Plant Purple Heart to Make Your Garden Pop! An easy plant for beginners

Gardening is one of the best ways to relax your mind and enjoy your life more. Today, I'd like to introduce you to a beautiful purple plant that is very easy to grow. 

Tradescantia pallida plant, known as "purple heart" or "purple queen" is a one of my favorite evergreen perennials. This purple plant looks very beautiful all year round and stands out from the other succulents and plants in my green gardens. Its royal purple foliages really make the whole garden pop, particularly in the winter. 

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Purple heart flowers grow in clusters

Once Tradescantia pallida plants start to blossom in the early spring, we'll be able to enjoy the purple flowers almost all the time until the cold winter. At the top of each flower spike, two long and narrow purple leaves holding a cluster of small flowers like a pair of hands. Purple heart’s flowers are small with only three petals, but these pinkish purple flowers are simply beautiful. 

Usually, these flowers pop up one after another from the same cluster with a few days in between. So, don't cut off the flower spike until there are no new flowers coming out from the same cluster anymore. The safest way is to wait till the flower spike dries up, then you can cut the stem off.

Is purple heart indoor or outdoor?

Purple heart plants can be kept both outdoor and indoor. But, their foliage will turn green if they don't have enough sunlight indoors, so the best spot for purple heart is the south-facing window. I think they prefer the outdoors in California. Some people planted them as ground cover along with other succulents in their gardens and along sidewalks. Purple heart plants can spread very fast and look fantastic when they cover a large area.

You can also grow purple heart plants in pots and hanging baskets, they will try to grow full and tall first, then will cascade downward to keep expanding. I even make them climb on a trellis, and I haven't heard any complaints from them so far 😁.

Purple heart is very easy to grow

Tradescantia pallida purple heart is one of the best plants for beginners. Purple heart is very hardy and can be easily propagated from stem cuttings and grow in soil or water. Make sure the cutting is bout 6 inches or longer, and there is at least one node (a small lump) on the stem so that roots can grow from there. 

Propagating Tradescantia pallida purple heart plant
is very easy in water or soil

My favorite way is to put the cuttings into water and watch roots start to grow in just a couple of days. It's very fun to watch the tiny hairy roots grow bigger each day. Purple heart plants can take care of themselves in water and continue growing for quite a while. Alternatively, you can plant them in a pot with well drained soil. 

Purple heart is drought tolerant

Purple heart plants are relatively drought tolerant, I only water them when the soil is dry. But if you saw some leaves start to dry out, most likely, you have left them thirsty for a prolonged time, and that would be their signal for you to rescue them with water. Don't water them too frequently and keep the soil well drained by adding some sand or perlite. 

Purple heart can clean the air

Purple heart plant has been rated one of the best plants to remove toxic pollutants in the air. I don't know how many purple heart plants you need to really clean up the air in your living room, but I'm sure that this gorgeous purple heart plant will definitely brighten up your life if you see them everyday. 

Usually, I'll bring some purple heart plants indoors if it's too cold outside in winter, and propagate some in water and watch them grow. My indoor garden really brings me a lot of pleasure, and I like to watch my plants every day and observe how the roots are growing and new shoots are shooting out. I'm always fascinated by what Mother Nature has brought to us and it makes me appreciate the world even more.

Purple is the color of Tsinghua

Purple is the official color of Tsinghua University, my alma mater. Recently, I sent an ecard on LinkedIn to Tsinghua to celebrate her 111th anniversary with my "purple heart" to show my appreciation of the seven wonderful years with her as shown at the end of this post.

I hope that you enjoy reading this post about Tradescantia pallida purple heart plants and may be planting some and watch them grow in your living room or your yard too. Follow us for free career advice from an executive recruiter, and get inspired by nature in our gardens.

 

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