Spiderwort will grow & thrive in a wide variety of soils & conditions, from moist ground to drought conditions. It spreads both by multiplying & by volunteer seeding, but the seedlings are easy to pull up if they get where you don't want them. I found that I could regulate how late (within reason) the blooms will stay open by planting it where the sun hits it later & later in the day. I also found that the temperature has an effect on the length of time the blooms remain open --- cooler weather & the blooms remain open longer; the hotter the day, the earlier the blooms close.
I find this to be a delightful plant. It blooms its little heart out & they are such pretty blooms!
Be warned that if there is much dew or it has rained & you walk through or brush up against blooms, you are likely to come away with "blue water" on your pants or bare legs. I have never found the blue water to be permanent though.
In the deep southern states where it gets terribly hot & the summer sun lasts for well over 12 hours, spiderwort will thrive in part shade to dappled sun & still put forth a profusion of blooms --- this is true even in almost complete shade, as long as it gets bright light. So if you are in these states, consider planting this in a shade garden.

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One of my favorite natives, if for no other reason than the fact that one of its common names is Cow Slobber. When you break off a stem, the gooey sap resembles... you guessed it, bovine drool.

I planted my first ones in spring of 2012, needing something that tolerates the field runoff we get every year. It can handle quite a bit of standing water. I have found it to be a prolific bloomer in the late spring. If it gets enough moisture, it will continue until early fall, but these blooms are sporadic.

I have not yet had any problem with spread, only having clumps within the area where I planted. This plant will flop over after a heavy rain, but I just leave it as is. I've never been a neat gardener. I enjoy watching the small pollinators that use the Cow Slobber, mostly flies and some Solitary Bees. I have not noticed any critter eating this, even though rabbits are often seen near it.

This year I noticed a patch of these across the road from us. The county plants US natives in the ditches, but I never saw this plant in the area other than our yard until now. I wonder if some little seeds travelled that way.

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Cut to side shoots after main cluster is done for re-bloom. Cut again to about 8" when it looks ratty. It may also be cut by half in early spring (at about 12") to produce more compact plants. Likes moist soil and may be grown in shade or sun, although it flowers better in sun and may lean toward the light in shadier locations. To prepare plants for winter, cut back to the ground after a killing frost.

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Tradescantia ohiensis, common Spiderwort, is a perennial native to the eastern United States. Spiderwort has 2' to 3' tall grasslike foliage and lovely bluish purple flowers that open in the early part of the day.

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This plant is easy to transplant and doesn't seem to mind a change to a warmer, drier climate.
Historically spiderwort was used medicinally by Native Americans.

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