Wildflower Wednesday: Spiderwort

I love my garden in the early morning. Once the sun has made it past the trees, it begins to spot light the shadier garden nooks.

Spiderworts look their best in that cool morning sun. The sun light makes those feathery violet hairs glow. Later in the day they're washed out by the hot, bright light, but that is the case for many delicate flowers.

Spiderwort is ephemeral - its flowers stay open only one day.

Tradescantia  virginiana like all members of the dayflower/Commelinaceae family is ephemeral - its flowers stay open only one day (half day if sited in full sun), but, it continues blooming for a long time. The leaves are strappy, with pointed tips. Each has a channel (which looks like the perfect place to fold it) and is bright green with a dark green midvein and visible parallel veins.

Cultivars are now offered with, blue-green, chartreuse, or yellow leaves. I love the species plants and usually prefer them to cultivars, but, in this case, I say, go ahead and add whatever spiderwort cultivars you want to your garden. They all attract pollinators and for me, that's important...but, so is beauty! Just take a look a 'Kate' in the photo below. She's a beauty in chartreuse leaves and those purple flower pops against them.

'Kate' a cultivar same flowers prettier leaves

In my garden, spiderwort's arching stems are usually 2 to 3 foot tall and the clumps are never wider than 2 feet. The plant hasn't spread aggressively beyond their original plantings, but then C and L doesn't have rich, moist soil, which would encourage it to misbehave. They are known to spread by seed and if any seeds sprout where you don't want them,  they're best dug out when young, before a thick, fibrous root can develop in the middle of one of your prize ornamental plants.

There seem to be two explanations of the origin of the common name: either from the sticky secretion exuded from cut or broken stems, which hardens into web-like threads or from from the angular placements of its leaves, which suggests a sitting spider. The sitting spider is a new one to me, but certainly got me on my hands and knees checking out the flowers.

It's a fabulous garden worthy plant, but it is not without its detractors!

striking purplish blue flowers with three petals, 6 yellow stamens and the most exquisite spidery violet hairs.

Perhaps it those detractors and their negative reviews of spiderwort that keep it from being in more wildflower gardens. I have often been asked to recommend plants for native/wildflower gardens and when I suggest Spiderwort, I inevitably hear, a list of negative statements. "It's too weedy." It's unruly. "It's aggressive." "It's too floppy and messy."

It can be unruly in the right circumstances and once the big bloom period passes, it is a whole lot of plant and no flower!

In my eyes it's still a garden worthy plant. I garden for wildlife and this plant always has bumbles and smaller critters visiting it. I appreciate the delicate flowers in vibrant purples, blues, pinks and even white. They are delightful in a shady garden. When the narrow, strap like leaves start to look ratty, and they do by July, I cut them back. I am rewarded with fresh growth and occasionally more blooms. Cutting back spiderwort will also curb rampant reseeding.

a white flower  from several years ago with a visiting hoverfly

Spiderworts might not belong in a formal garden, but, they are certainly at their best in a woodland or cottage garden where they mingle nicely with native geraniums, Carex, Heucheras and foamflowers. I like to let them duke it out with colonizing plants like River oats and false dragonhead. Btw, False dragonhead is winning.

Geranium maculatum 'Espresso' with 'Kate'

Spiderworts are pollinated by bumbles and that makes me really happy. Beautiful and unique flowers that are not terribly temperamental about soil; that come in a kaleidoscopic palette of sumptuous colors; bushy plant that helps fill bare areas and mixes well in layered plantings; and, easy care, make this plant attractive to me.

If you can deal with a thuggish, tall, strappy, grass like plant when out of bloom; that is more plant than blooms, and; one that declines in the heat of summer; then, this is a plant for you. If you don't want to plant it in the garden, why not plant it in a container. You can move it out of the way when it stops blooming, cut the floppy stems back and wait to bring it back out when the cooler fall weather brings on the second flush of blooms.

I hope I've made a good case for Tradescantia virginiana! I want to be honest and not mislead you! Let me know what your experiences have been.

Thanks,
gailxoxo

The particulars

Tradescantia virginiana aka Spiderwort
Type: Perennial
Size: Usually around 2 feet tall, may get taller
Leaf: Green, blue green. Cultivars offer more color including lime green.
Bloom Color: Blue, purple, pinks and white. Cultivars may cross and create a lovely palette of colors
Bloom Time: March through June. May rebloom in fall.
Native Distribution: A Central basin native plant. Eastern half of the US and Canada. W. CT to WI, s. to GA, TN & e. MO 
Native Habitat: Meadows; open woods; limestone outcrops
Water Use: Low when established, prefers moist soil
Light Requirement: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil  Description: Very adaptable plant prefers humus-rich soil, but will grow in a wide range of soils: moist/dry, clay/sand, acid/alkaline.
Wildlife: Attracts bees. Pollinated by bumblebees.  Butterfly nectar source.
Comments: Juglones tolerant. POISONOUS PARTS: Leaves. A good ornamental in the garden. Attractive seasonal color for a shady or sunny area. Plant looks good with Heucheras, foam flowers and other native plants. Probably best in naturalistic plantings, woodland and shady gardens. To keep plants looking healthy, cut them back in late summer (or when they appear to stop blooming). Spiderwort spreads easily, but if kept under control, it can be used as a border plant. It is striking in mass when in bloom.



Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday and thank you for stopping by to see Tradescantia virginiana, a sweet wildflower that I think has gotten a bad rap! Thanks also, for joining in and if you are new to Wildflower Wednesday, it's about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Fifth Anniversary!

 I can hardly believe that 5 years have passed since the first Wildflower Wednesday meme post. I want to thank each of you for joining me on my continuing journey to create the best wildlife garden possible.

Verbesina virginica

 At first I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to celebrate this anniversary and then it occurred to me that I could share that first official Wildflower Wednesday post with some updated text and photos. So that's what I've done. If you like you can link back to earlier Wildflower Wednesday posts by clicking on the plant name.

Panicum virgatum

Here it is~a trip back in time to February 2010, with a bit a lot of tweaking!

Rusty Blackhaw/Viburnum rufidulum

Almost thirty years ago we moved to what has since been christened Clay and Limestone Garden. Long time readers know that the relationship between gardener and garden has been a passionate affair, filled with moments of deep love and equally deep despair.

Hamamelis vernalis

It was a long time before I was able to accept the limitations and gifts of the shallow, clay soil that is as dry as concrete most summers and wet and sticky all winter. (here for more of the story)

Mistflower

Even in the face of over whelming evidence that wildflowers naturally occurred and thrived here, I tried to create an English cottage garden, a Mediterranean garden and a New England woodland. They were failures and I despaired that there would ever be a garden.

Tradescantia virginiana

In my haste to create these idealized dream gardens I had over looked the native ex-asters, mistflower, columbines, trout lilies, trilliums, mayapples, downy woodmint, Blue-eyed grass, False garlic, penstemons, dicentras and a host of other beauties that were already growing here.

Green Dragon/Arisaema dracontium

It was a wonderful day when I stumbled upon Thomas Hemmerly's Wildflowers Of The Central South.

 Harbinger of spring

I've never had the honor of meeting Dr Hemmerly*, but, he became my garden mentor and helped me  understand and appreciate the special native plants that grow in Middle Tennessee. He introduced me to concepts that were important to know if I were to have any success at gardening. I learned that Middle Tennessee was part of the Central Basin, that it has very interesting wildflowers that grew nowhere else, and that the rock in my garden is an Ordovician limestone bedrock overlain with thin soil. I finally understood that plants have to be rugged to survive in my garden and that planting native wildflowers made the most sense, after all, they had evolved and adapted to our wet winters and dry summers.

Golden Ragwort

Once my eyes were opened, it was easy to see that on the edges of the garden, beyond, the weedy lawn, were wonderful wildflowers and abundant wildlife.

Ex-aster

My head and heart were quickly filled with all things wildflower. I devoured articles about native plants, visited cedar glades, read botany articles and every book I could lay my hands on that discussed gardening in the Central Basin.

Joe-pye weed

Before long, it became clear to me and my gardening friends, that wildflowers had become my garden soul mates. Of course, when you have a relationship like that you want to share it with the world!

False Dragonhead/Physostegia virginiana

Wildflower Wednesday started out as a regular post to celebrate the wildflowers in my garden. I was hoping that there were other gardeners who also felt that wildflowers were special and wanted to share them. There are and you're all delightful.

Danthonia spicata and Asimina triloba two garden experiments

Many years later~I've met wonderful gardeners, made new friends, learned to write a little bit better, and have learned a few valuable gardening lessons. If there's one thing I would like to pass along to new gardeners, it's this: What ever you do, don't fight your garden's unique characteristics or ignore its plant communities. Embrace them. If your garden is rocky, sandy, slow draining, fast draining, acidic or alkaline, a desert, a cold climate or even tropical, what ever climate, where ever in the world, there are native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that will be perfect for your garden. They will not only survive, they will thrive. Trust me, you will be a happier person and have greater success at gardening.

Practically Perfect Pink Phlox Pilosa

Finally, here's my promise to you~ If you plant wildflowers the critters will come! Your garden will be filled with buzzing bees, singing birds, fascinating insects and spiders and fluttering butterflies. You'll also be a host to snakes, raccoons, squirrels, turtles, chipmunks, hawks, owls, and rascally rabbits and who knows what else!

Native wildflowers are good for the earth and good for its inhabitants. Now kick up your heels and dance with The Dancing Tree! Happy anniversary to all of you and let's continue celebrating our wildflowers.

xoxogail

Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

I hope you join the celebration..It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!

*BTW, I have finally gotten to meet Dr Hemmerly!



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Into Every Wildflower Garden A Little Rain Must Fall

Practically Perfect Pink Phlox pilosa after the rain

We've had some rain~

A lot of rain. Not like last year, when we had well over 18 inches of rain and experienced a 1000 year flood. But, enough that the Cumberland River will crest 3 feet below flood stage. Enough, that if I had a cistern I would not need to use city water during the Summer drought. (Although, I will get to practice my Zen Watering techniques) Or, enough that the wildflowers are looking just a little bedraggled!

I love Spiderworts during the Spring!

Not all of them! Some thrive in wet soil. Some revel in wet soil. Some sing their best song in wet soil.

Bumblebees pollinate spiderwort and some mammals eat the foliage

Like Tradescantia virginiana, a Central/Nashville Basin native that causes some gardeners to declare:
"Friends don't let friends plant Spiderwort!" (Cindy, My Corner of Katy) There's a rumor going around that this fantastically gorgeous flower is considered a thug! Yes, a native plant thug~It happens! I prefer to think of it as colonizing! Which means their roots and rhizomes spread to make a large and dramatic impact in a garden.

Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' is a hybrid I planted for the foliage color.

A large and dramatic impact in the garden. Does that sound thuggish?! Some people use the word invasive. I like to save that powerful word for exotics that are on the state noxious and invasive species list.

Instead, I refer to them as colonizers, aggressive natives, endemic thugs, highly competitive natives, or as one ecologist quipped to me, “competitive superior natives”. That made me chuckle. (source: authors article) Spiderwort is one of those plants that is thuggish SO successful at self propagation, that I am offended that any garden center expects me to pay for it! (False Dragonhead is another excellent colonizer that could be given away~I know we all can name another colonizing plant or three).

yellow stamens float above the exquisite spidery violet hairs

But, I still love the striking purplish blue flowers with its three petals, 6 yellow stamens and the most exquisite spidery violet hairs. * The flowers bloom in clusters and each flower lasts just one day. By mid July the narrow, strap like leaves start to look ratty....just cut them back and you'll be rewarded with fresh growth and possibly more bloom. Even though it prefers a moist soil, when grown in shade, it's drought tolerant. Tradescantia virginiana is native to the eastern half of the US and Canada. T occidentalis is native in the Central and Western states. T ozarkana is native to Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. For a more complete listing of Tradescantia species go here.

The wildflower week of celebration continues! Please join in and add your url to Mr Linky~He's in the sidebar.

xxoogail

*..."these plants are being studied for their environmentally sensitive responses to radiation and other pollutants like pesticides. In the presence of radiation, the stamen of certain species of spiderwort are said to turn pink. Additionally, spiderwort has large chromosomes, making them ideal for specific types of genetic research." (source)


This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.