I like plants with history and in my gardens, I have several. One of them is spiderwort, an easy-to-grow, long-lived perennial. My particular plant first grew at my grandmother’s house, was transplanted as a start to my mom’s garden and finally, years ago, came to mine.

Spiderwort belongs to the genus Tradescantia.

My spiderwort has purple blooms; however, varieties can also be found in lavender, light blue, magenta, pink and white. The showy 1-inch flowers have three petals and are in clusters on top of a stem. There are six bright yellow anthers in the center of each flower.

The blooms open in the morning and close by afternoon into evening. Bloom begins in late spring and continues until mid-summer.

The foliage is gray to blue-green reaching a height of 2 to 3 feet. The leaf blades have parallel veins typical of monocots. By mid-summer when flowering has slowed and the foliage is no longer attractive, the plants can be cut back. A second growth will begin if conditions are right and new flowers may appear.

Spiderworts are easy to grow in full or partial sun. They adapt to a wide range of soil types with moist to dry conditions. Spiderwort is a native plant with several species including Ohio spiderwort or Tradescantia ohiensis. It attracts bumblebees and flower flies.

Although it has a lovely blue flower, Asiatic dayflower is considered a weed. In the same family as spiderwort, it is native to Asia and was brought to the United States as an ornamental. It is not difficult for me to remove; however, it can be a nuisance in no-till agriculture.

Some Tradescantias that are native to zones warmer than Ohio are easy-to-grow houseplants. I use them as container plants in the summer then pot them up to overwinter indoors.

Wandering Dude, found in a variety of colors, requires minimal care. It is a trailing plant, which is why I often use it as a spiller in summer containers. Indoors it needs bright, indirect light and watered when the soil feels dry. Continued overwatering can cause the roots to rot.

Because it is a trailer, it can become leggy. Pinching back stems will encourage branching and bushier plants. If the plant is happy, it will produce small, three-petaled flowers.

Among the varieties are Zebra Tradescantia with purple and silver striped leaves, Purple Heart with burgundy foliage, White Velvet has fuzzy, olive-green leaves, and Nanouk, a newer cultivar with pink, white and green foliage. All are easy to propagate by placing cuttings in water or moist potting soil.

Boat Lily grows upright with long, blade-shaped leaves. I have used it as a “tropical touch” in my containers for several years. A showy variety called Sitara’s Gold has yellow leaves with burgundy undersides.

These plants are usually disease-free, but do check for insects before they come inside for the winter. Go to http://go.osu.edu/tradescantias for images and more information on boat lilies.

Steffen is a Master Gardener Volunteer for The Ohio State University Extension in Mahoning County.