Congrats!
Those broken bits will root and help fill out the pot.
The proper name is Tradescantia zebrina :-)

Josh

I think that's the same one I have that turns all purple in tons of sun, so obviously I'm a huge fan! When you feel like parting with a piece, maybe next summer since I know you're tight on light inside, it might be fun to see if you can get 2 different colored plants from that by putting them in different amounts of sun. The pieces of my plants that have fallen into very shady spots have taken root and are the same color as yours.

Just went outside to take this pic.

This is the plant that piece fell from.

Josh~ thanks for the congrats and the proper name. ;)

Purple~ that is so pretty! Will need to see what it does in different light next Sping. Fur sure!

Is yours very delicate too? I can't seem to even LOOK at mine w/o a tip of a stem breaking off!!

I should put them outside for a while, while they can still be outside. Right now it is pretty nice. Woke up to 37* F this morning,(60 now) so it is getting kinda nippy at night for them (IMO of course) Yes, I am a bit parinoid~~ /sigh. Really need a wagon for them, would be so much easier!! lol

Marjie~~ :)

Thanks! Yes, this plant breaks easily but all pieces will keep growing unless there's no stem. Some survived in a pot that I left hanging outside all winter. The lighter-colored piece in my top pic just fell on the ground and I didn't pick it up, so it's growing there now. One of those plants that's happy about anywhere & really fun to play with. I sometimes find pieces that have been broken by the wind, laying in the grass by the porch. They can handle laying in the sun like that for days - amazing!

Doing it all at once is drastic, but when I have those longer stems with a few inches without leaves, I like to snip them off 1 or 2 nodes above the soil and stick the bare end back in. The cut stem should grow a new tip and the newly-rooted piece that was stuck back in should respond with several new tips soon, often a new one at every node. Eventually it will be full at the top and covering the sides of the pot from doing this. I hope you have as much fun playing with it as I do!

purple~ sounds like fun~~ LET THE GAMES BEGIN!! LOL

This plant grows like a weed for me. I got cuttings from another grower around May and it's a becoming a full hanging pot already! It rooted without a hitch.

Don't worry about the stems breaking...they are tenacious little things! They will easily root in soil and you will end up with a full, happy plant. :)

Just don't overwater and it's not a particularly heavy feeder, IMO.

The more you feed it, however, the bigger it will be!
I had some cuttings in with a Citrus, and I watered and fertilized heavily once a week.
Those cuttings grew into thick, massive, multi-branched vines that were incredible.

The plant is so easy to root that I don't bother re-potting anymore - I simply cut off
the best sections and re-fill a container with cuttings. I've also downsized so that the pot
is easier to manage during the Winter.

Josh

Thanks for all the input on this~ sounds like it could be a fun plant. I have a few stems in water now, growing roots already! I also have a few that broke off in the soil with the "ma-ma" plant, so far they are doing good too. I think next week sometime I am going to add the ones in water to the pot. I really want it to grow into a "cat" lol.

Or maybe put the starts in a new pot.. haven't decided yet. The more the merrier?? haha. Will see.

Anyway, thanks everyone~~ :)
Marjie~ (so very glad she found this site!)

Fun stuff! Soon you'll probably have so much of it you'll wonder that this conversation even happened.