FNPS Plant Database

Tradescantia ohiensis

Ohio spiderwort, bluejacket
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Marjorie Shropshire, Martin County Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Dick Diener

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Ohio spiderwort, bluejacket

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Tradescantia ohiensis

Family:

Commelinaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

2-3 ft tall by 1.5-2.5 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

pink,blue,purple

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Evergreen, flowers spring-fall. Blooms in the morning.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Adaptable to the casual or wildflower garden. Can be used as groundcover or border plant. Naturalizes.

Considerations:

Can spread overly quickly.

Availability:

Friends

Propagation:

Seed or division. Plant once and you will have it for many years.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

Adaptable

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators

Attracts pollinators, especially bees.

Native Habitats:

Open sites, deciduous woods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Named after John Tradescant (1608-1662) who served as gardener to King Charles I of England.

General Comments:

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2012.  Native wildflowers and other ground covers for Florida landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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