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spiderwort

21 years ago

My patches of spiderwort have stopped blooming. They generally only come out in the morning and evening, but they don't even do that now. The plants are thriving, and have buds that remain closed. Is there anything I can do to get them to bloom some more? I see them in the wild blooming, even in the midday sun, so I am confused as to why mine behave this way. Thanks for any info.

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Comments (3)

Elaine_NJ6
21 years ago
They do stop blooming. Those "buds" are probably seedheads. They'll also most likely go dormant soon, or at least look very ratty. Then they'll come back next spring.

You need to plant later-blooming plants in and around spiderwort to take over once it's finished blooming.
joepyeweed
21 years ago
Elaine is right they are early bloomers.

But we are also having a drought in Illinois right now - and even though the natives are hearty and drought resitant - they will act differently when things are as dry as they have been here this year. and it might just be too dry for them right now. in my area we are 6" below normal precipitation for the months of may and june.

and i have observed in the wild, spiderworts blooming bigger in the morning - and then closing up in the afternoon - and then reopening the next morning.

and i have also removed seed heads from my spiderworts only to have them rebloom again later in the summer. not every plant, every year but it has happened. i am assuming the weather and site has alot to do with why they sometimes do that.
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I have a love-hate relationship with spiderwort. It's highly invasive here but came with the house. When I finally got around to the landscaping in our 2nd summer here I spent 2 days digging it out of a modest size daylily bed. Lost count of the contractor-size wheelbarrow loads I hauled off. Fifteen yrs later I'm still digging it up where it pops up in my lawn. That said, I'm constantly experimenting w/terrestrial plants in the pond. It was pashta's lovely pics that prompted me to test the spiderwort. (Hi, Anne!) I thought, I can't get rid of the nasty stuff anyway, so why not? Lol. I plopped some in a pot w/some pea gravel & placed in the water, crown exposed. They survived in year 1, didn't look too healthy, but it's now year 3 and they are thriving.Mine are blue & have been blooming for a few wks now. Lovely addition to the pond. So lovely that I *might* be tempted to buy the fuschia if I could find it but it's not sold here (Actually I can't believe the big box stores here sell it at all. I may or may not have cautioned a few folks there loaded down with them before they reached the register;) .
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I agree the problem could be with roots. I wonder if voles eat Tradescantia? They were the culprits that progressively wiped out a bunch of my perennials in the front garden, like Echinacea, Baptisia, helianthus 'Lemon Queen', all the Sedums, Salvia 'Black & blue', a few Hostas, and many of the Phlox paniculatas. Also, almost all the bulbs except Daffs. They would yellow and look progressively worse, as the voles destroyed the roots. If voles do eat Tradescantia, that might be a case where they're doing the gardener a favor!
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Tiffany, it could easily be T. ohiensis, as RugbyHukr said. But BONAP shows that at least five species are relatively common in that area. More than 1 species might be present in the fall. Spiderwort Distribution Maps Sepals glabrous or with a tuft of non-glandular hairs at the tip. Plant with strongly glaucous stems (waxy coating easy to rub off) – T. ohiensis Sepals sparsely to densely pubescent from base to tip. Plants not strongly glaucous. Plant usually flowering in summer only; upper stem zigzag – T. subaspera Mid-stem with long, spreading hairs – T. hirsutiflora Mid-stem glabrous to sparsely short-pubescent Leaves usually pubescent – T. hirsutiflora Leaves glabrous – T. virginiana
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I would agree botanical names would be useful here. I don't know any species that might be called Wandering Jew that does not have pink or white flowers, unless one is going very far afield to include Commelinas (day flowers), which have bright, true blue flowers. I think of spiderworts as having mounds of grassy foliage with upright flower scapes, and they do come in many different colors. Typical examples are Tradescantia virginiana, T. ohiensis and T. subaspera. Those three are used in complex crosses to produce a group of hybrids known as x andersoniana, which includes most of our garden hybrids, like Sweet Kate, Osprey, Pink Chablis, Innocence and so on. All the species I know of Wandering Jew and Spiderwort have flowers that bloom only one day, and I've never seen their colors weaken or fade. If they are unhealthy, I do not think they resort to stress blooming; I think they do not bloom. And I've never seen one of any shade that could be called green or even greenish. I think this is most likely mistaken identity, since OP could not be describing Spiderworts or Wandering Jew. Megan, Please post a photograph of the plants you are having trouble with. Then maybe we can give a positive ID and a solution to the problem with the flower colors.
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creatrix
21 years ago
I usually cut mine back after they bloom. They will put up new foliage that stays short, and looks good through the winter. Also, I don't get seedlings all over.

I have noticed considerablevariation among spiderworts as to when they start and stop blooming. One garden I tend has some that have been done for 3 weeks, and others started later and are still going.

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