Tradescantia Species, Prairie Spiderwort, Western Spiderwort

I've had spiderwort in my flower beds for over 10 years & other than needing to occasionally divide the clumps I've had no problem with i...Read Moret becoming invasive. Our property is shady & they tend to fall over around the sides, leaving a bare space in the middle but I solved that problem by enclosing the whole clump with a piece of old fencing cut to about a foot high. I cut the plants back in the fall & anchor the fencing ring with tent stakes. In the spring the plant grows up through the gaps in the fencing & you can't even see it. Mine blooms deep purple & the lady who gave it to me originally called it "Widow's Tears" because of the way the buds droop around the cluster.

The plant grows here in moister areas. It tends to die back by mid-summer as the heat intensifies.

When I lived in northern Michigan, I acquired a plant of Tradescantia occidentalis, coddled it, babied it and was thrilled when my little...Read More Spiderwort made it through the winter and bloomed next spring.

Fast forward 20 years, to south Georgia, and I cannot get rid of this obnoxious p.o.s. weed! Digging: the roots go clear to Australia. Cutting: comes back stronger than ever. Weed killers: yes they kill the one they hit, but four more spring up elsewhere. (This must be where some of the mythological creatures came from!)

If you value your lawn, flowerbeds, veggie gardens, DO NOT put this plant in your yard unless you are in a climate that freezes for four months a year!

This plant is native to most parts of Louisiana. It grows wild in most yards of my town. I've seen purple, blue, pink, and white flower...Read Mores on these 'weeds'. I've tried to dig up and save the pink flowered ones, but the next year the flowers came back purple. Maybe the color differences are due to environment instead of the plant itself. It makes large roots that survive year round in south LA. It also spreads from seed, which makes it pretty invasive. It blooms profusely in the spring and dies off in the heat of the summer, to return the next spring.

I thought this was the one I had here, but then I saw the one labeled "Virginiana", so that may be it, since I don't live in the west...I...Read More'm confused, as they look alike to me.

It spreads when it is happy and the leaves seem to get floppy in mid to late summer. I find that it does very well after cutting it down...Read More to the ground in early August. I get all new leaves and some blooms... which looks much nicer than the floppy leaves. I don't recommend it for a more formal styled garden though as it looks kind of messy.

Sudie Goodman, Zone 8b, Broaddus, Southeast TX
I am thankful this lovely, blue plant is growing on my property.
It is dise...Read Morease, insect, and drought proof, oh yes, no fungi problems.

I have no problem with it getting out of bounds by mowing regularily.

I have found that although tradescantias do blooms all season long, the leaves often look messy destroying the beauty of the flowers. I a...Read Morelso found them to be highly invasive, once planted in the flower beds, they are almost impossible to remove. It will even more in in a moist location. Very hardy.

Planted more than twenty years ago, these plants come back year after year. Some of ours grow in full shade and are just as lovely as the...Read More ones growing in partial shade.