My Corner Online

Flower Index Index by Family Set 1 Set 2 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6

Tradescantia | Spiderwort, Trinity Flower

First Bloom Dates

2019 May 1

2022 April 28

2023 April 13

2024 April 8 (Ernestiana blooms first, then Concord Grape, then Ohio)

Tradescantia ernestiana | Woodland spiderwort (native sale 2020)

6-12" high | 24" width | Lavender Purple | April to May

The ernestiana foliage does not have the white coating found on some other varieties. Ernestiana is very similar to ozarkana, which has a lighter flower color often white, and also virginiana, which has a narrower leaf blade. So many varieties are so confusing!

Tradescantia (Andersoniana hybrid group) 'Concord Grape' | Spiderwort (2020)

24" high | 36" width | Fuchsia, Lilac, Orchid, Violet | mid-May to Sept (summer)

Tradescantia x andersoniana is incorrect botanical name

Tradescantia ohiensis | Ohio spiderwort, Smooth Spiderwort (2020 native sale)

36-48" high | 36" width | Lavender Purple, Blue Purple, Indigo | mid-June to Sept

Commelinaceae (Spiderwort or Dayflower Family) Pronounced Com-mel-LIN-aye-see-eye

Pronounced Trad-es-KAN-tee-uh (Air-nes-TEE·nah) (An-der-soh-nee-AH-nah) (Oh-ee-en-sis)

Tradescantia is named after a father and son both named John Tradescant (1570-1638 and 1608-1662), both being botanists and gardeners for Charles I of England.

The common name of Spiderwort comes from the way the flower hangs down like a spider or because the was used to treat spider bites by the Native Americans.

This plant is a perennial.

The plant has three-petal flowers so it is sometimes called the Trinity flower. Multiple buds form in a cluster and each individual flower opens up only a few at a time for one day only. Therefore, the flowers bloom in succession.

When done blooming, cut back the stems to promote rebloom. The foliage may begin to look bad due to the hot Summer, and can be cut back close to the ground, but it comes back in late Summer with the new blooms.

Native Americans (in particular the Cherokees) used the plant. The leaves were eaten as a salad green or fried with other greens. Parts of the p lant were mashed up and rubbed on insect bites to relieve pain and itching. The root was mashed to treat cancers. It was used as a tea as a laxative or for stomachaches or female problems.

Clumps can be divided to propagate the plant.

I have heard and read that this plant is invasive, but I have not found it to be so. Maybe it is because I weed the self-seeding plants in the Spring and do not notice it.

Tradescantia ernestiana | Woodland spiderwort - It took me a long time to identify which variety was which, but I am confident especially because of the height and the bloom time that I have them correct, so I am going to put the name with each photo to help others.