Spiderwort
May 19, 2018
I have a question about the enclosed picture. I moved to a rental house a few months
ago and don't know what all the plants are that have showed up in the backyard. Can
you tell me what the little purple flowers are? Also, people have told me that the
vine behind the plant is poison ivy but I'm not sure as it has more than three leaves.
Would you be able to tell me what that is and if it is poisonous? There is a lot
of this ivy in the yard.
The plant with purple flowers is a spiderwort (Tradescantia). The vine behind it
often gets confused for poison ivy but it is Virginia creeper. Poison ivy has leaves
of three with the two bottom leaves attached close together and the middle leaf has
a little bit of a stem. Virginia creeper often has three leaves when the plant is
young, but gradually advances to five leaflets. All of the leaves, regardless of
numbers, are attached at the same point.
May 2012
I am attaching a picture of a flower which I see "in the wild" or along roadsides.
I want to transplant a few of these plants into my garden and would like to know the
name and if there are any particular care tips available.
The plant in question is commonly called spiderwort – Tradescantia sp. They are fairly common across Arkansas and can get a bit weedy if you aren’t
careful. If they are growing on your property, you can dig and divide or transplant
them, but if you do it now, they may wilt for a few days while they re-establish.
There are also improved varieties available at local nurseries. The flower color is
traditionally a blue or purple, but there are also white and pink varieties. If they
are growing in the wild, and not on property that you own, you must get permission
from the landowner before digging. They do well in full sun to partial shade, and
like ample moisture. If they get tall and leggy mid-summer, you can give them a haircut
and they will bounce back and bloom.
All links to external sites open in a new window. You may return to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture web site by closing this window when you are finished. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information, or the accessibility for people with disabilities listed at any external site.
Links to commercial sites are provided for information and convenience only. Inclusion of sites does not imply University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's approval of their product or service to the exclusion of others that may be similar, nor does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the products or service offered.
The mention of any commercial product in this web site does not imply its endorsement by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture over other products not named, nor does the omission imply that they are not satisfactory.