Is this how a tradescantia is meant to look?

[sunstars3]

I recently bought this plant online, and it arrived covered in some kind of white webbing. A friend has a tradescantia and it does not have white webbing on it. Neither do the tradescantia plants in the hallway of my building. Neither does the one in the photo on the retailer’s website. I emailed photos to the retailer - Gardenersdream.co.uk - and asked for a refund. Their response is that the webbing is perfectly normal and is how the plant is supposed to look. Is it?!

I’m concerned that the webbing is caused by some kind of parasite, which will spread to my other houseplants.

No. Don’t know what it but definitely has something wrong.

Have you tried wiping it?

I'd give it a blast in the sink, get it all clean then keep it well quarantined from any other plants you have for a couple of weeks. Might need to repeat the 'shower', have you looked under the leaves to see any pests, also in the soil? Couple of blasts of neem oil or similar on the soil as well.

@sunstars3 as you were told on your first thread, this is Tradescantia sillamontana, and the fuzzy leaves are perfectly NORMAL!

Ah that changes things, yes that’s exactly how it should look.

op come you aren’t doing a quick google, you can see very clearly that’s what it looks like if you do. Plus you’ve asked before it seems?

No one has said on a previous thread that this was normal. I posted a thread a few days ago asking what it was, and whether it was spider mite, and the thread got one reply that just said “definitely not spider mite”. That did not answer the question of what it was.

This thread is asking a different question: whether the white stuff is normal. Even if people don’t know what the white stuff is, I’m hoping some people will know whether it’s normal or not - e.g. do their plants have it?

As mentioned in my OP, the plant in the photo of the website I bought it from does not have white stuff on it.

@sunstars3 but Meredintofpandiculation DID answer that she thought it was Tradescantia sillamontana if you read her reply in full! And that is what it is! Maybe you ordered a different Tradescantia to the one you received, but your plant is quite normal!

No one has said on another thread that this is normal, but it is really not worth arguing about. Do calm down.

I used to collect these. The white webbing is perfectly normal.

It is worth arguing about, because you are completely misrepresenting what I said. You said

the thread got one reply that just said “definitely not spider mite”. That did not answer the question of what it was.

What I actually said was Definitely not spider mite.

That looks natural to me. As in Tradescantia sillmontana.

In other words I told you it was natural, ie a normal part of the plant, and gave a suggestion of a Tradescantia species which had hairs like that.

I don’t mind people telling me I am wrong. I do mind people misrepresenting what I said.

For those wondering why their Tradescantias don’t have long hairs, Tradescantia is the name of a genus, or group of 85 closely related species, identified by having a second name to show species they are. A handful of these have found favour with gardeners, for example Tradescantia zebrina, T. albiflora, T.fluminensis. Gardeners have the bad habit of calling them all just “Tradescantia” without including the species name. So just because two people have a “Tradescantia”, there’s no guarantee they have the same species.

Oh yes they did. I read it. I then googled what the pp told you it was, and they were right. It appears you didn't do that. There are lots of varieties of tradescantia. The one you have was named by a pp, and the furry stuff is normal for that variety.

^ This.

Well send them a picture of it and ask them then.

Op, to put your mind at rest, as @MereDintofPandiculation did answer, as did the seller. It is normal. Hopefully that clears it up,..
😂