They are sneaky and survivors! I dug these up a month ago and set them in water and just left them. Now they're blooming:



There's a white one also. They were all from open field.
I've been sharing them over the years.

I have a pure white form and it is exceptionally well behaved.

Mine grow individually about 2'. Time to divide them.

The thought of watching these gorgeous flowers in the "lawn" get mowed was too much. I dug up enough to make a ring around a confederate rose.

At least two different purple/blue spiderworts grow wild here. I dug them up and brought them home. They can be a bit devilish but are a welcome blue color in the springtime. Already in bloom here.

So reading through these posts, do these spread by roots? I assumed they reproduced with wild abandon through seed instead.

Kristi, they do it both ways here. They pop up in the strangest places :rofl:
I cut them back after the initial bloom to get some rebloom later in the season.

Hazelcrestmikeb said:Kristi, they do it both ways here. They pop up in the strangest places :rofl:
I cut them back after the initial bloom to get some rebloom later in the season.

Yes... I mow those in the yard down and they resurface year after year. They are a durable springtime bloomer.

I can't remember what year I planted this Spiderwort but it has been doing great and is getting huge. This is the first time that I have seen babies around it. I don't mind it spreading where it is and when it goes out of its area, I will deal with its spreading.

One of my original two bit the dust this winter. The other one is half the size of what I originally bought. I'm happy to see the new one survived the winter, though.

Had some in Austin in almost full shade. Had probably been there for decades. Kinda blue/purple (memory fail). They were very polite and just stayed put. It was always nice to venture to that part of the property and see something blooming.

Did my yearly digging up the Spiderwort. Filled up most of a garbage can again.Just nobody left to give them to.

Yes, they're pretty, but pretty aggressive, too.

Karen

I have a patch of them which has grown steadily, as I like my perennials to do. It has not reseeded itself aggressively, or popped up anywhere other than where I planted it. For me it is a lovely plant that I will likely divide and plant in other areas.

LoL @NJBob. I have a good size of many colors by the back door. I plan on moving them early fall. I usually cut off the spent flower head but some manage to get all over the place. I cut them back and get some more blooms in the fall. Took these this morning.

Nice, Mike. I like the second one the best. Can't remember what color my new one is and it's not blooming yet. I think it's a similar color, but darker around the edges. Or is that the original one? I don't know! I guess that's why Spring is so much fun; seeing old and new friends and getting reaquainted!

I agree. It is always fun to see things return in the Spring. Especially those where I am pushing their zone limits. Yesterday I discovered a plant that I had forgotten about! And was happy to see all five of my hardy hibiscus are up!

If they only spread I could live with them. I have a nice batch that I leave alone in the backyard where the only place they can reseed is in the lawn and the mower takes care of that. But in the front garden they always pop up in the middle of other plants and overwhelm them.

Here is my pink spiderwort behaving itself in a pot. The purple is kind of running amuck in the flower beds though. :)

Tradescantia pallida has proven to be surprisingly hardy in the right spot with very free draining soil. being a stretch on the hardiness front it is very well behaved. I can't get them through the winter at this house though as the soil is heavy clay but shove the pot in the shed and it's fine.
Tradescantia pallida by longk48, on Flickr

Certainly my favourite.

@longk,
Very pretty