Somerset County

Tradescantia virginiana 

Plant of the Week... 

...or Spider lily is a clump forming native herbaceous perennial that thrives in full to part shade and moist, fertile, well drained soils.  The plants can grow from 1 ½ feet tall to 3 feet tall and spread out 1-1 ½ feet wide. The one-inch purple to blue 3 petaled flowers have 6 bright yellow stamen that glow against the dark blue and bloom for one day.  Clusters of buds occur at the top of the flower stems, opening a few buds each morning giving color to the garden from late May to early July.  When in bloom, the flowers attract many pollinators including bees, bumble bees and butterflies.   The dark green arching foliage can be up to a foot long and an inch wide with an entire margin and folded in the middle to form a grove. The stems of the spider lily have a viscous secretion when cut which becomes thread-like and silky when it hardens, looking like a spider’s web.   After flowering, trim off the stems to encourage more flowers later. The plants grown in the southern parts of Maryland may go dormant during the heat of summer, but the foliage will emerge in the autumn.  Spider lily plants are cold tolerant in USDA zones4-9 and are tolerant of wet soils and Black Walnut.  There are no serious diseases of insect pests, but wet weather in early spring can bring snails that feed on the foliage. These lovely flowering natives can be planted in woodland gardens, pollinator gardens and even rain gardens. 

Ginny Rosenkranz

Extension Advisory Committee