Wandering Jew, care and how to take cuttings of.

            The second house plants that turned out well being outside this summer is the Wandering Jew.  SO I am going to cut these back and make cuttings for more house plants to give away as gifts.  I will show you pictures when I do the planting of the cuttings.  This is helping with getting ready for winter when I can still grow something.  What does that say about my gardening?  LOVE to grow plants and not doing the cleaning up that I am doing now.
 
How to Take Cuttings From a Wandering Jew
        With its erratic growth habit and purplish-green foliage, wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) makes an excellent houseplant, especially in a hanging basket. It is also a suitable garden plant in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, where it commonly grows as a trailing ground cover. To propagate a wandering Jew, simply take a cutting and root it, which typically takes approximately three to four weeks.
       Select a wandering Jew plant that is free from insects and disease to take your cutting. It should appear to be healthy with a full, lush growth. Do not take cuttings from unhealthy plants.   Water the wandering Jew the day before you take the cutting so it is well hydrated. Water a garden plant with 1 inch of water. For a container wandering Jew, water slowly until water seeps out the drainage holes. Sterilize a knife or scissors with rubbing alcohol or a bleach-water solution made with 10 percent bleach. Moisten a paper towel or clean rag with the alcohol or bleach water and carefully rub the blades. You can also use a sanitizing wipe that contains bleach.
      Choose a healthy tip with new growth. Cut just below a leaf node, slicing it with a knife or cutting it with a pair of scissors at a 45-degree angle. The cutting should be at least 4 inches long. Take several cuttings to ensure success.
 Tip
You can root a wandering Jew cutting in soil, but it is also easy to root in water. Simply remove the leaves from the bottom 2 inches of the stem and place it in a clear jar or glass filled with room temperature water. Set in a sunny location and change the water as necessary, to keep it clear, until roots form. 
 
I have found this article on the care of wandering Jews, and it looks like with the plants I have they have lots of vining tendrils.  SO I will try lots of cutting from these.  I also have to repot them because they are root ball with very little dirt. 
 
Gardening Know How - http://www.gardeningknowhow.com
Growing Wandering Jew Plants – How To Grow Wandering Jew Plants
By Jackie Rhoades
      Years ago, before raising plants for profit became a business, every housewife knew how to grow wandering Jew houseplants. Gardeners would share cuttings from their wandering Jew houseplant (Tradescantia pallid) with neighbors and friends, and like the Jews from long ago, the wandering Jew houseplant would travel from place to place.
Basic Wandering Jew Plant Care
    Wandering Jew plant care requires bright, indirect light. If the light is too dim, the leaf markings will fade. Keep the soil slightly moist, but don’t water directly into the crown as this will cause an unsightly rot [1] in your wandering jew plant. Care should be taken, particularly in winter, that the plant doesn’t become too dry. Mist wandering jew plants frequently. Feed your plant monthly with a half-strength liquid fertilizer.
An important part of growing wandering Jew plants is pinching back the long, vining tendrils. Pinch back [2] about a fourth of the plant to encourage branching and increase fullness.
     One of the main reasons for asking, “How do I care for my wandering Jew?’ is the short life of the plant. Wandering Jew houseplants do not age well. No matter how well your wandering Jew plant care is, they lose their leaves at the base while the long legs keep growing. Don’t be surprised if your wandering Jew plants need to be renewed once a year or so.
Till next time this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa