PlantFiles: Day Flower, Widow's Tears, Blue Spiderwort
Commelina coelestis

For the lovers of true blue flowers: The flowers are true blue. I had the Sleeping Beauty cultivar. It is an easy plant to grow. It flowers from June to September. However, the main problem is that flowers close by noon.

Always thought this was a Tradescantia, but I`ll enjoy it just the same whatever it is. And in my Z4, it seems to rely on seed for continuance, as when I remove it from somewhere, it usually stays gone. If I find seed, they get tossed where I`d prefer the plant to grow; it looks lovely on the edge of the Hosta bed and adds brightness and contrast among summer-green Mums!

i am in massachusetts, saw this plant growing in woods and brought some home. its a nice groundcover/filler starting in late spring thru summer but spreads easily and rapidly all over. i havent minded it too much as it fills in space between dying spring blooms and growing summer plants. i just go around and thin it out. i havent tried to permanantly remove it ,so i dont know how tough that would be. someone just recommended planting it in pots in the ground so it wont spread.... havent tried that yet either. it seems to be very happy in every light or soil condition in my yard... so, depending on your gardening preferences, its a nice low maintenance wildflower, or its an annoying weed i suppose!

Grows in between some stone steps for years and hasn't seemed to spread at all. Maybe because there is mostly stone around it?

I divided one clump into 10 and put them near the edge of my woodland garden behind daffodils to hide the daffodil foliage as it fades. And they have been very well behaved. The grassy mounds are 24" tall and reliably bloom in late spring and early fall which is nice to have in a shady woodland garden. Maybe mine aren't invasive because they are in the shade. Or maybe they are better suited in a naturalizing capacity with daffodils and solomans seal. Not good for beds, I guess, but they are welcome in my yard in zone 8 (se Carolina)

I am afraid a lot of people confuse the different types of commelina. This specific type of commelina, the coelestis, is not invasive in my garden. It forms a clump of thin tuberous roots about 5 - 10cm long. These are easily harvested (which one has to do with very cold and wet winters, otherwise you lose this type of commelina).
This type has blue flowers with three rounded petals. It has three yellow staminodes above, three blue stamen below and one central stamen. If you check out the pictures now you know which ones really are the coelestis and which ones are a different type of commelina :) To have one good picture as a comparison, take Evert's!

Thought this would be a good backdrop for my front yard bed. Turned out that it decided it wanted all of the bed. Planted it 3 years ago and it propagated on its own very rapidly. Went from 6 plants to about 30 in one season. Showed up 8-10 feet away from where I planted it. Very invasive. Have decided to remove it for two seasons, now, and there are still sprouts coming up. You definately have to get all of the root system. Have also found some 180 degrees on my property from where they originally went into the ground. Birds must have carried it. Very difficult to remove, chemically or by excavation means. Needless to say, this is a great plant gift for someone you do not like.

This plant grows wild in West Virginia, it's always along the creek banks. It's beautiful and I love it being there, but I'm pretty sure it's not a native plant.

Very invasive weed in North Alabama. While the flowers are pretty for a brief period, the plant is spindly and not attractive.

This plant grows freely in zone 4. I have been pulling it out as I thought it was a weed (until I saw it here). It even has been growing in the cracks of the driveway. It seems to like both full sun to partial shade. I will try to replant it in a better location and keep you posted on how it does.

People call them "Widow's Tear's" because they dry up by noon..
I have to give them a neutral.. They really are pretty and carefree but very invasive in this part of Texas.I find them impossible to weed out and they seem to be immune to herbicide.

I also am in central Florida and I agree that it spreads itself very freely here. But it blooms year round and is very pretty. I don't mind it in the flower beds and mow it in the yard. My only complaint would be that the flowers close early on a hot day.

Seems to be very invasive in Central Florida. It has taken over my back yard, and is very hard to remove. If you mow over it, it seems to laugh at you, and grown taller just to taunt your efforts. Pretty flowers, but a pain in the neck.

Planted one last year. Came back this year (8a), just the one plant. I wouldn't mind having a few more, but certainly not invasive in the location I have it now.

I found this plant growing wild in a ditch outside the Toledo airport. I dug it up, took it home, dug another hole (in full sun) and stuck it in. I watered it regularly until it became established and then only during the hottest part of the summer. It took right off and came back this year. It has roots though, not bulbs. They are pretty far-reaching. My soil is fairly compacted and clayey and this didn't seem to bother it at all. It didn't really spread a lot from last year but there is a bigger clump than what I planted. It grows from about 18 to 24 inches in height. The flowers aren't large but they are a very pretty addition, along with the oddly shape leaves, to my garden. It is a very care free plant.

This plant grows wild in my garden in south central Texas.Freezes but comes back . Although a beautiful blue color, it vines itself through out and over dropping seeds everywhere. I would not mind it if it did not form claw like tubers that are almost impossible to remove and almost invaribly in the middle of another flower. Because its claw like tuber is so hard to remove,you almost have to damage the other plant to remove it. If I soak the soil, I may be able to pull the whole thing out. It usually just breaks off. Even at a very young stage, they form a tuber. Thrives with little water and stays more clump like. With water it becomes a nuisance.

These dainty blue flowers are a welcome sight in Summer here in East Texas, growing wild in "poor" soil. When my children were small they called them 'Yosemite Sams', after the old cartoon character with the big cowboy hat and mustache. They re-seed and are not too invasive adding a bright touch as underplanting in some areas.

I have this growing for the first time this year in my Southern Ontario zone 6a/6b garden. The nursery tag that came with it (epicplants.com) States that it is hardy from zones 4-9. It also states a height of 20", full sun to partial shade, bloom time June to September.
So far I am very pleased with the plant. It has grass-like foliage & the flowers are blue/lilac. It has indeed been blooming since early June on & off & is a pretty addition more towards the front of my flower bed. While the flowers aren't huge, they are about the size of a quarter & that's fine with me. I'm hoping that it reseeds itself easily & over-winters successfully in my garden as the plant tag promises.