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Tradescantia poelliae

A small trailing spiderwort of Central American montane forest, recorded mostly between about 1,500 and 2,300 m in Costa Rica and western Panama. It wants cool, humid, evenly moist conditions with dappled light, much like a cloud-forest groundcover rather than the sun-loving garden Tradescantia.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Grows in moist montane and cloud forest, on shaded banks, mossy ground and forest edges where it scrambles through litter and low vegetation. Details are generalised from the record pattern and the genus.

Recorded from 150 to 2,900 m, with a median of about 1,850 m; most records fall in the cool 1,500–2,300 m band.

MexicoBelizeGuatemalaHondurasEl SalvadorNicaraguaCosta RicaPanama

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.