Sweet Kate spiderwort

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; afternoon shade helps prevent leaf scorch in hot climates. Foliage becomes greener in deep shade.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist, especially during establishment and flowering; avoid prolonged waterlogging.

Soil

Humus-rich, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil; tolerates clay if it does not remain waterlogged.

Height

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Spread

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Flowers

Violet-blue flowers with yellow stamens from late spring through midsummer, sometimes repeating after cutting back.

Foliage

Arching, strap-shaped leaves emerge golden yellow and may become chartreuse as the season progresses or in shade.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.1 ft (0.32 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.1 ft (0.35 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.2 ft (0.38 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water deeply when the surface soil begins to dry; do not let newly planted clumps dry out.
• Apply a thin layer of compost in spring; avoid heavy feeding that encourages floppy growth.
• Mulch around the clump to conserve moisture, keeping mulch away from the crown.
• Provide afternoon shade where summers are hot or leaves regularly scorch.
• Divide crowded clumps every three to four years in spring.

Pruning. After the main flowering flush, cut tired stems and foliage back to a few inches above the ground, then water to encourage fresh growth and possible repeat flowers. Remove remaining dead growth in late autumn or before new shoots emerge in spring.

Early spring

Remove dead stems before new shoots lengthen.

Spring

Plant or divide clumps, water thoroughly and mulch around them.

Late spring

Check soil moisture as flowering begins, especially in containers.

Summer

Cut back faded, sprawling growth after the main flowering flush and water well.

Late summer

Remove unwanted seedlings; they will not reliably retain the golden foliage.

Late autumn

Clear collapsed foliage if it is collecting around the crown.

• Plant near the front of a moist mixed border, where the golden foliage contrasts with darker leaves.
• Combine with blue- or purple-flowered perennials to repeat the flower colour.
• Use beside a pond or stream in moist soil above the permanently saturated margin.
• Group along a lightly shaded path with hostas and ferns.
• Grow in a moisture-retentive container with drainage holes, where the foliage can arch over the rim.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, English country, Woodland, Blues and silvers, Pollinator garden and Small-space.

Plant it with: Hosta, Astilbe, Siberian iris, Japanese painted fern, Coral bells and Hardy geranium.

Wildlife: Flowers provide pollen for bees, including bumblebees. They offer little or no nectar.

• Brown leaf tips or scorched patches: maintain even moisture and provide afternoon shade in hot weather.
• Floppy, untidy growth after flowering: cut back the clump and water; avoid excessive nitrogen feeding.
• Slugs and snails on young shoots: inspect at dusk, remove by hand or use a labelled iron-phosphate bait.
• Crown or root rot in persistently wet soil: improve drainage or move the plant to a better-drained position.

Sap can irritate skin in people and pets, so wear gloves when cutting or dividing. Chewing leaves or stems may cause mouth irritation or mild digestive upset in cats and dogs; severe poisoning is not expected. Reliable horse-specific toxicity information for this cultivar is lacking.

• Green-leaved garden spiderwort (Tradescantia Andersoniana Group)

  Other garden spiderworts often have similar blue, three-petalled flowers but green or blue-green leaves rather than Sweet Kate's golden-yellow foliage.

• Daylily (Hemerocallis)

  Daylilies have basal fans of strap-shaped leaves and much larger, trumpet-shaped flowers with six petal-like segments; spiderwort has leafy, jointed stems and three-petalled flowers.

Tradescantia honours the seventeenth-century English gardeners and plant collectors John Tradescant the elder and John Tradescant the younger.

Propagation. Divide established clumps in spring, keeping roots and several shoots on each piece. Division preserves the cultivar; seedlings are variable and may have green foliage.

Accepted botanical name

Tradescantia

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.