....and this is what they look like today. Anyone able to identify them now?

Now that's a bright planting!
What a difference light makes, indeed :-)
Sorry, no IDea ;-)

Josh

The purple/green one may be a tradescantia (sp?).

Nancy

*looks around for Purple*

For any who missed it,..

Here is a link that might be useful: The Previous Thread

I'm confused about the light - it looks like it's been in less light, judging from the fading of the purple color. Sure would like to see a pic of the mama plant! If this isn't a 'Red Hill,' I don't know what it is. It doesn't look exactly like mine though, the leaves on this plant are bigger and farther apart. No doubt it's really cool, whatever it is.

Is the part to the left starting to make a side branch? Hopefully this will make some flowers. That might help.

Purple, I'm confused about the light, too....so I'll add a little more to the confusion, LOL! Of the four original cuttings that are in the picture at the top of this post, three were eventually planted in the pot with the begonia. One I kept inside under the fluorescent lights. Here is a comparison...the pot I'm holding has rooted and produced shoots. It looks like the mother plant, which was in a sunny greenhouse. The ones with the begonia are outside under a dogwood tree. It is not dense shade, but those plants look like they receive less light than the one kept indoors under lights! I would think that even shade would be brighter than lights. The outside ones even lost some of their hairiness. They don't even look like the same plant anymore! I'll post another pic when they bloom.

I still think it is T. pallida or sillamontana

I'm pretty sure it isn't pallida, but it does look like a purplish sillamontana....

When I first saw the indoor specimen my thoughts were like "Wow that's cool the way it's all tight and compact like that!" ...but now that I see the outdoor specimen it makes me think that it is the happier of the two.

Of course that's just my opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt! :)

Wish I knew more about which Tradescantias are capable of cross-breeding. I think we all agree pallida is one of the parents, but what would you cross it with to get this plant? And AFAIK, I've never had any kind of Tradescantia seed sprout, except the grassy, hardy spiderwort types in the yard. Has anyone ever harvested a Tradescantia seed?

I haven't.

Quick question though if I may...

A wandering jew that is pen striped green and white is still just a wandering jew,right?
Other than the color variation,they really seem to be the same,yaknow?

Asleep, I think they could be lumped together under that common name...I even saw a solid lime green one this Spring!

I have some similar species that also go from ugly to full in the same time. Can you tell if they are the same stems in the first pic and the last one? In other words, the ones here dry up and die, but from buds at the base of the plant come this year's plants. The old ones are actually on their way out and look like crapola. In a couple of weeks the new ones come out and redeem themselves. In my case, it has nothing to do with light, it is the passing of winter into spring that triggers the make over.

Like some of the other posters, I agree that it is now getting less light. The bigger leaves, the loss of the hair are all usual signs of less light.

How about "setcreasea purpurea"? Look it up on google Images. The leaves are slightly hairy. I have one which varies between purple and greener depending on where I put it.

Setcreasea was renamed to Tradescantia.

Greybird,..

I'm pretty sure the lime green ones that I have at the moment are the result of the pen striped ones that completely reverted and lost any hint of variegation and in spite of missing my stripes,it's nice to know I'm not alone in liking that color. :)

The following was copied and pasted from wiki's Nomenclature article:

In short,..wiki agrees with Purp! :)

...Speaking of Purps,I'm not sure I'd rule out purpurea as a candidate either.

So, I'm sitting at school waiting to pick up my son and notice my copy of Botanica's Annuals & Perennials sitting there, so started leafing aimlessly through it. Turned to Tradescantia, and there's T. cerinthoides AKA blossfeldiana. It looks just like 'Red Hill' and has the white flowers edged in pink. I didn't think EA invented a Tradescantia. Wish they'd just say what it is, could have saved a lot of searching!!!!!!

Greybird, did you ever see any blooms on these?

Purple, 'Red Hill' certainly does look like T. cerinthoides...but it's different from the plant in this post. And yes, I have seen this one bloom. From what I remember, it is smaller than 'Red Hill', and unfortunately I didn't take a photo. Here is the original plant on left, and 'Red Hill' on right.

I think it may bloom soon - here is a close-up of the tip. This time, I'll get a photo!