Question
I received a moses-in-a-boat from an older relative who passed a way shortly after. This was three years ago. Since then, the plant is growing, but there are alot of new growth, and the old plants are dying by the dirt but the leaves are still alive, and it has not had blooms in a long while. What is the proper care of this plant? It sits in an east facing window and is watered once a week, am I doing something wrong? No one I know in this area of Michigan has ever heard of it or how to care for it. Please help me before it dies, I would like to return it to its natural beauty.

Answer
Univ of Oklahoma Botany Dept 'Plant of the Week' page(http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week248.shtml) and Univ of Fla Coop Ext's flyer (http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/RHOSPAA.PDF) on this charming ('Rhoeo spathacea' or more recently 'Tradescantia spathacea' to botanists) tropical plant, grown often as a groundcover in milder parts of the South, for basic care and feeding.

It may come as a surprise that this plant is so aggressive it is considered noxious in some regions.  Notes Invasive Species Specialist Group: 'This beautiful succulent ... as become a very invasive weed in Florida, in North America, where it invades and disrupts native plant communities.'

For guidance with care you can often find clues in descriptions of a plant's natural habitat.  This one, says ISSG, 'prefers well-drained sites and will grow well on rocks ... likes soil with substantial organic matter ... will grow in sand or even coral ... drought resistant, likes shade and will invade the forest understory.'  As a dense groundcover, they note, it 'prevents native plants from germinating on the forest floor.'

I should mention that generally, when you have a plant with problems, the trouble almost always boils down to watering or light.  When a plant is not getting enough light, it begins to shed older leaves -- ones toward the bottom of the stem(s).  New leaves sprout from the tip.  Is this why your older growth is fading?  How much light are you giving this plant?  Is that East window getting a few hours of sun daily, or is there an obstruction?

With regard to your once-a-week watering schedule, plant growth rates slow down during Winter, so they naturally need less moisture.  That means your watering program from Summer 2006 is not going to work in Winter.  If you did not adjust for slowing growth, symptoms of overwatering will follow.  Guilty, or not guilty?

I suspect we are once again looking at the 2 usual problems here, or at least 1 of them.

Change that window to a SUNNY Southern exposure.  When watering, make sure the soil is DRY before watering again.  See if that helps.  I think it will.

Thanks for writing.