air in the apartment.
To prevent the tips of the leaves from drying out, , make sure that the soil in the pot is constantly moist, and also increase the air humidity . We can achieve this by placing flat trays next to the plant, from which water will evaporate. The recommended method is also sprinkling the leaves with soft, preferably standing water at room temperature. If the plants are in a very sunny position, move them to a place with less solar operation.
A less common problem isleaf blotchThe symptoms of this disease are round or oval, gray, brown or brown spots with a darker border on the leaves. Over time, spotted leaves may die completely. After noticing the first symptoms of this disease, triple remove the leaves with spots and spray the whole plant with Biosept Active.It is advisable to perform 2 or 3 such sprays at intervals of 10 days.
Aphids often appear on triplicatepests. By sucking the sap from the plant, aphids weaken it and promote the occurrence of fungal diseases. As a result of foraging these pests,deformation and yellowing of the leaves of the tripleand the death of the entire plant. In the event of aphids occurring on triples, they can be sprayed with the natural preparation Emulpar 940 EC or the orange oil Limocide. If we decide to use chemicals, the ready-to-use Karate Spray will be a good choice for growing potted plants. If there are more plants in your garden infested with aphids, you can choose a concentrate to dissolve in Karate Gold water.
Tricycles grown in gardenscan also be attacked by swollen mushrooms. A symptom of feeding these beetles are holes gouged on the edges of the leaves.Snails can also cause similar symptoms. Against the swollen we can spray the natural NeemAzal preparation, and sprinkle ecological Ferramol pellets around the plants on the snails.
In the period from July to August,on the triple white,thrips appear frequently. As a result of their attack, silvery-white spots with black lumps - thrips droppings are formed on the surface of the leaves. After noticing the presence of pests, it is worth spraying the natural preparation Emulpar 940 EC mentioned above. If this does not help, it is worth reaching for Limocide.
MSc Eng. Anna Błaszczak
