Common spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Also known as: Ohio spiderwort, bluejacket

Quick Facts

• Type: wildflower
• Size: 1-3 ft tall, 1-2 ft wide
• Sun: full-part
• Water: medium
• Soil: sandy to clay, adaptable; tolerates poor soils
• USDA zones: 5-10

An easy, clump-forming wildflower with grass-like leaves and three-petaled blue to violet flowers that open in the morning and melt by afternoon. Tough, adaptable, and a steady pollinator plant.

Native to the northern and central peninsula in open woods, roadsides, and disturbed ground; one of the easiest native wildflowers to grow, with a long bloom season from spring into summer.

In the Landscape

Use in wildflower borders, cottage gardens, meadow edges, and naturalized beds. Space 12-18 inches apart. Pair with coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and bee balm for a classic pollinator border. Accepts mowing in meadow settings after bloom.

Care & Propagation

Plant in spring or fall and water until established; after that it's nearly indestructible. Cut back spent foliage in midsummer to encourage fresh growth and a second flush of blooms. Divide congested clumps every 2-3 years.

Propagate by seed sown in fall or spring, or by dividing clumps in early spring or fall. Division is the easiest route — dig, split, replant. It self-seeds readily and can colonize open ground on its own.

Wildlife Value

Spiderwort has no documented butterfly larval-host role, but its flowers are excellent bee plants — bumblebees in particular work the morning blooms, and the flowers' pollen is a valuable resource. It also provides cover for small insects and other invertebrates in its clumps.

🌱 Fun fact: Spiderwort flowers are famous in biology classrooms: their stamens' purple hairs let you watch cytoplasmic streaming under a microscope, and the flowers are also sensitive to radiation — petal color changes from blue to pink after exposure, which is why they're used as a living pollution monitor.

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🌴 In Florida

Native to the northern and central peninsula in open woods, roadsides, and disturbed ground; one of the easiest native wildflowers to grow, with a long bloom season from spring into summer.

🌿 Keep exploring

More Florida natives worth meeting:

• Alligator Flag (Thalia geniculata)
• American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata)
• Anisescented Goldenrod (Solidago odora)

🍽️ Also see the edible-plant profile for this same species: Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) — how to eat it and harvest notes.