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Inch Plant

Tradescantia fluminensis, Commelinaceae

Sources last read 13 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called jaw plant, Rio tradescantia, River Spiderwort, Small-Leaf Spiderwort, Small-leaf Wandering Jew, Wandering Creeper, Wandering Jew, Wandering Trad, Wandering Willie, White Inch Plant and White-Flowered Spiderwort.

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Inch Plant is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Touching the foliage can irritate the skin. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Tradescantia fluminensis 'Quicksilver' AGM. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Medium light 100 fc
Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained or Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Touching the foliage can irritate the skin.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Propagation
Stem cuttings root readily.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
In spring and summer, root softwood stem-tip cuttings.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pinch growing tips for bushier growth, and on variegated cultivars remove all-green shoots to prevent reversion.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by slugs and snails, and caterpillars.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Can be troubled by thrips, vine weevil, aphids, mealybugs and red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

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About the plant

Tradescantia fluminensis is a species of spiderwort native to South America. It is one of several plants known by the common name wandering Jew. It is also known as small-leaf spiderwort, river spiderwort, inch plant, speedy Henry, wandering willie and wandering trad.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
SE. & S. Brazil to N. Argentina
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Southeast and Southern Brazil to Northern Argentina
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
hemiepiphytic subshrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit cascading, creeping, dense, multi-stemmed, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Spreading branched, Trailing (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 6–9 in; width 9–24 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Up to 10 cm; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers white; blooms in fall, spring, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers white in spring, summer, autumn and winter
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Other Tradescantia

More of the Commelinaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.