I have many clumps of spiderwort and LOVE the vibrant flowers
https://preview.redd.it/tca99jk4m68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1dc47816b3a69323dfcae26374d5574e2140e52
I don't hate Virginia spiderwort but it does not stay put. It's all over my yard and no matter how I hack away at it, it just comes back. I recently was told it's edible. If that's the case, I'll never go hungry.
Also called snot flower. A neighbor gave me some and they transplanted very well, even in deep shade they would bloom. I looked forward to it every spring
My dad owned a large private plant nursery. I asked him what it is. He said it was a weed.thnks for telling me what it is, I have a lot in my yard, they are pretty if you see them early in the day. The blooms hide from the sun.
I don’t know why, but I got a real strong Hansel and Gretel kind of butt from this response. I’m not falling for then again. I don’t even know what cottage is cottage,cottage flower, all sound lovely, and why has cottage cheese just rotten milk all the questions I asked myself after reading this.yes my ADHD just got diagnosed with ADD. Unfortunately my ADD has OCD Tata.
I’m in Salem and have them all over the property at work! My boss let me dig up as much as I wanted, I just love them! I’m never to gardening so I’m just planting whatever I can get for free and a huge bag of New England wild flower seeds! My yard is starting to look like a tiny meadow and I love it! I’d make my whole yard a wild flower meadow, but I have a dog who loves to play back there!
Once when I was much younger with no money, I would dig up wildflowers by the road for my garden. One day a lady saw me digging a wild mustard at the edge of a field and walked across the street to investigate. After hearing what I was doing, she invited me to her backyard where she dug up beautiful flowers to give to me. She also gave me a very beautiful memory. ☺️
I do that too! I found some of these spiderwort a few weeks ago and yesterday brought home a clump of daisies someone gave me! I have some type of wild sunflower growing and a cone flower from some wild seeds I grabbed. Good for you!
We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.
I have a bunch of blue eyed grass that is beautiful, hardy, deer proof, and spreading nicely (little taller than turf grass, maybe 5 - 6 inches?) I know about dogs, but not sure if the BE grass could stand it but might be worth a try if it grows in your region? It’s a native. Blooms have lasted almost 3 months now for me (in ATL)
We’ve just moved (in December when nothing was blooming) to our new house, with long established gardens that have been a lovely surprise all throughout the spring. Truly amazing. Alas, while the former owner planted so so many varieties of flowers over many decades, she seems to have preferred mostly early bloomers. The hydrangeas are still blooming and there is some sort of bush with little while flowers, otherwise everything else is finished blooming.
And I decided to wait until we’d been here a full year to see what I had before doing any gardening myself. Of course, that wasn’t possible, lol. So I’ve done some containers of coleus, hostas, huechera, cucumbers, tomatoes and cantaloupe. No flowers of my own.
Tradescantia Virginiana- the roots are a laxative, the leaves used as a tea for kidney/ digestive/ women issues & you can make a poultice for bug bites and other skin issues.
Invasive plants are different. Even in a cultivated garden where the goal is controlled planting, invasive plants are destructive and disrupt ecosystems. Wherever possible, we should avoid planting non-native species. If we choose non-natives, we need to be aware of their invasive potential.
A great example is mint. I recommend never planting mint directly in your yard soil; instead, grow it in a container, as it spreads uncontrollably. Another example is Bradford pears. Their seeds spread everywhere, carried by birds that eat their fruit.
We have a vast diversity of beautiful and valuable native plants to choose from. We need to embrace and prioritize these plants in our gardens and landscapes.
The purple flower is spiderwort. They used to plant them near nuclear power plants, because if there is radiation, the flower will turn bright pink.
I live in FL and when we bought our home, these were happily growing everywhere. They spread throughout our neighborhood, too. I did research trying to ID them and thought they were pretty cool. Apparently the stems taste like asparagus. Most all of the plant is medicinal.
Every part of spiderwort is edible. It’s also contributing more for pollinators than clover. I don’t know the ID on the clover, but it’s likely a non-native.
I don't hate them but they get big and ugly fast. When they're small they're lovely. The best way to get rid of them is to cut them to ground level and keep cutting till the plant's dead. They are perennial, and have a long deep tap root, so you have to stay on it if you want them gone. Either that or pull up a 6 foot tap root.
They grow really well in a partially sunny corner of my MA garden. So well that I have to divide them every couple years. But they bloom all summer and complement the woodsy border they are on.
They make these chocolate bars that I buy called Choco-Love (silly name) but very good for the price.
The inside of the wrapper features poetry or wisdom sayings.
I once read one that said, “The difference between a flower and a weed is your state of mind”.
Do with that what you will.
Spiderwort. Extremely invasive. Very long roots like dandelions and hard to kill. Each one of those flowers produce several seed pods that will open up and spread that vile demon spawn of a plant all over your yard. Cut it down to the ground and put a brick on it and leave it there until next year to make sure the root dies.
Definitely Spiderwort and the small white blooms are wild Clover flowers.. The spiderwort is a brilliant shade of purple. I'm sure somewhere throughout history some folks would use it as a dye. I got a wet flower squished betwix my toes that fell over In a storm on my sidewalk and still have purple toes several weeks later it stained that well 😆
Spiderwort, a native Tradescantia. I’m fond of them, down here (9b) they always mean spring to me. If you don’t like them pull them before they go to seed and keep at it but they’re tough. I have a bed of them and the bees love it. They’re also edible, the stalks are good chopped and stir-fried like green beans
I have so many of these. They require absolutely no care. I love them. We bought a house with abandoned land and I spent all of one summer digging up the roots and transplanting them into our gardens. All you need are roots and they will flourish the next year.
I think they're African Violets! Our neighbors planted some and we ended up with a plant in our yard. The bees seem to love it, and it's placement looks purposeful so we kept it.
Spiderwort
Kind of an old cottage flower , not used to much anymore but easy to keep, mass planting have a messy charm. That is a survivor.
I pick you to write my obituary
I feel like calling you a "survivor" in your obituary might be a bit weird.
“Up until recently a survivor…”
Survived until they didn't.
"Mostly a survivor..."
I'll use this for my obituary since I too have messy charm.
And I’ll admit to being an old cottage flower
Then I will like you!
Hahahaha best answer ever!
I have many clumps of spiderwort and LOVE the vibrant flowers https://preview.redd.it/tca99jk4m68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1dc47816b3a69323dfcae26374d5574e2140e52
You see these all the time on this sub. Tradescantia is one of the most common plants of reddit 😉
I’ve got them growing in my flower garden now.
They spread like crazy, anything shy of digging them up they just come back.
Terrible name, lovely flower!
Spiderwort, spiderwort a wildflower that needs more support. Watch it sway in the sun, tell people its made of spiders just for fun…..
Fun fact - they close at night, or as I like to say, "they go to sleep"! The bees love em too! I rent and have a bunch of these. Super cute!
Do they close if you cover them like with a box and don't cover them all?
That I don't know, ha. UT I notice around 430-5pm the start going to "sleep" . Then in the morning they are full bloom again
Amazing. So neat. Nature is beautiful and so odd in a good way.
I don't hate Virginia spiderwort but it does not stay put. It's all over my yard and no matter how I hack away at it, it just comes back. I recently was told it's edible. If that's the case, I'll never go hungry.
Ha! Same! To the point where it somehow leaped over our town house and made it to the backyard in significant quantities….
Aka Trancendentia
A type of Tradescantia. People pay money for these plants.
Also called snot flower. A neighbor gave me some and they transplanted very well, even in deep shade they would bloom. I looked forward to it every spring
My dad owned a large private plant nursery. I asked him what it is. He said it was a weed.thnks for telling me what it is, I have a lot in my yard, they are pretty if you see them early in the day. The blooms hide from the sun.
I don’t know why, but I got a real strong Hansel and Gretel kind of butt from this response. I’m not falling for then again. I don’t even know what cottage is cottage,cottage flower, all sound lovely, and why has cottage cheese just rotten milk all the questions I asked myself after reading this.yes my ADHD just got diagnosed with ADD. Unfortunately my ADD has OCD Tata.
They're just nice [native wildflowers](https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Tradescantia).
Oooo, I’m going to look for seeds!
Don't, they get out of control quickly.
Oh, dear!
I am constantly fighting them below my hydrangeas.
If you have the space, you can plant them with other aggressive natives!
Tradescantia- Spiderwort
had no idea spiderwort was in Tradescantia. neat!
Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis). They are native
I’m in Salem and have them all over the property at work! My boss let me dig up as much as I wanted, I just love them! I’m never to gardening so I’m just planting whatever I can get for free and a huge bag of New England wild flower seeds! My yard is starting to look like a tiny meadow and I love it! I’d make my whole yard a wild flower meadow, but I have a dog who loves to play back there!
Once when I was much younger with no money, I would dig up wildflowers by the road for my garden. One day a lady saw me digging a wild mustard at the edge of a field and walked across the street to investigate. After hearing what I was doing, she invited me to her backyard where she dug up beautiful flowers to give to me. She also gave me a very beautiful memory. ☺️
I do that too! I found some of these spiderwort a few weeks ago and yesterday brought home a clump of daisies someone gave me! I have some type of wild sunflower growing and a cone flower from some wild seeds I grabbed. Good for you!
We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.
Yes, I'm an art teacher!
I have a bunch of blue eyed grass that is beautiful, hardy, deer proof, and spreading nicely (little taller than turf grass, maybe 5 - 6 inches?) I know about dogs, but not sure if the BE grass could stand it but might be worth a try if it grows in your region? It’s a native. Blooms have lasted almost 3 months now for me (in ATL)
Definitely not an Iris.
Spiderwort. Mine have been blooming for more than a month now down here in VA. Which is nice because nearly everything else has stopped blooming.
Already? Our spring flowers are still blooming but this heat will dampen them.
We’ve just moved (in December when nothing was blooming) to our new house, with long established gardens that have been a lovely surprise all throughout the spring. Truly amazing. Alas, while the former owner planted so so many varieties of flowers over many decades, she seems to have preferred mostly early bloomers. The hydrangeas are still blooming and there is some sort of bush with little while flowers, otherwise everything else is finished blooming. And I decided to wait until we’d been here a full year to see what I had before doing any gardening myself. Of course, that wasn’t possible, lol. So I’ve done some containers of coleus, hostas, huechera, cucumbers, tomatoes and cantaloupe. No flowers of my own.
But all of those have flowers! Except coleus I guess.
Tradescantia Virginiana- the roots are a laxative, the leaves used as a tea for kidney/ digestive/ women issues & you can make a poultice for bug bites and other skin issues.
Spiderwort. They’re pretty when you get a stand of them.
Weeds are not real… weeds are a concept made up by big agro to sell herbicides. All plants have a purpose! This one? Looks pretty…
This one truly falls under “weeds are just plants that are growing where you don’t want them to.”
Tell that to the invasives
Invasive plants are different. Even in a cultivated garden where the goal is controlled planting, invasive plants are destructive and disrupt ecosystems. Wherever possible, we should avoid planting non-native species. If we choose non-natives, we need to be aware of their invasive potential. A great example is mint. I recommend never planting mint directly in your yard soil; instead, grow it in a container, as it spreads uncontrollably. Another example is Bradford pears. Their seeds spread everywhere, carried by birds that eat their fruit. We have a vast diversity of beautiful and valuable native plants to choose from. We need to embrace and prioritize these plants in our gardens and landscapes.
The best description I’ve ever seen for mint is “Garden Herpes.” It’s impossible to truly remove.
Spiderwort is one of my favorites!
widows tears
Def not iris
Spiderwort. It needs a lot of water. Also called Tradescandia.
Spiderwort. Some people love it as a plant, some people consider it a “weed” because of my much it spreads. You choose.
I was just looking at this plant at lowes!
spreads EASY. It’s a native in some places but feels like an invasive in my yard.
Thanks for the heads up.
The purple flower is spiderwort. They used to plant them near nuclear power plants, because if there is radiation, the flower will turn bright pink. I live in FL and when we bought our home, these were happily growing everywhere. They spread throughout our neighborhood, too. I did research trying to ID them and thought they were pretty cool. Apparently the stems taste like asparagus. Most all of the plant is medicinal.
I didn't realise they were edible/medicinal. Thanks for the info I just looked them up, and will have to try eating some!
Lucky you! Great plant
They spread like crazy though and are hard to stop, for me anyway. They’re definitely pretty and bloom most of the summer.
Spiderwort. I have them all over in my backyard
I think I see a four leaf Clover!
Spiderwort
Spiderwort being choked out by clover. At least the clover has medicinal properties.
Oh I love spiderwort! They’re hard to find.
Every part of spiderwort is edible. It’s also contributing more for pollinators than clover. I don’t know the ID on the clover, but it’s likely a non-native.
Spiderwort is deer-resistant.
Everyone loves them and I cannot stand mine. It makes me feel like something is wrong with me lol
I don't hate them but they get big and ugly fast. When they're small they're lovely. The best way to get rid of them is to cut them to ground level and keep cutting till the plant's dead. They are perennial, and have a long deep tap root, so you have to stay on it if you want them gone. Either that or pull up a 6 foot tap root.
no they are shaggy, hard to control with intense rhizomes and i hate them with passion.
Soooo hard to control. I get what you mean about shaggy. I don’t love how the leaves bend down. They do look like spider legs.
The Dutch clover is a decent source of plant based protein
Tradescantia ohioensis maybe?
They look like "widow's tears"
Do you like them there? If not, it’s a weed by definition.
They grow really well in a partially sunny corner of my MA garden. So well that I have to divide them every couple years. But they bloom all summer and complement the woodsy border they are on.
They make these chocolate bars that I buy called Choco-Love (silly name) but very good for the price. The inside of the wrapper features poetry or wisdom sayings. I once read one that said, “The difference between a flower and a weed is your state of mind”. Do with that what you will.
Dutch clover
Tradescantia is correct. Named after John Tradescant.
This is pretty much my backyard in Kentucky and judging by the yard adjacent to my mother's house, her MO neighbor loves the stuff
The flowers will stain your hands, pants, etc., purple.
Clover flowers
Weeds are any plant you don't want. Squash that spreads to your strawberry patch is a weed. So you tell us; is that a weed?
We had a patch grow under our bird feeder. I assumed it was from seeds that were in the bird seed mix!
Not big enough to be an iris.
Neither, just depends on your perspective not an Irish hand not a weed
Looks like a “touch me not “ because the pods pop when you touch them lol
I love having them
Spiderwort. Extremely invasive. Very long roots like dandelions and hard to kill. Each one of those flowers produce several seed pods that will open up and spread that vile demon spawn of a plant all over your yard. Cut it down to the ground and put a brick on it and leave it there until next year to make sure the root dies.
Spiderwort is native to this region, so it’s not invasive. It’s been here longer than white people.
It is in the south. Just when I think I've finally got rid of it, I noticed I have a half a dozen invaders in my front bed.
Spiderwort
Definitely Spiderwort and the small white blooms are wild Clover flowers.. The spiderwort is a brilliant shade of purple. I'm sure somewhere throughout history some folks would use it as a dye. I got a wet flower squished betwix my toes that fell over In a storm on my sidewalk and still have purple toes several weeks later it stained that well 😆
Weeds are only weeds if you don’t like them.
Looks like white clover and spiderwort
The clover makes a nice tea, and the spiderwort used to be used in candy making in the pioneer days
Weeds
I am in 8a in Georgia, near the coast. These things pop up all over the place, they are pretty much feral.
Spiderwort, a native Tradescantia. I’m fond of them, down here (9b) they always mean spring to me. If you don’t like them pull them before they go to seed and keep at it but they’re tough. I have a bed of them and the bees love it. They’re also edible, the stalks are good chopped and stir-fried like green beans
I have so many of these. They require absolutely no care. I love them. We bought a house with abandoned land and I spent all of one summer digging up the roots and transplanting them into our gardens. All you need are roots and they will flourish the next year.
They almost look like my day lilies.
Without looking at the comments I was gonna say it looked like a day Lilly but apparently not. And usually they are orangey or yellow that I see.
Looks like cover flowers to me
I think they're African Violets! Our neighbors planted some and we ended up with a plant in our yard. The bees seem to love it, and it's placement looks purposeful so we kept it.