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Few perennials offer a full summer of bloom but in the right location and with the proper care, spiderworts can provide colour all season. The blooms may last only a day, but the display goes on and on.
The garden spiderworts are part of the genus Tradescantia, a genus containing some 50 or so species, all native to the Americas. Most are tender, trailing plants commonly grown as groundcovers in tropical areas or as houseplants in northern areas. There are a few hardy herbaceous spiderworts all native to the USA, but most important from a gardening perspective is T. X andersoniana, a series of complex USDA zone 5 (zone 4 with protection) hybrids developed from T. ohioensis, T. virginiana and T. subspera.
Most gardeners recognize spiderworts. They generally grow 45-60 cm in height, are somewhat leggy with narrow, strap-like leaves and terminal clusters of three-petaled flowers. The flowers are about 2.5 cm across and consists of three triangular petals and prominent fuzzy yellow stamens. The individual blossoms last only one day but are produced sequentially over a period of several weeks. They start blooming in early spring in the south but not until mid-summer in the north. In southern areas, plants can be cut back after blooming to provide a second flush later in the season.
The species are typically blue, but white and pink forms are known in the wild. It is from these colours, that all the modern hybrids have been developed. The palette now includes white, various shades of blue, lavender, purple, pink and magenta. Even the foliage can vary from bright yellow to purplish.
A variety of spiderworts illustrating their general growth form. From left to right is 'Osprey', 'Concord Grape' and 'Little Doll' growing among Hosta 'Janet'
Culture is quite easy. They seem to thrive in any well-drained soil, whether acidic or alkaline, clay or sandy. In the north, they bloom best in full sun but further south, shade from hot afternoon sun is recommended to prevent the leaf edges from burning. Individual plants are clump-forming and can regenerate from detached roots. They can be prolific self-seeders, so dead-heading is recommended to prevent unwanted volunteers.
It is only recently that I started growing spiderworts. A plant with one-day flowers did not provide much appeal in my opinion. However, I was given one plant as a gift so I had little choice but to keep it. Well, as it happened, I ended up being very impressed. The plant starting blooming in July and kept on blooming through September! That was enough to convince me of their merit. I now have 10 cultivars and am still looking for more. I have read that they can be invasive in southern areas but other than a few volunteer seedlings, they have been well-behaved in my USDA zone 5b garden.
The standard species are dark blue. Modern blue cultivars have larger flowers than the wild forms. I grow ‘Zwanenberg Blue', but another similar cultivar is ‘Blue Stone'. For slightly more purple tones, try ‘Leonora' or ‘Purple Dome'. For lighter lavender purple I grow ‘J. C. Weguelin'. A shade lighter is ‘Purple Profusion'. The best light blue is ‘Iris Pritchard', a cultivar I am still trying to track down.
The cultivars 'Zwanenberg', 'J. C. Weguelin' and 'Leonora'
The oldest red cultivar (really reddish-pink) is ‘Rubra' which has smallish flowers. The more modern version is ‘Red Cloud' with flowers about 50% larger. Another similar cultivar is ‘Carmine Glow'. For more pure pink, try ‘Valour', ‘Pauline' or ‘Charlotte'.
The cultivars 'Rubra' and 'Red Cloud'
The original white spiderwort was ‘Alba', again with relatively small flowers. ‘Snow Cap' has much bigger flowers but the largest flowers of all spiderworts has to be ‘Innocence'.
'Innocence', one of the largest flowered cultivars
Several newer cultivars have flowers in pastel shades. They are essentially white nicely tinted with blue, lavender or pink . These include ‘Osprey' (tinted purple-blue), ‘Bilberry Ice' (tinted lavender) or ‘Pink Chablis' (tinted pink).
The cultivars 'Osprey' and 'Bilberry Ice'
There are three lovely dwarf spiderworts I can recommend, all which stay around 30 cm. They have finer foliage than the standard spiderworts. These include ‘Satin Doll' (bright pink), ‘'Little Doll' (light lavender) and ‘Little White Doll'.
The miniature cultivars 'Satin Doll' and 'Little Doll'
If foliage is your preference, then its hard to beat ‘Blue and Gold', also known as ‘Sweet Kate'. This one has bright yellow foliage with contrasting deep blue flowers. Stunning! For a more subtle effect, try some of the cultivars with distinct blue-green foliage which include ‘'Concord Grape' (purple), ‘Red Grape' (dark reddish-pink), ‘Hawaiian Punch' (bright reddish-pink) or ‘Perrine's Pink' (bright pink).
The cultivars 'Concord Grape' and 'Sweet Kate'
I expect more cultivars will be released over time. In my own garden, I am getting volunteer seedlings which are like none of the cultivars I currently own. I am keeping my eye on a light pink seedling which has great potential!
A self-seeded unnamed pink cultivar that arose in my garden
I have to admit that spiderworts don't put on a grand show like Rudbeckia, Asters or Phlox. However, their long blooming season is hard to beat in any perennial. Now that I have them, I don't know how I went without them for so long!
About Todd Boland
I reside in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I work as a research horticulturist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden. I am one of the founding members of the Newfoundland Wildflower Society and the current chair of the Newfoundland Rock Garden Society. My garden is quite small but I pack it tight! Outdoors I grow mostly alpines, bulbs and ericaceous shrubs. Indoors, my passion is orchids. When not in the garden, I'm out bird watching, a hobby that has gotten me to some lovely parts of the world.
Posted by mygardens (from Croton On Hudson, NY) on June 2, 2008 at 4:12 PM:
Enjoyed your article but I don't see any mention of biennial Spiderworts. I posted a photo at [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] . This plant comes up only every other year and I wasn't sure what it was but it was ID'd as a Spiderwort. The Spiderwort files I see on DG all say perennial. Is the ID right? Are any of these biennials?? Thanks.
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Posted by Todd_Boland (from St. John's, NL) on June 2, 2008 at 8:00 PM:
Never heard of a biennial spiderwort...your pic looks like a standard T. X andersoniana...strange it should behave as a biennial.
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Posted by mygardens (from Croton On Hudson, NY) on June 16, 2008 at 4:03 PM:
Todd - Many thanks for your reply. The plant is ready to burst into bloom so I will take a better photo when the flowers are out. Meanwhile, I will make sure to mark the spots where the plants are growing, and let you know next year if they come up again.
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Subject: Thank you!
Posted by McGlory (from Southeast, NE) on March 12, 2008 at 8:43 AM:
I recently ordered my first Tradescantia plants, and they will be arriving in May. Thanks for helpful info on culture. Love those new pastels! I didn't know they were out there. I'm the type that is put off by anything with "spider" in the name. I'll call them Tradescantia. ;-) Thank you for a great article, Todd!
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Posted by Lily_love (from Central, AL) on March 12, 2008 at 10:29 AM:
I love the plants, although the offspring will revert back to the 'wild form' of Tradescantia and could be some variant of the hybrid that I planted. But the color of blooms are charming regardless. Thanks for the well written article.
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on March 12, 2008 at 11:19 AM:
I experimented with interplanting a few of these amid the daylilies to extend the blooming time and color palette. I think that was about my first DG trade so I don't even remember where they are or what became of them, I blame DH! It was 'Sweet Kate', I remember now. Thank you, Todd, for more good information! xx, Carrie
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Posted by Bettypauze (from Victoria Harbour, ON) on March 12, 2008 at 11:19 AM:
Truly enjoyed your article..one of my favorites as well..
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Posted by FlowrLady (from Olive Branch, MS) on March 12, 2008 at 12:13 PM:
Hi Todd Boland. I absolutely love spiderwort. I have three shades of purple, a pink, and a white. If I see others I do not have, I always purchase them, due to my love for them.
I really enjoyed your article. Thanks so much for writing it!
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Posted by Todd_Boland (from St. John's, NL) on March 12, 2008 at 12:30 PM:
Thanks for all the kind comments!
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on March 12, 2008 at 3:19 PM:
Thanks for the info on this plant! We have a lovely blue one that grows wild here, and I had no idea there were cultivars. I sure would like to have more!
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Posted by Lenjo (from Mount Angel, OR) on March 12, 2008 at 4:34 PM:
Todd, you always have such great information about all the various cultivars of so many many plants. It just amazes me the explosion of hybridization work in so many kinds of plants.
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Posted by suefalls (from Sioux Falls, SD) on March 17, 2008 at 11:22 AM:
Loved your article. I bought a spiderwort about 3 years ago, not knowing anything about them. I just loved the little iris/lily-like flowers. I have since purchased about 5 others, of varying colors. I have them in a sunny bed right now, but am thinking about moving them to partial shade to add some color there, and make room for more roses, in their spot.
I have heard that they can be invasive, but I I have not found that. ( of course I am in zone 4) Thanks again for great info.
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Posted by pandora125 (from Symsonia, KY) on March 17, 2008 at 5:35 PM:
so thats what the little purple flowers in my backyard are! love the cultivars too
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on March 19, 2008 at 6:07 PM:
Enjoyed the article! Thanks for the info. I have
one kind - didn't know there were so many!
Fitsy
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Subject: Memories
Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 12, 2008 at 1:30 AM:
Todd, when I was very small and was allowed to have my own garden I wanted all my flowers to be blue. My mother had some bluish iris, and then we found spiderwort growing wild in the mountains of eastern KY. We gently gathered all we could carry and moved them into my little garden. I was only about 3 at the time, and was so excited to have my blue garden. Eventually Mom found bluebonnets to add to he mix, but the bluest of them all were the spiderworts and they were still blooming when I grew up and went away to college.
Thank you for the memories.
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Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on March 12, 2008 at 7:07 AM:
How pretty!
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Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on March 12, 2008 at 8:46 PM:
Todd, many thanks... Tradescantias are one of my favorites but somehow I wasn't aware of all the hybrids. I hope for plenty of them down near my creek in part shade.
