Great Design Plant: Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Blue is a elusive color in perennial gardens. Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), an eastern U.S. native, fills that gap with clusters of blue flowers in early spring. Use this finely textured perennial along walkways, paired with bold broadleaved perennials, or in informal prairie plantings. Morning blooms delight garden visitors and provide critical pollen for female bees provisioning nests.

Quick Facts

• Botanical name: Tradescantia ohiensis
• Common names: Ohio spiderwort, bluejacket
• Origin: Eastern North America—Nebraska to Texas west; Minnesota to Maine east; Ontario, Canada north (absent in Vermont); endangered in Pennsylvania
• Hardiness: USDA zones 4a–9a (–30°F)
• Native habitat: Prairies, meadows, savannas, woodland edges
• Soil: Mesic to dry, sand to loamy clay
• Light: Full to partial sun
• Mature size: 18–30 in. tall, 1–2 ft wide

Benefits & Tolerances

• Tolerates most soil types except extremely dry or wet clay
• Grass-like, linear foliage provides textural contrast to broad-leaved perennials
• Flowers open in morning, close by midday as temperatures rise

Distinguishing Traits

Tight flower clusters sit on sturdy, upright stalks. Foliage is spider-like—long, narrow leaves that curve gracefully downward. Bright yellow to orange anthers appear suspended above frilly hairs at the filament base.

Landscape Uses

The upright, narrow form and cascading foliage work well massed in perennial borders or informal prairie plantings. Pair with plants of equal height: prairie grasses like little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), plus simultaneous bloomers such as golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) and prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa).

Planting Notes

Ohio spiderwort adapts to most soils but may wither in hot, dry, drought-prone sites—move to partial shade with more moisture if this occurs. Deer and rabbit browsing is rare but possible when herbivores are desperate.

Seed propagation: Tricky in pots—low germination, requires 120-day cold stratification. Sow seeds directly in the ground in fall for best results.

Shown: Female two-spotted bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) on western spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis).

Shown: Female sweat bee (Halictus sp.) gathering pollen.

Pollinator Notes

Flowers are nectarless—bees, flies, and butterflies visit but find no sugary reward. Primary visitors are female bees collecting pollen for nests. Syrphid flies also feed on pollen.

Shown: Small carpenter bee (Ceratina sp.)