Species · genus Tradescantia · Commelinaceae

Ohio Spiderwort

Tradescantia ohiensis Raf.

Also known as: Smooth Spiderwort · Blue-jacket · Bluejacket · Reflexed Spiderwort · Confederate Spiderwort

Growth habit

perennial

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Reference · T. ohiensis

Cultivars of T. ohiensis

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under T. ohiensis yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Tradescantia ohiensis is a hardy herbaceous perennial native to meadows, prairies, and open woodland edges across much of eastern North America, so it tolerates a wide range of conditions and ordinary home humidity. Give it a bright spot with indirect light, and water when the top inch of mix has dried; its fleshy stems hold moisture and will rot if kept constantly wet. It tolerates a brief dry spell better than soggy roots, so err toward letting it approach dryness.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

10–26 °C

Soil mix

Average well-draining potting mix, tolerant of most soils

Propagation

Division or stem cuttings

Fertilizing

Light monthly feed during the growing season

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Blue to violet three-petaled flowers in warmer months

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Inch plant / wandering dude — irritant sap; dermatitis, mild GI upset. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Ohio Spiderwort yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.