PlantFiles: White-Flowered Wandering Jew, Inch Plant, Small-leaf Spiderwort, River Spiderwort
Tradescantia fluminensis

This plant is absolutely hardy here, 8b. I found it under shrubs completely covering the ground around 3 sides of an abandoned house where nobody has gardened for years even before they left. Great container filler, but don't drop any on the ground unless you really do want it covered.

Grows well in a hanging basket in Zone 5. I place the basket outside during the summer and move inside before the first frost.

This is the sort of plant the term 'weed' was invented for. I have, after many hours work over a number of years, eradicated it from my garden. Careful manual removal by gently following strands back and loosening roots was the only way in the end. Every segment has to be removed as it can recover from the smallest portion. I have to check regularly as it tries to recolonise under fences from a neighbours garden. With us drought more than cold checks it temporarily, but there are acres of parkland in this city smothered under a blanket of this weed to such an extent the bushes it covers are unrecogniseable. It is especially bad along watercourses. Never add it to a compost heap unless its been killed by heat first.

This is a great plant for low light offices. I seems to thrive on artificial light. I have one in my office. It started as a cutting 2 years ago, now there are bits of this plant everywhere in our office. Anyone who wants one has a cutting from my original.

It makes a wonderful hanging basket annual in our area. Our cold winters will kill it if left outside.

This is a nasty weed here in Charleston, SC. I got it with a palmetto transplanted here, and now it is everywhere.

Tradescantia fluminensis is listed as a noxious weed by Florida Dept of Ag and/or USDA. I just purchased residence in Pasco County FL (z9a) where former owner planted in yard and this plant is competing with everything in its way (including the grass). Personally I would avoid planting any of the wandering jews outside of a container in any zone there's even a remote possibility of surviving outdoors.

This plant, in my zone 9a, is terribly, terribly invasive. I believe that the previous owner of our home planted out a potted bit of this, and now we are literally overrun with it. It is not at all 'tender'. It covers everything, ground, tree, foliage plant, brick, wood, fence, etc.
There is nothing in the herbicide arsenal that will kill it or even slow it down.
Be very cautious!

very easy to grow and it really doesnt need much light!