Leggy Wandering Jew Plant
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Wandering jew plants are known for their beautiful purple and green foliage, their ability to grow relatively quickly and how thick and bushy they can look. But what happens when you get a leggy wandering jew plant? What’s causing this? Is there a way to reverse it and what can you do about it?
The good news is there’s normal one common cause of leggy wandering jew plants and that is a lack of light. The bad news is that once the damage is done it won’t go back to normal unless you trim away the legginess. So let’s take a look at the kind of light your plant needs and what to do about this legginess once it’s already there.
Lack Of Light Cause A Leggy Wandering Jew Plant
It’s recommended that a wandering jew plant receives bright indirect light though it will benefit from some hours of direct sunlight given that this light isn’t too intense and doesn’t last all day. Putting it somewhere like an east face window would be great for this plant as it can experience some of the less intense morning sun then continue to receive bright indirect light throughout the day. If it’s under direct sun all day long then it will dry out quickly and you may notice browning on the leaves. However if it’s placed in a dim area then you will start to notice the stems elongating, the plant drooping and it will get an overall leggy appearance.
If you want to keep a full bushy plant then you really want to avoid dim light. As this dim light causes the stems to stretch out in search for light, you’ll also notice them growing in the direction of the light source. So if you notice you have a leggy wandering jew plant the first thing you need to do is to look at the light in its environment. Is it possible to move it closer to a light source? If so then that’s what you need to do.
What To Do About The Leggy Stems
As you’ve probably worked out placing your plant in a brighter spot will prevent further legginess but won’t get rid of the damage that’s already been done. But you can trim your plant to make it bushier. Cut the plant back to before it became leggy, then take the cuttings and plant them back in the soil of the mother plant. Theses cuttings should hopefully start to root and then grow out of your plant giving your plant an overall appearance of being fuller. Not only have you gotten rid of your leggy problem but you’ve made your plant appear fuller at the same time.
When you do take cuttings from your plant it’s important you use a pair of sterilised sharp scissors to get as clean a cut as possible. If you don’t have space in your original pot for more cuttings then you can grow a new plant separately. It’s a better use of the plant than simply throwing away the cuttings.
Other Tips
For a full, bushy wandering jew plant we would recommend using a plant fertilise during the growing seasons to maximise its growing window. A half strength fertiliser every couple of weeks to once a month should do the trick nicely.
Article: Leggy Wandering Jew Plant
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