How to Grow Tradescantia pallida Indoors & in Florida Landscapes
Known for its deep purple foliage and trailing habit, the Purple Heart plant (Tradescantia pallida) is one of the most striking, low-maintenance plants you can grow in Florida. Whether you’re adding color to your landscape or brightening up a windowsill, this hardy plant thrives with minimal fuss—and maximum impact.
What Is the Purple Heart Plant?
Also known as Purple Queen or Purple Secretia, the Purple Heart plant belongs to the spiderwort family. It features:
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Rich purple, lance-shaped leaves
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Long trailing stems that spread horizontally
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Delicate pink-purple flowers that bloom throughout the warm months
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Evergreen behavior in warm climates (like Florida)
Its foliage is the main attraction—especially in full sun where the deep purple color truly shines.
Indoor & Outdoor Uses
One of the reasons we love Purple Heart at Troy’s Tropics is its incredible versatility:
Outdoors:
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Use as ground cover to fill space and suppress weeds
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Add vibrant contrast in rock gardens or along borders
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Let it trail gracefully over raised beds and retaining walls
Indoors:
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Great in containers or hanging baskets near a sunny window
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Perfect for sunrooms or bright corners that need a pop of color
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Can be used as filler around larger indoor tropicals
How often should you water a Purple Heart plant?
This plant is drought-tolerant once established, but it still enjoys a regular watering schedule.
Watering Tips:
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Young plants: Water about once a week while establishing roots
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Mature plants: Every 10–15 days or when the top inch of soil is dry
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Use pots with drainage holes to prevent soggy roots
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For containers, use a quality all-purpose potting mix
Stick your finger into the soil—if it’s dry 1–2 inches down, it’s time to water.
How much sun do Purple Hearts need?
In order to maintain their deep purple color, Purple Heart plants need a lot of light – which is usually not a problem if you’re in Florida. The color is simply more vibrant when given plenty of light.
Unlike many of the most beautiful plants, you can absolutely put these flowers in direct sun for most of the day. Of course, having some shade in the afternoon can help prevent them from burning in the case you let their soil get too dried out.
Providing them enough light indoors can be a challenge, even in a sunny window. They’ll do their best with 8+ hours every day. Unless you’ve got a corner of your house that gets morning AND afternoo sun, you might need to set the plant outside every once in awhile.
Although they can tolerate partial shade, they may begin to turn green or become leggy in dimmer settings like a poorly lit window sill.
This isn’t just from personal experience either, we’ve got a Statewide Master Gardener on our side!
“Grow Purple Heart in full sun for best color development; plants growing in shade tend more to green than purple. Pinch the plants to promote more compact growth. Plants are drought tolerant and thrive on neglect, but also tolerate frequent watering. Fertilize monthly when actively growing. Cut plants back after flowering to prevent them from getting spindly. If grown in containers to hold indoors over the winter or as houseplants, reduce watering during the winter and don’t fertilize until new growth starts in spring. Purple Heart has few pests, but scales and mealybugs can be a problem. The juice from the leaves or stems may cause skin redness and irritation in some people and dogs, but this is not a common problem.
Plants are easily propagated by taking cuttings from any part of the plant – just shove a node into the soil or potting mix and it will usually root (or place in water until roots develop). This plant can also be propagated from seed but that is rarely available.”
– Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin
How to Prune & Pinch Purple Heart
Purple Heart grows fast and can get leggy without regular pruning.
How to Pinch & Prune:
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Pinch back tips regularly to encourage compact, bushy growth
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Prune back long stems to 6″ or less if the plant becomes straggly
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Don’t toss cuttings! You can propagate from stem cuttings easily
🌱 Just insert a stem cutting with a node into soil or water until roots form.
By pinching the growing tips of your plant, you help create a bushy, compact plant. Then you simply repeat as needed to maintain the desired size and shape.
Does Purple Heart Come Back Every Year?
Yes! Purple Heart is an evergreen perennial in USDA Zones 7–11—including all of Florida.
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In warmer zones, it grows year-round
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In colder climates, the top may die back in frost, but the roots usually survive and regrow in spring
Bloom Time:
Late spring through early fall (especially outdoors)
Where to Buy Purple Heart Plants in Sarasota
Ready to add this striking, low-maintenance plant to your home or landscape?
👉 Visit Troy’s Tropics in Sarasota to shop in store or SHOP ONLINE RIGHT NOW:
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Fresh, nursery-grown Purple Heart starts
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Ready-to-plant containers for outdoor use
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Expert advice on placement, pairing, and care
📍 Stop by the nursery or call us at 941-923-3756 for current availability.
