Wandering Dude

Check your light →

Happiest behind a sheer curtain, and it gets by on bright shade away from direct rays. Its stripes track the light: more sun tends to mean more color, and full sun can bring the boldest stripes.

An east window’s morning sun can reach it straight through the glass; in a south or west window, a step or two back from the pane keeps the silver crisp.

The stems tell you when it’s short on light. They shed their lower leaves, and the ones left at the tips lose some of their color (NC State), so a dim plant ends up looking like a bare string with a tuft on the end.

Light also shows off its texture. Fine hairs line each leaf edge, and in strong light the leaves seem to sparkle (NC State). In hot southern sun, though, the color can wash out (NC State); that warning is for gardens down south, and window sun indoors is far gentler.

Read the stripes as its report card: bold silver means you’ve found the right window.

Every 5-7 days in summer, 7-10 in winter, letting the soil dry between. Its succulent stems ride out a missed drink; a sodden pot is what rots the roots and stems.

In a hanging basket, the vines drape over the rim and hide the soil, so part them and pour underneath. NC State warns that wet foliage, especially on a crowded plant, invites leaf spot and other fungal trouble.

NC State says it handles average home humidity as well as high, and it likes temperatures of 65-75 degrees.

One caution for fans of a packed pot: that same crowding that makes it look lush keeps the leaves from drying, so a little thinning now and then lets air move through the tangle.

Gone for a while? Ten days is fine if it’s watered well the day you leave.

A kept plant spreads 1-2 feet wide, a low mound of striped stems 6-9 inches tall. Show off the purple undersides in a hanging basket or atop a bookcase; snipped stems root easily and, tucked back in, thicken the mound.

Where winters stay warm (zones 9-11), it creeps across open ground as a groundcover (NC State). Indoors you can borrow that habit: interior plantings use it to carpet the soil under taller plants (NC State).

It can take a hard cutback every spring (NC State), which resets a plant gone sparse at the crown. Left alone, its runners can stretch several feet indoors (Texas A&M). A regular trim keeps a potted plant to about 1-2 feet of trail.

It can summer on a patio, but bring it in before nights drop below 50 degrees (NC State).

In a room, its shape belongs at the edges. A window hook, the top tier of a plant stand, or the lip of a mantel all work, anywhere the vines can drop freely.

Its watery sap may leave a dog’s or cat’s skin red and itchy, and a chewed leaf can irritate the mouth and stomach. For kids it’s rated safe, though the sap may redden skin, so wash hands after a trim.

The sap can irritate skin, so a quick hand wash after trimming is all it takes.

The irritant hasn’t been pinned down. Its toxic principle is listed as unknown and the severity as low, with mouth and stomach irritation if a pet eats it (NC State). A close cousin, Tradescantia fluminensis, is the one with an ASPCA entry, and dermatitis is the only sign it names.

For kids, that same cousin is listed as non-poisonous (Poison Control), and Wandering Dude itself is noted only as a skin irritant (CHOP). If a child’s symptoms don’t settle or anything worries you, Poison Control can help. For a pet whose skin or stomach stays upset, your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center can help (a fee may apply).

Hung high, the stems stay clear of a dog’s nose and a cat’s paws. Just pick up the trimmings when you’re done.

1. ASPCA: mild for dogs.
2. ASPCA: mild for cats.
3. Poison Control: safe for kids.

Cats and dogs: Most of the leading sources agree.

Kids: Poison Control lists it as non-poisonous. Its sap can irritate skin or eyes.

Happiest at 65-75°F, and it shouldn’t sit below 55°F. Keep it away from cold glass in winter. Humidity can drop to 20% without trouble.

Temperature

65-75°F

Spider mites come most often, so flip a leaf and look underneath. Whiteflies sit under leaves too, mealybugs tuck into the nodes, aphids gather on new tips, and scale clings to stems.

• Spider mites
• Mealybugs
• Aphids
• Scale
• Whiteflies

A few. Spider mites are the ones to watch; aphids, mealybugs, scale, and whiteflies turn up now and then, and rot if the soil stays soggy.

Spider mites leave fine webbing and a pale, speckled look, mostly in warm, dry air. Rinse the whole plant in the shower, undersides of the leaves included; if they come back, an insecticidal soap spray is the next step.

Mealybugs look like tufts of white cotton where the leaves meet the stem; aphids are small, soft bugs on the new tips; scale looks like small brown bumps. Wipe them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, or snip off the worst stems and root clean tips instead.

Whiteflies look like tiny white moths that fly up when you touch it. Wash the plant, then spray insecticidal soap, especially under the leaves.

Stems that go mushy at the base mean rot from soggy soil; leaf spot comes from crowding and wet leaves. Water the soil, not the leaves, let it dry more between soaks, and restart from healthy tips if the base is gone.

From spring through summer, feed monthly and pinch stem tips as needed, about 6 times a year. Each spring, cut it back hard and repot into fresh peaty mix. When it turns leggy, replant tip cuttings in the same pot.

• Feed6× a year
• Prune1× a year
• Pinch6× a year
• Restart from tip cuttings1× a year
• Repot1× a year

Any potting mix that drains fast, in a pot or hanging basket with a drainage hole.

Repot when the roots fill the pot, in spring. Once it’s old and straggly, it’s often easier to start over: tuck fresh tip cuttings into new mix and it fills the pot again.

Food is optional: a houseplant fertilizer at half strength now and then in spring and summer is plenty for a plant that already grows this fast.

Each leaf wears silver stripes over green, with a deep purple underside. The surface is glossy and waxy, and the stems grow thick enough to cover the soil completely.