Spiderwort (Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group) ‘Little Doll’)

Features and Characteristics

Tradescantia, commonly called spiderworts, is a genus of about 65 species of herbaceous perennials from North, Central and South America. They are grown for their showy, three-petaled flowers and attractive foliage. The Andersoniana Group of hybrid spiderworts are some of the most common perennial spiderworts seen in cultivation. They are hybrids of various species including T. virginiana, T. subaspera and T. ohiensis. Cultivars in this group are sometimes given the hybrid name designation Tradescantia × andersoniana.

Genus name honors John Tradescant (1570-163- and his son John Tradescant (1608-166- , botanists and successive gardeners to Charles I of England.

When the stems of spiderworts are cut, a viscous stem secretion is released which becomes thread-like and silky upon hardening (like a spider’s web), hence the common name.

‘Little Doll’ is a compact, clump-forming cultivar which typically grows to only 10″ tall. Light blue, three-petaled flowers (to 5″ diameter) accented by contrasting yellow stamens are borne in terminal clusters (umbels) atop stiff stems. Numerous buds form in each cluster, but individual flowers open up only a few at a time, each for only one day, blooming in succession from late May into August. Arching, iris-like, dark green leaves are folded lengthwise forming a groove. Foliage retains form throughout growing season better than most other tradescantias.